Badges of Fury lures you in at the dollar store with its proclamation that Jet Li stars in what appears to be an urban action film. The actual movie is really a comedy and he isn't even the main star. The comedy here is parodic and may go further for those with more knowledge of Hong Kong cinema than I have. From other reviews it appears that many cameos in the movie are well known actors. This was lost on me.
The main story involves the police force investigating a series of murders in which young men have been found smiling before death. Each of them has dated an actress and her older sister just before dying. The older sister asks them to take out insurance naming her as beneficiary. The older sister is played by Yan Liu who constantly wears a revealing top. The movie and its characters ogle her repeatedly. I suppose this is supposed to be funny. Just look at her IMDb page for the bikini pic that must have been used to market the movie.
Much of the comedy is like that. The comedy aims for a young demographic. I couldn't tell which demographic. It is all over the place as if the director thought of something new for each sequence. The movie has many cartoony sound effects to accompany its wire kung fu fight scenes and intentionally bad CGI. A child might enjoy it the sound effects but the film's violence is too much for younger viewers. The jokes about marriage and dating would exceed them too. Characters float in and out of the narrative with subplots that go nowhere. I kept wishing for one of the threads to get more development so I would have something to pass the time.
The fight scenes are intentionally exaggerated with kicks and body slams coming from miles away. Jet has a few close up fights that give you the illusion that you're watching a Corey Yuen (yes, he was involved in this movie) action scene. However, the camera doesn't stay on the action long enough before a cutaway happens. That or someone is thrown into an object slowing down the whole scene.
Nothing about Badges of Fury worked for me. The entire film felt like a misguided student project where the director tried whatever he felt like doing. If you want a pure action movie it fails and there are far funnier martial arts comedies.
The main story involves the police force investigating a series of murders in which young men have been found smiling before death. Each of them has dated an actress and her older sister just before dying. The older sister asks them to take out insurance naming her as beneficiary. The older sister is played by Yan Liu who constantly wears a revealing top. The movie and its characters ogle her repeatedly. I suppose this is supposed to be funny. Just look at her IMDb page for the bikini pic that must have been used to market the movie.
Much of the comedy is like that. The comedy aims for a young demographic. I couldn't tell which demographic. It is all over the place as if the director thought of something new for each sequence. The movie has many cartoony sound effects to accompany its wire kung fu fight scenes and intentionally bad CGI. A child might enjoy it the sound effects but the film's violence is too much for younger viewers. The jokes about marriage and dating would exceed them too. Characters float in and out of the narrative with subplots that go nowhere. I kept wishing for one of the threads to get more development so I would have something to pass the time.
The fight scenes are intentionally exaggerated with kicks and body slams coming from miles away. Jet has a few close up fights that give you the illusion that you're watching a Corey Yuen (yes, he was involved in this movie) action scene. However, the camera doesn't stay on the action long enough before a cutaway happens. That or someone is thrown into an object slowing down the whole scene.
Nothing about Badges of Fury worked for me. The entire film felt like a misguided student project where the director tried whatever he felt like doing. If you want a pure action movie it fails and there are far funnier martial arts comedies.