PETALING STREET WARRIORS (2011)

Genre: Comedy/Action/Drama
Director: Sampson Yuen & James Lee
Cast: Mark Lee, Yeo Yann Yann, Chris Tong, Namewee, Alvin Wong, Ramasundran Rengan, Frederick Lee, Peter Ong, John Cheng, Brendan Yuen, Rayson Tan, Jack Neo, Henry Thia, Ho Yuhang
RunTime: 1 hr 48 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: PG13 (Some Sexual References and Violence)
Official Website:

Opening Day: 29 December 2011

Synopsis: Set against the background of Petaling Street in 1908, Petaling Street Warriors tells the story of a pair of married couple, Shi Duyao (Mark Lee) and Zhung Lichun (Yeo Yann Yann), who operate a Hokkien mee stall in Petaling Street, where they suffer from the inefficiency of the colonial government and suppression by the Chinese gangsters. While trying to impress his wife, Duyao encounters a mysterious yet strikingly beautiful kungfu expert, Xiaoju (Chris Tong), who claims that Duyao is a descendant of the missing Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty. To stop a group of Qing warriors and Japanese ninjas from robbing a treasure map that Duyao doesn't even know he has, Lichun and her cousin, Liukun (Namewee), finally reveal their kungfu, turning Petaling Street into the ultimate battleground. Facing enemies of unthinkable powers, could Duyao unravel the mystery of his real identity and come to his wife's rescue just in time?.

Movie Review: 

The Petaling Street Warriors is a proud production from directors Sampson Yuen, James Lee and their team. This made-in-Malaysia film is pride as the first period gongfu comedy in the Singapore-Malaysia region. Lending experience and skills of Hong Kong action choreographer Ma Yuk-Sing, the film is not only limited to the Singapore and Malaysia audiences. The film is also due to release in Taiwan, and the team is still in negotiation with the Hong Kong distributors.

The movie is set in year 1908 at Petaling Street, telling the tale of the seemingly simple and common street hawker Shi Duyao (Mark Lee) and Zhung Lichun (Yeo Yann Yann). Shi is eventually enlightened about his true identity after a series of incidents, and turns out that his wife, Zhung, and two other acquaintances are his bodyguards. The story is loosely based on the legend of the missing emperor, Emperor Jianwen of Ming Dynasty, who is rumoured to have fled to South-East Asia after being dethroned. All these background research and the scripting started way before this film was filmed. Inclusive of the post-production and the filming, the team took 2 years to churn out this work. This meticulous effort includes refurbishing a street at Ipoh, Malaysia, to reproduce the look and the feel of the 1900s. The set though small, is still rather convincing and vivid.

As a gongfu comedy, obviously two elements are played up, mainly the humour and the action. Sad to say, although action choreographer Ma lends his help to this film, the fact that none of these actors or actresses are action stars is still fairly obvious in the film. No sophisticated action sequence to watch, just the simple and frills-free ones. Considering the massive efforts and coordination for the action sequences, this is probably acceptable for the first time. Humour wise, it really fail to satisfy. The bulk of the jokes made are either erotic or localized. By localized, it means that the jokes are based on only what the locals would understand. Take for instance the phrase ‘There is no piracy on Petaling Street!’ is repeated a few times. For those who frequent Kuala Lumpur, you’ll probably know that Petaling Street is in fact infamous for the pirated merchandises and DVDs/CDs. Yes, this is the kind of cheap humour that attempts to poke fun. This eventually flawed the film as it restricts its appeal. It is obviously on different level as fellow gongfu comedy film producers from Hong Kong.

Nonetheless, one can still anticipate some little surprises along the way as there is a great deal of familiar faces in the film. The entourage includes local comedians Henry Thia and Jack Neo. Also, look out for the cameo appearance of Liang Po Po; tried but still as iconic and nostalgic as it is. On this note, kudos to the Yuen and Lee for the tremendous efforts! Undeniably a sincere work, but please try again… 

MOVIE RATING:

(Spending the New Year with the Petaling Street Warriors? Maybe not… too cheesy for comfort!)

Review by Tho Shu Ling