Sunshine Cops VCD

Lovable mop-top, H20 (Stephen Fung), is a beach-living cop whose family spends their time lazing about their waterfront restaurant wishing he had a less dangerous job. Burr-haired Sammy (Cheung Chi-yiu, in his first role), comes from a family of cops. Called in for a special mission, they audition against cops from every branch of the force, doing aerobics, kung fu, shooting guns, all under the eagle eyes of a review board. Cheung and Fung make the cut and become...Sunshine Cops! A public-relations outreach program to increase the positive image of the police force with the young these guys are so cool and well-dressed, so dapper when they bring down a big lug with well-placed knees and elbows, so good at just about everything they put their minds to, that just looking at them makes you want to join the police force.

Their families are thrilled, and they take to the hordes of schoolgirls chasing them down the streets shrieking for their autographs like ducks to water. Discord manifests briefly when H20 wants to get an agent, but Cheung backs out of negotiations at the last minute. Simon Loui, playing the agent, sniffs, "Victoria alone does not make the Spice Girls," and there's no deal. Fortunately there are some terrorists who slime into the movie every few reels to make trouble for our sunny duo, which keeps their minds off the occasional setback. Everyone in this movie is good looking, and these terrorists look like they spend as much time on their hair as they do hatching evil schemes.

Refreshingly free of self-doubt and self-flagellation, thankfully free of too much guilt-driven drama, Sunshine Cops could have been made by the Sunshine Cops themselves. Thank goodness for those terrorists. It's they who are out to rain on the Sunshine Cops' parade, like big blue meanies, and it's they who give our kids a chance to really cut loose with the action. Like our heroes, the action's clean-cut and it hits hard. Surprisingly, there's a lot of it, and by the end of this youth romp you're pleasantly surprised to find yourself in the middle of an action movie.

There's nothing here to tax your brain more than the filmmakers intended. Like Stephen Fung, this movie's "casual image is oozing out lightly and gently," and if you're looking for young kids having more fun being young than you ever did, Sunshine Cops is your movie.

by Grady Hendrix