House of Fury

Director: Stephen Fung
Producer: Jackie Chan
Martial Arts Advisor: Yuen Wo Ping

Movie length: 96 Minutes

Cast:
Anthony Wong - Yu Siu Bou
Stephen Fung - Nicky
Gillian Chung - Natalie
Daniel Wu - Jason (Guest Star)
Charlene Choi - Ella (Guest Star)
Michael Wong - Rocco
Wu Ma - Uncle Chiu

Storyline:
Twenty years ago, Siu Bou (Anthony Wong) set up a Chinese clinic as a front for secret agent operations. No one believes his story and just treats him as a normal Chinese chiropractor. Siu Bou single-handedly brought up his children Nicky (Stephen Fung) and Natalie (Gillian Chung). Nicky is a trainer working at Ocean Park while Natalie is still a high school student. Their relationship with Siu Bou is not good because they can't stand him always bragging to others about his heroic past, but they did learn martial arts from Siu Bou since they were young. The two siblings are always arguing and fighting (literally) with each other over tiny little matters.

One day, Rocco (Michael Wong) pays Siu Bou a visit and demands to know the whereabouts of Tai Chi Lung, an agent who foiled Rocco's mission years ago and left him crippled. In other words, Rocco is seeking revenge on Tai Chi Lung. Rocco holds Siu Bou prisoner after Siu Bou refuses to say anything. Tortured and drugged, Siu Bou finally admits that the information is kept in memory cards sealed in the lucky charms kept by his two children.

Nicky and Natalie finally discovers the truth about their father's past. Determined to save their father, they turn to Natalie's boyfriend, Jason (Daniel Wu), for help to decipher the code of the memory cards. They find out that Tai Chi Lung is non other than Siu Bou's good friend - Uncle Chiu. Daniel Wu then locks them up in his apartment, preventing them from looking for Uncle Chiu. Natalie is deeply hurt when she learns that Jason dated her because of her father. Jason is another secret agent dispatched to aid Siu Bou in case things ran out of hand.

Comments:
This movie is more on kungfu fighting rather than on romance. There's lots of action and some comedy in the beginning of the movie. One thing that bothers me is that they dressed Daniel Wu and Charlene Choi in fighting style in the promotional poster when they were not involved in any fighting scenes. I was a little disappointed to see that Daniel Wu was not involved much in fighting scenes.

Characters:

Anthony Wong - Yu Siu Bou
He has done it once again. Anthony Wong is one of my favourite actors - he's a really versatile actor. He managed to portray a caring and protective father, especially towards Natalie. His performances never fail to impress me. Good job!

Stephen Fung - Nicky
It has been a while since I last saw him act. He's quite alright, most of the scenes are well done.

Gillian Chung - Natalie
Ok, I admit that I like her although she still can't act well, but I must say she has improved much more compared to Charlene Choi. There's plenty of room for improvement, especially on the way she talks, which is quite wooden at times. I also noticed that she exaggerates her facial expression in some fighting scenes, she looks like she's forcing herself to act tough.

Daniel Wu - Jason
Frankly, I'm disappointed in his role here. He just appeared a little bit here and there, like a 'keh leh fe'. It's ridiculous to have his picture so big in the poster (and he was holding a sword as well), he just had a short fighting scene with Uncle Chiu that barely lasted for 10 minutes! Although he has the looks (he's cute ^^), I'm sad to say that sometimes he can't really act well.

Charlene Choi - Ella
Another character that's there just for display. I mean, she was in the movie for barely 20 minutes! She was not involved in any fighting scenes, just some scenes in the beginning with Stephen Fung. This girl needs some acting lessons. She hasn't improved much since the movie 'The Twin Effects'. She's always acting like a small kid with the way she talks and all.

Final Words:
I caught this movie on the first day of its release, and I did not have much expectations from it, but in the end I found it pretty enjoyable, and I'd recommend it to anyone who's into kungfu, although I wished they could've done more on the love relationships. This movie could've earned a 3.5 rating if it weren't for some horrible acting and poor love development between the two couples.

Official Website: http://houseoffury.jce.com.hk/enmain.html