Zhe ge sha shou bu tai leng jing

This Well Go USA release is a comedic , action film of Chinese origin that is very entertaining. It is, to be clear, more on the comedic, than action genre. The film centers around amateur actor Wei Chenggong, played by Wei Xiang, who receives an invitation from famous actress Milan (Ma Li) to play her leading man, "Killer Karl". Wei is the culpable dreamer who is being used to disrupt the plans of a local crime syndicate. The film pays tribute to American comedic classic films of the 1930's and 40's. The notion that the main character is the only person in the film who is not in on the joke is a structure trope of American comedies of the last century. This character, as Wei does, ends up reaching fuller potential through the mechanism of the story. There is some romance and action to support the plot, but the success and failure of the film is the main character. Wei plays it well. The Director here has a keen sense of comedic timing, even if the audience does not. More modern films are mirror here too, including Singing in the Rain, Pulp Fiction, Desperado, and Clint Eastwood westerns, The film is sharp and funny, and it works. I am not sure of the intent was to honor American cinematic traditions, or to introduce them to a Chines audience but it works here.

Everyone has a dream, and some people are willing to be humble for their dreams. I admire such people. The downside is that the spark between the leading actor and actress is not credibly portrayed in order to avoid clichés, which makes the leading actor's final decision to risk his life to save people a little unconvincing.

The movie theater was filled with laughter due to the skillful performance of Ma Li and Wei Xiang. We can always believe in their acting. It seems that the script was adapted from a Japanese movie, thus the production crew had enough time to refine the setting and plot to make them attractive. The only goal of the movie is to make you laugh and obviously it succeeded. But the jokes are simple and direct so that you will not want to watch it for a second time. Anyway, congratulations to Wei Xiang on his first leading role in a movie. He is a good actor and deserves more attention and praise.