The Viral Factor
The Viral Factor turned out to be......better than expected :)
I never really watch Chinese movies, what more in the cinema. But the boyfie is a fan of Jay Chou, and they were showing it with subtitles; so I figured, what the heck.
Bought tickets for the earliest show and sat down comfortably in the cinema hall with an arsenal of snacks and drinks. (The BF hadn't really had breakfast then, and sausages are kinda like breakfast food, aren't they?) I was so happily licking the mashed potato-gravy off the spoon that I completely forgot what movie I was watching for about a few seconds when the first of the pre-movie ads came on. =.=
Anyway, the beginning of the movie seemed intriguing, but somehow gave me a bad feeling--you know, the someone-is-going-to-die-by-the-end-of-this-movie feel. >.<
International Security Affairs agent Jon/Fei (Jay Chou) miraculously survives a shot to the head--one that would eventually leave him completely paralyzed after being betrayed by a fellow agent during a mission to safely escort the creator of a mutant strain of virus that terrorists are eager to get their hands on. He then discovers that he actually has an elder brother, one he has not seen since his mother took him and abandoned his father when he was three. From China, he travels to Malaysia in search of his gambler father, and brother, only to find out that his brother, Yeung (Nicholas Tse) is a criminal and a fugitive of the law. However, international criminals were behind his brother being framed, and so the two team up against them in order to save the world from this deadly virus. (Actually, Yeung seemed less interested in "saving the world" from the virus and more for saving his daughter, who had been kidnapped. But that's what the synopsis said, so.)
The movie had a lot of shooting and bombing and fighting, which I don't really mind. I mean, I'm not just a rom-com kinda girl; I can appreciate action movies too. It's just that, I felt that the shooting and bombing and fighting was a little too over-the-top. In certain cases, I did not think it was necessary, or even smart to be doing that. Not when very dangerous airborne virus samples in fragile glass tubes are involved, don't you think? That said, I did enjoy the adrenaline rush of watching cars flying all over the place and helicopter chases though. A lot of the time, it was like: Bomb explodes somewhere--WHOA! Few seconds later, car chase, shots fired non-stop--WHOA! Rather exciting! :D
Oh, if you didn't know it already, the film was shot in Malaysia, so it was also very interesting to be able to recognize certain locations where the movie was set. Throughout the movie, I was like, "Hey, that's KL Sentral!" and "Oh, Pavillion weiiiii~" And seeing Nicholas Tse infiltrating a supposedly highly-guarded building by climbing over those familiar green-wire fences was hilarious! I mean, what kinda defense is a flimsy green-wire fence? Malu la! And it was strange seeing Malay people in the movie. They seemed out of place, somehow. @.@
Jay Chou looked ruggishly handsome sporting a little bit more of facial hair, but his smooth almost gentle Mandarin-voice reminded me of his role in his self-directed and self-starring movie Secret. Too....."soft" to be an ISA agent. But he had some pretty awesome fight sequences :P
And I have always thought Nicholas Tse was good-looking, but here, he seemed older, acting as a father. Ah, still good-looking :) And I found out that he's an UGLY crier. There was a scene when he really broke down. I know it was supposed to be touching and all, but I was so distracted with the two trails of watery mucus that were hanging off the tip of his nose, wondering if they were gonna drip. He wiped if off once, and yet, another two trails of watery mucus reappeared! @.@
Storyline-wise, it was good. But nothing that we have never seen before, or did not expect. I did, however, like watching the secondary story line involving the family thrown right into the middle of all the chaos. I tend to be more interested in the feelings and emotions a movie can evoke through the relationship dimensions of the characters, than be impressed with the action sequences. Yeah, cars flying all over the place and helicopter chases are cool and all, but what I remember most is what I learned from the characters.
From The Viral Factor, despite its name, what I learned most was not about a potential threat of a biochemical terrorist attack, but that family is family. Though you may be on completely opposite paths, the strength of the family bond always pulls through. :)
Overall, for the thrill, I'd give it a 3/5. Not too bad :D
I never really watch Chinese movies, what more in the cinema. But the boyfie is a fan of Jay Chou, and they were showing it with subtitles; so I figured, what the heck.
