MACHI ACTION (变身) (2013)

Genre: Comedy
Director: Jeff Chang
Cast: Bolin Chen, Owodog, Chen Ting Xuan, Guo Xue Fu, Qiu Yan-xiang, Stanley Huang, Jeffrey Huang, Vivan Hsu
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 18 April 2013

Synopsis: What happens when a costumed universal space hero is put out to pasture? Or, rather, the actor portraying him is? That's the basic concept behind Jeff Chang's Taiwanese sci-fi action comedy Machi Action. A surprise hit in Taiwan - where it opened in the third spot behind The Grandmaster and Life Of Pi - stars Bolin Chen as the actor thrown out of work when producers decide they need a fresher face to stomp on their weekly galactic monsters. It's the sort of concept you would expect to come out of Japan, if anywhere, but Chang seems to have nailed it and the trailer is a clever, playful and heartfelt bit of work.

Movie Review:

Gasp! Has Taiwan attempted its first superhero movie? Well, not really. ‘Machi Action’ isn’t a superhero movie per se, but a whimsical comedy-drama that follows the fate of a TV actor named Tienan (which literally means ‘Iron Man’ in Chinese) after the live-action kids’ TV series in which he plays the costumed superhero character ‘SuperHero Fly’ is cancelled. Thing is – not only is that the only character he has ever known, he genuinely believes that he was born to play it, which of course makes it doubly hard for him to get out of character.

It’s a high-concept premise all right, and for the large part – save for a deus ex machina towards the end -  director Jeff Chang and screenwriter Giddens Ko succeed in creating a wittily entertaining meta-fiction that turns out surprisingly poignant.  Right from the start, there’s no mistaking a distinct sense of self-awareness to the material – the opening scene in which Fly insists on filming another take of a climactic fight between superhero and resident baddie to get it right specifically highlights the limitations of doing so because of the cheap costumes and the makeshift props on set – and that tongue-in-cheek attitude accounts for much of the humour in the film at least in the first act.

Indeed, those who have grown up watching ‘Ultraman’ and numerous other similar Japanese live-action superhero serials will find something to reminiscence in the sheer old-fashioned nature of ‘SuperHero Fly’ – from the disproportionately scaled TV studio backdrops, to the crude special effects, and even the catchphrases that tend to be the first thing you say when you imagine yourself as that very superhero. But there’s only so much one can go on nostalgia, and after the business-minded daughter (Puff Guo) of the TV station’s founder takes over from her ailing father, she decides it’s high time for the show to be revamped – i.e. by killing off Fly and replacing him with a new-age superhero.

Not only is Tienan booted off the set, so too is his best buddy and co-star Monster (Qiu Yanxiang), who dons the villainous costume opposite his superhero act. In place of Tienan is up-and-coming teenage star Face (Owodog Zhuang), with a cocky persona to match his equally arrogant punk look. Despite his pleas to Face, the new director Two Knives (which in Chinese is an obvious riff on screenwriter Giddens’ Mandarin name) and Chairwoman Su, the meteoric rise of Face’s popularity ultimately work against Tienan’s attempts to revive his character. What follows in the second act has some genuinely funny bits – in particular, Fly’s reincarnation on the set of a 3D porno film – but overall, Tienan’s struggle to divorce himself from his character gets a little too repetitive.

Further confirming that the narrative has pretty much run out of steam, the third act forces a clichéd resolution where Fly gets to demonstrate his real- and reel-life superhero qualities. From robbing kindergartens, a gang of thieves - whose leader was humiliated as a child by his friends for embracing a villainous TV character instead of the superhero – suddenly holds hostage an entire crowd of people gathered at a live studio concert event meant to promote Face, giving Fly the perfect opportunity to save the day. Not helping the contrivance of this twist is Chang’s somewhat clumsy handling of the parallel subplot involving the band of bandits, which appear but twice throughout the entire story before suddenly being exploited as a device for closure.

Ignore that hiccup however, and you’ll find that Chang’s feature filmmaking debut is in fact pretty impressive, finding the right balance between frivolity and sobriety to hit just the right notes in most of the scenes. As with his record-breaking ‘You Are the Apple of My Eye’, Giddens demonstrates once again his flair for combining slapstick humour with tender heartfelt drama – and Chang complements that with a sensitive directorial hand (as well as some evocative contemporary soft-rock tunes) that are especially effective in bringing out Tienan’s melancholy when it dawns on him just how replaceable Fly was.

Perhaps most surprising is how engaging Chen Bolin is in the role of Fly. Never quite known for his acting skills, Bolin conveys with acuity the naivety, disillusionment and subsequent enlightenment of his character – though it’s likely that one will remember his sheer infectious enthusiasm at portraying what is essentially an 80s superhero. Providing much comic relief as his sidekick/ co-star is Yanxiang, whose knack for deadpan humour is simply brilliant. Unfortunately for Owodog’s fans, his role here is largely one-note, overshadowed by other supporting acts including Chen Tingxuan’s cute demure production assistant Jingfen with a crush for Tienan and even Stanley Huang’s buff porno star.

Without sounding patronising, the film also celebrates the everyday superheroes in our lives, defining them as the very people who lift a hand to help us when we are in need. It’s a befittingly conclusion that is especially relevant considering Tienan’s motivations for being a superhero in his younger days, tying up the more affecting side of a movie that offers both big-hearted laughs alongside sweet intimate moments. It is also characteristically Taiwanese in its whimsical nature, and those who are fans of Taiwan cinema will surely enjoy this tremendously. 

Movie Rating:

(Blending tongue-in-cheek humour with poignant human drama, this ode to old-school superhero TV series of the 80s and early 90s is a winning whimsical delight)

Review by Gabriel Chong