For Bad Boys Only (2000)

My high-budget, big action and triad genre expectations were quickly put to rest as Raymond Yip's For Bad Boys Only got rolling. It's anything but suited to such tags. And nor did the title seem intended to bar a key demographic from entering the cinemas either. Instead it refers to a three-person private investigator team called Bad Boy Detective House, or Bad Boy Squad for short. They're King (Ekin Cheng), Jack (Louis Koo) and Queen (Kristy Yang). They have a theme song, a title logo popping up here and there, and they're slouchy laid-back sorts. A couple of mini-plots display their credentials before the story kicks off proper.

A man named Tin Ai (Daniel Chan) approaches the team to find his missing Macanese girlfriend, Shadow (Shu Qi). She's been gone for 14 months and he wants her found. As it happens, Shadow looks like a girl seen earlier by King and Jack in a nightclub. While Tin Ai can't afford their fees, Queen persuades her Bad Boy teammates to go hunting.

By coincidence, a Taiwanese gang boss is also seeking a girl looking like Shadow, spotted by a shutterbug in Hong Kong. She might be the offspring of him and his former girlfriend - the renowned "Asian Antelope" Kwan Tsin (Shu Qi). The money's good and they pick up his job too.

Out sleuthing, King soon finds the girl from the nightclub. But all is not as simple as it first seemed. The girl's called Eleven (Shu Qi), she has superhuman abilities and there's a bunch of toughies tracking her down...

Cloning and private investigation storylines in For Bad Boys Only deliver the main gist - a tale about "real love" and how to find it (or how not to). King is a flirty young playboy repeating lame pick-up tricks, spouting philosophies on dating and always kicking back with his white blazer flapping open. Jack's too reserved on the love front as he keeps himself off the market in search of the perfect woman. Queen loves but isn't loved back, and Tin Ai is the token "good man". Eleven can't grasp the meaning of love, and King turns out not the best person to ask. Come the final credits, viewers have seen love triumphing - even overriding a "violence chip" implanted in the brain!

All is handled in what appears a knowingly fluffy and cheesy way. In fact, it all plays out like cheapo TV, with big name stars, too many side plots and mini-episodes, as well as title card repeats, an occasional theme and simple computer animations. Not enough attention is placed on any of the storylines but the film doesn't take itself seriously anyway, and the actors seem enthusiastic enough. One choice moment comes as Ekin first meets Eleven and finds out she can fly - he just grins, holds her hand and they leap off the roof of Revenue Tower together. It's that kind of film.

Production standards are surprisingly low, with some scenes seeming out of sequence and with costumes repeated on occasion. Location continuity is all over the place. Presentation on the big screen shows little flair, though a few sets are interesting and the cheery cast brightens things up. While it seems purposely light and weak on story development, and constantly shallow in the relationship threads, I still found For Bad Boys Only harmless, enjoyable and sometimes quite funny. There's a somewhat old-style feel to the group and relationship comedy, even if the lady in the team of three lead characters gets less screen time, and the result is more spirited and playful than expected. Ekin Cheng is entertaining in the lead; all smiles and frisky to boot. Shu Qi's fairly good in three roles and should please her fans here. Louis Koo isn't really used enough for viewers to care for his character. Kristy Yang is passable and Daniel Chan is nothing special with little space for his side character. Cameos dot the film but aren't intrusive considering all the detours already being flung at viewers.

The fine For Bad Boys Only hand-painted billboard at Causeway Bay's President Theatre.

And the President's street-level painted billboard draws on the original poster design.

Credits:

Directed by Raymond Yip
Screenplay by Manfred Wong
Starring Ekin Cheng Yi-kin, Shu Qi (Shu Kei), Louis Koo Tin-lok, Kristy Yang, Daniel Chan, Mark Cheng Ho-nam, Josie Ho, Frankie Ng Chi-hung, Blackie Ko and Gigi Lai