VCD cover  Oooh, that manly Ekin

The Legend of Speed

2000

Director: Andrew Lau

Stars: Ekin Cheng, Kelly Lam, Moses Chan, Simon Yam, Blackie Ko, Cecilia Chung, Patrick Tam, Jerry Lamb

Ekin Cheng plays an underground racer named Sky who seems to be at the top of his game. After beating a young punk played by Moses Chan, Sky finds out he can't pay back the $1 million bet, so Sky busts Chan's leg. Turns out Chan is part of one of the top racing gangs in Hong Kong -- in fact, his brother is Tang Fung (Simon Yam), who was the best street racer in HK before getting sent to jail. Fung returns to take his revenge on Sky, and whips him like a red-headed stepkid, managing to kill Sky's girlfriend (Kelly Lam) in the process. Humiliated and on the run from the law, Sky heads to Thailand to search for his long-lost father, Black Tung (Blackie Ko), so that he can learn how to beat Fung.

If you've read a few of my reviews before, you'll know that I am not Ekin Cheng's biggest fan. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he's one of the worst -- if not the worst -- actors to come out of Hong Kong in recent years. And judging by newsgroup posters, this movie ranks as one of his worst -- and that's saying a lot. I can see why some people hate this movie. Let's run down the list, shall we?

While I agree with the above points (and more), I still found The Legend of Speed enjoyable. Why? I don't exactly know. Andrew Lau's movies -- while certainly not masterpieces -- capture kind of a pop culture soap opera feel that's like the proverbial potato chip...you can't watch just one. I really can't defend this movie on any kind of critical or academic level. It's just one of those "guilty pleasure" movies, I guess. Now I know may people profess themselves to be film conisseurs and would not come anywhere close to a movie like this, but face it, you have to have a greasy cheeseburger once in a while to appreciate a good filet mignon when it comes around. The Legend of Speed offers up some nice eye candy (especially cutie Cecilia Chung), exciting racing sequences and more than a few (unintentional) laughs, all in an easy-to-digest package.

RATING: 7

A review of the VCD for this movie can be found here

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