ONLY FOOLS RUSH IN (四海) (2022)

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Han Han
Cast: Liu Hao-Ran, Shen Teng, Liu Hao-Cun, Andrew Yin Zheng, Zhou Qi, Qiao Shan, Feng Shao Feng, Wang Yan Lin, Zhang You Hao, Zack Gao, Huang Xiao Ming, Jordan Chan, Alex Man, Estelle Wu
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Rating: PG (Some Coarse Language)
Released By: Encore Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 1 February 2022 

Synopsis: Wu Renyao, a young motorcyclist performing stunts on a dock, with his clumsy father, Wu Renteng, who's barely visited him over the years; Zhou Huansong, a restaurant waitress dreaming of living in a big city, with her dramatic but earnest brother, Zhou Huange... Such are some of the characters caught up in the nexus of fate. Both wanting to become the opposite of their closest family member, Yao and Huansong try to support each other while remaining independent, but miscommunications haunt their relationship. Driven by the changes in their lives, Yao and Huansong leaves their hometown to tour the big big world on a journey of unpredictability, filled with love and departures, amusement and sadness. 

Movie Review:

The multi-talented Han Han returns with his fourth self-penned, self-directed feature film starring his regular collaborators Shen Teng, Yin Zheng but with upcoming actors Liu Haoran (From the Detective Chinatown franchise) and Liu Haochun (Cliff Walkers) as the movie’s main leads.

While the China movie industry in recent years is banking on big budgeted movie spectacles be it propaganda war movies, CG heavy period flicks and sci-fi disaster blockbusters, Han Han continues to tell his own stories that are honestly not constraint by market trends and demands. His unique voice has once again unfolded. Only Fools Rush In is another wondrous story from the multihyphenate. Just don’t rush into the cinemas expecting a typical Lunar New Year feel-good comedy because let’s face it, it’s not.

Wu Renyao (Liu Haoran) is a young man residing at a seaside village who earns a living doing motorcycle stunts. Since young, Renyao has been living with his now demented grandmother with his estranged father, Wu Renteng (Shen Teng) paying them a visit once a long while. As a self-proclaimed young man with little to no friends, Renyao is smitten with Huansong (Liu Haochun), a waitress working at the local roadside restaurant. Before he plucks up the courage to approach Huansong, her brother Huange (Yin Zheng) appears in the picture introducing Renyao to his makeshift motorcycle team who races with a rival racing gang for money.

Han Han actually packs a lot into Only Fools Rush In. Instead of a routine movie about romance, underdog racing and dreams, things worked a bit differently right here. There’s definitely no triad entanglement liked A Moment of Romance or a racer evaluating his love life in Full Throttle. And definitely no Andy Lau to be seen here. What we have is a tragic case of life goes wrong. With the accidental death of Huange, Huansong is left with mountains of debt due to his brother involvement in opening up a dance club and running a motorcycle team. Seeing that his beloved Huansong is in trouble, Renyao is bent on helping her in repaying the debts. The only way to raise the exorbitant amount of money is to partake in illegal racing which Huansong is dead against.

Usually, Han Han has the tendency to sneak in some zany humour into his features, Duckweed and Pegasus has no lack of his madcap antics and punchlines. However, Han seems to scale back on the comedy this time. With the exception of Wu Renteng who dazzles with his amusing bantering (watch out for his explanation of his watch and a subsequent English translation job went wrong) with his son in the first half, the rest of the movie is far more subdued and melancholic.

As Renyao and Huansong moved into big city Guangzhou in search of better job opportunities, Han cleverly sneaks in a social commentary about youngsters moving from the countryside to the cities only to find out that the pastures there are obviously not as green as they thought. Big names liked Feng Shaofeng cameos as a traffic policeman, Huang Xiaoming as a made good countryman, Showta and Jordan Chan appears as Renyao’s competitor whose character speaks in his native tongue. All three genuinely elicits some laughs except for HK veteran actor Alex Man who for no reasons cameo as a driver. He is dubbed in mandarin by the way. Another comedian Qiao Shan appears in the second half of the movie as an amusement operator who gave a big assignment to Renyao.

While it’s spoilerish to go on to talk about the fate of Renyao and Huansong, Only Fools Rush In marks Han Han’s most serious and most mature work to date. The narrative is surprisingly poetic and even though Han traded in his love for rally racing to motor racing, this is not a movie that is determined by the presence of it. In the end, Only Fools Rush In comes highly recommended. As a gentle reminder in case you forgot, this is not your typical Lunar New Year comedy.

Movie Rating:

(Han’s most mature work to date, a worthwhile drama about love and life)

Review by Linus Tee