Lan Kwai Fong 2 喜愛夜蒲 II (2012) (Blu Ray) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)

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Lan Kwai Fong 2 (2012)

Reviewed by Andrew Chan (Film Critics Circle of Australia)

Wong Jing has finally find a predecessor under his belt in the form of “Lan Kwai Fong 2″ director Wilson Chin Kwok-Wai and that’s not a compliment in any way. In fact, the sequel to last year’s commercially successful mindless entertainment “Lan Kwai Fong” is so bad that it is funny.

Director Wilson Chin is the next Wong Jing and that is nothing to be proud of. If Wong Jing’s recent output is to go by, “Lan Kwai Fong 2″ is precisely what you call cheap, sexy and lowbrow. If the first film is somewhat empty, but mindless fun filled with sexy performances from Dada Chen, Jeana Ho and Shiga Lin (who is the only of the trio to returns for the sequel) and fun performances from Chen Zi-Ming, Jason Chan and Sin Lap-Man. The sequel lacks all the vital ingredients that made the first film a fun and enjoyable ride into the world of Hong Kong’s iconic party scene. In fact, the film is so bad that it is funny. Some of the script writing and acting is so terrible that the film becomes filled with unintentional humour and the audience laughing at the cheap production values. When the best things coming out of the film are the cameos performances, in particular Alex Fong is a real scene stealer in an ultra-hilarious performance that singlehandedly remains the funniest and more memorable moments in the film.

Director Wilson Chin needs a seriously look in the mirror as this is by far the worst film in his short career. However, like Wong Jing’s worst films, “Lan Kwai Fong 2″ will sell tickets, but if he keeps making films like these, his hands will be forever tie to cheap productions rather than the promised land of bigger budget productions. In fact, the film is filled with bad editing, poor writing, poor lighting inconsistent acting, cliché storyline and uninteresting characters compared to the original.

Shiga Lin (“Lan Kwai Fong”) is far from ready to lead a film, her inexperience to handle crucial moments did not help the film. Likewise, Lin and Kevin Kwan do not have enough chemistry to justify the amount of screen time. Mia Chan is the case of the unfortunate, having to expose more than required including many unnecessary crude shots of her under garments. Perhaps Mia is following Dada Chan’s (“Vulgaria”) footstep, but when the focus becomes your other assets rather than actual acting, Mia is more like the victim of its circumstances. In the scene after Mia bedded Avis, her quick and unusual turn of emotions filled the audience with unintentional laughter. With Mia at the screening, one can only imagine how embarrassing it would have been. Make no mistake, Avis is one terrible actor and apart from his association with Chrissie Chau, one must wonder why someone of his acting calibre can even get a film gag. While newcomer Dominic Ho adds nothing to the preceding other than looking cool and smirking a smile, not unlike the infamous Edison Chen.

“Lan Kwai Fong 2″ contains all the hallmarks of bad filmmaking and it does not help when everyone involved somewhat contributed to the downfall. Director Wilson Chin should get the burden of the blame and should promptly sack whoever the editor was involved. The cutting of scenes affected the film flow of events and by the final third of the film, it seemed so rushed that one can be forgiven to think that the film simply went out of budget. The numerous “close up” shots is more annoying and overused and just about anything that was good in the original, director Chin somehow managed to exclude it. However, the well made finale involving the entire LKF going backward is unbelievable yet sweet, but after going through everything before, the scene is definitely out of place and undeserving of such an ending. One wonders, if the entire production budget and thoughts went into filming the final sequence, the director forgetten that he is not shooting a music video, but rather an entire movie.

With the Hong Kong film industry making lesser local productions, “Lan Kwai Fong 2″ by being sexy and riding on the fame of the first film, may yet sell a few tickets, but with its questionable and cheap quality, it certainly does not help the future of local productions. Still, there is still some fun within this film, but mostly it relates to unintentional humour and to a large degree on the laughable script writing and the bad acting involved. If the first film is mindless entertainment, the second is just so bad that it is funny…(Neo 2012)

I rate it 4/10