Bought tickets for the earliest show and sat down comfortably in the cinema hall with an arsenal of snacks and drinks. (The BF hadn't really had breakfast then, and sausages are kinda like breakfast food, aren't they?) I was so happily licking the mashed potato-gravy off the spoon that I completely forgot what movie I was watching for about a few seconds when the first of the pre-movie ads came on. =.=
Anyway, the beginning of the movie seemed intriguing, but somehow gave me a bad feeling--you know, the someone-is-going-to-die-by-the-end-of-this-movie feel. >.<
International Security Affairs agent Jon/Fei (Jay Chou) miraculously survives a shot to the head--one that would eventually leave him completely paralyzed after being betrayed by a fellow agent during a mission to safely escort the creator of a mutant strain of virus that terrorists are eager to get their hands on. He then discovers that he actually has an elder brother, one he has not seen since his mother took him and abandoned his father when he was three. From China, he travels to Malaysia in search of his gambler father, and brother, only to find out that his brother, Yeung (Nicholas Tse) is a criminal and a fugitive of the law. However, international criminals were behind his brother being framed, and so the two team up against them in order to save the world from this deadly virus. (Actually, Yeung seemed less interested in "saving the world" from the virus and more for saving his daughter, who had been kidnapped. But that's what the synopsis said, so.)
The movie had a lot of shooting and bombing and fighting, which I don't really mind. I mean, I'm not just a rom-com kinda girl; I can appreciate action movies too. It's just that, I felt that the shooting and bombing and fighting was a little too over-the-top. In certain cases, I did not think it was necessary, or even smart to be doing that. Not when very dangerous airborne virus samples in fragile glass tubes are involved, don't you think? That said, I did enjoy the adrenaline rush of watching cars flying all over the place and helicopter chases though. A lot of the time, it was like: Bomb explodes somewhere--WHOA! Few seconds later, car chase, shots fired non-stop--WHOA! Rather exciting! :D
Oh, if you didn't know it already, the film was shot in Malaysia, so it was also very interesting to be able to recognize certain locations where the movie was set. Throughout the movie, I was like, "Hey, that's KL Sentral!" and "Oh, Pavillion weiiiii~" And seeing Nicholas Tse infiltrating a supposedly highly-guarded building by climbing over those familiar green-wire fences was hilarious! I mean, what kinda defense is a flimsy green-wire fence? Malu la! And it was strange seeing Malay people in the movie. They seemed out of place, somehow. @.@
Jay Chou looked ruggishly handsome sporting a little bit more of facial hair, but his smooth almost gentle Mandarin-voice reminded me of his role in his self-directed and self-starring movie Secret. Too....."soft" to be an ISA agent. But he had some pretty awesome fight sequences :P
And I have always thought Nicholas Tse was good-looking, but here, he seemed older, acting as a father. Ah, still good-looking :) And I found out that he's an UGLY crier. There was a scene when he really broke down. I know it was supposed to be touching and all, but I was so distracted with the two trails of watery mucus that were hanging off the tip of his nose, wondering if they were gonna drip. He wiped if off once, and yet, another two trails of watery mucus reappeared! @.@
Storyline-wise, it was good. But nothing that we have never seen before, or did not expect. I did, however, like watching the secondary story line involving the family thrown right into the middle of all the chaos. I tend to be more interested in the feelings and emotions a movie can evoke through the relationship dimensions of the characters, than be impressed with the action sequences. Yeah, cars flying all over the place and helicopter chases are cool and all, but what I remember most is what I learned from the characters.
From The Viral Factor, despite its name, what I learned most was not about a potential threat of a biochemical terrorist attack, but that family is family. Though you may be on completely opposite paths, the strength of the family bond always pulls through. :)
Overall, for the thrill, I'd give it a 3/5. Not too bad :D
Comments
All right! Let me know if you liked it :D