i want a 七仔!

i entered the movie theater tonight with much anticipation for 长江七号 (CJ7) as i did enjoy "Kungfu Hustle" and "少林足球" though i was never a fan of Stephen Chow's slapstick comedies.

However, i left the theater somewhat unsatisfied & was phew that i paid $8 for each tix.
Coz as usual, u will see that usual few personalities Chow used in his every movie, doing those same old funny practice mainly expressed through the exaggeration of physical actions and scripts. Honestly speaking, some of them are good if at their own (like the “fat girl”), but put everything into a show, it seems too scattered.

The vital problem is that Chow doesn’t even appear very often in this whole 88mins show and whenever he appears, his lines are always the same; "We may be poor but we must have courage, we must have backbone, we must not steal”. On the other hand, the kid actress Xu Jiao gave a pretty convincing performance of a young poor boy.

The only thing i like about CJ7 is the heavily CGI-ed furry-head-elastic-body-dog-like alien which strongly reminds me of my own alien at home – toto. That alien will wag his tail antenna in this case when he is happy; roll over for a belly rub & make cute puppy-like sounds to communicate with his owners. Just like what toto does.

The supposedly "tear-jerking" scene does not turn on my tears tap, not even nearly. But my mum was sobbing away (but then she can cry even while watching 还珠格格!). i personally find CJ7's storyline totally unconvincing & uncreative coz it seems too much like a rip-off from ET which is a way better movie.

Overall, i would say CJ7 is amusing, but far-off from being Chow's greatest. It only make me yearn for a 七仔!