The Wicked City (1992)

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The Wicked City is a surreal fiction film directed by Peter Mak and produced by Tsui Hark. Tsui Hark co-produced and co-wrote this live action adaptation of the Japanese Manga Wicked City. Previously also an animated Japanese feature, the comic book aspects are brought to life in a way only Hong Kong cinema could, in 1992. Tsui Hark can inject his productions with genuine thought but he suitably retains cheesy aspects of comic strips in general here instead. It means that characterization is kept simple, visual style is extreme and, for this particular comic book adaptation, the special effects mayhem is high.

The Wicked City won't be remembered for its drama though, even if proceedings and the theme of humanity lost is handled straight. No, this is a showcase for Hong Kong filmmakers knowledge of how to use their limited special effects resources to delivery energetic images. The Wicked City being a prime example and the physical effects are pulled off with an admirable, cheesy style that greatly entertains. Being the trendsetter that Tsui Hark is (even when producing), a fair amount of CGI is also employed throughout, which obviously is crude because it wasn't an aspect that Hong Kong cinema fully took to heart until the latter half of the 90s with movies like Stormriders (directed by the co-cinematographer on this film, Andrew Lau). The story took place in Hong Kong in a conflict between worlds of Humans and "Rapters" before the handover. Special polices in the city are investigating on a mysterious drug named "Happiness". Taki, one of the polices, meets his old lover Windy, who is a rapter and now a mistress of a powerful old rapter named Daishu. Taki and other special polices track down and fight Daishu, but later find that he hoped to coexist with humans. The son of Daishu, Shudo, is the mastermind. In the end Shudo is defeated, but Daishu and Taki's friends die, too. Windy leaves alone.

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