A Matter of Customs

Who doesn't adore Wong Hei and Jessica Hsuan in this series? And who doesn't yawn at Liza Wong and Danny Lee?

A Matter of Customs features HK customs, but instead of having a refreshingly action-packed trip, viewers get to see a bundle of Liza Wang's preachy talk and Danny Lee's lame facial expression. TVB's reverence of "Big Sister" Liza Wang is no secret. Therefore, in Customs, she plays Ming, a customs-team leader whom everyone admires. Though Ming is a heroine at work, she has no luck in love. First, she's a widow and later gets trapped in a love-triangle with businessman-gone-bad Shan (Danny Lee) and his ex-lover Kwun (Melissa Ng). All of this is very typical, but the worse is having Liza Wang on board for the character. 1) She's too old to look girly 2) She's no way cool to be a customs officer 3) She's tedious to watch. To sum up, only fans of Liza Wang's can tolerate her scenes in Customs. What about Danny Lee? Forget it!

So, why did I even bother to see Customs? Because of Wong Hei. Here, he plays Kong, Ming's subordinate. Kong is a tortured outsider whose past guilt haunts him, affects his life, and leads to his tragic ending. If Kong ever finds truly peaceful moments, those are shared with Moon (the feisty Jessica Hsuan), the person who cares and understands him the most. Their scenes are utterly charming and moving, thanks to Wong Hei and Hsuan's terrific chemistry. Later, when Kong suffers from his decision of being an undercover, Wong Hei perhaps turns in his most powerful performance. You are touched by his protection of Siu Yau (Shirley Cheung), the daughter of the man he killed. You still care about him even when Kong acts like a bastard. And you feel sorry when he cannot end up with Moon.

The supporting cast is respectable with the likes of Jade Leung, Evergreen Mak, Fiona Yuen, Joyce Tang, and Benz Hui. Also, guest star Joyce Chen is not bad as the lethal assassin Jacky.

Honestly, Customs will fare much better if Liza Wang and Danny Lee's screen time is reduced. They make the series diluted and unimportant. Luckily, things start to pick up toward the end. When Kong reaches his final destination, Wong Hei rules the show! The ending isn't what we want, but we will remember it. Fans of Wong Hei's and/or Jessica Hsuan's must look for this series.