Two Thumbs Up (2015) (DVD) (Taiwan Version) DVD Region 3

The film kicks off with aging low level gangster Big F (Francis Ng) being released from a Malaysian prison and promptly rounding up his former brothers for a scheme some years in the making. Though they take a little persuading, bowling alley worker Crazy B (Simon Yam), hairdresser Johnny T (Patrick Tam) and mechanic East L (Mark Cheng) agree to join him, the plan revolving around posing as police officers to hijack a truck smuggling money to the Mainland in corpses. Disguising a minibus as a police van and armed with toy guns, they soon find themselves up against a gang of considerably more violent, AK-47 carrying desperadoes, who just happen to have had the same idea.

Two Thumbs Up very much has the air of being directed by a screenwriter, as there's a huge amount going on, the above synopsis only providing the bare bones of the film;s increasingly chaotic plot. Aside from the central robbery, Lau Ho Leung goes off on a variety of tangents, with subplots involving a diligent young cop trying to track down the gang (Leo Ku), an ice-cream selling girl, a wandering old woman (Susan Shaw), and more. While the film is muddled in places as a result, and suffers from a touch of Tarantino syndrome during some long stretches of non-realistic dialogue, it's generally engaging, and Lau wins points for effort. A lot of work obviously went into the script, which in these days of lazy screenwriting counts for quite a bit, and the film has more than its share of amusing moments as well as some surprisingly effective emotional beats. Though the ending could have been better handled, hinting of a meaningfulness that simply isn't there, it's on the whole satisfying and rattles along at a fast pace, never in any danger of becoming dull.

Pretty much everything about the film is loud, brash, colourful and stylish, most notably when it comes to the four main characters themselves and their costumes and odd hairdos. All four of the leads seems to have been having a great time making the film, going fully over the top with their performances, Francis Ng and Simon Yam having a number of great shouting contests, and this adds to the overall air of cheerful fun. Visually the film is equally dynamic, Lau throwing in all manner of editing tricks and techniques, and though some of these don't quite work, in particular some shoddy use of computer effects, the film has a definite spark and energy. There's a fair amount of action mixed in with the comedy, most of which is well-handled and often unexpectedly violent, and Lau pulls off the balancing act better than most, helping to cover up what was likely not the highest of budgets.

Though flawed and suffering very much from the over indulgence of first film syndrome, Two Thumbs Up is nevertheless an easy film to like, especially for fans of old school Hong Kong cinema. Films like this haven't been too common of late, and it marks a solidly entertaining and creative debut for Lau Ho Leung.

by James Mudge - EasternKicks.com