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The Heroic Trio

The Heroic Trio

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Heroic Trio is a great movie.
Review: Old style super-cinematic fighting where some have extraordinary martial abilities such as flying and having super powers meets the current day. Some may find parts of the plot a little hard to swallow as great emphasis is put on some things that should be trivial. I thought it was really interesting to see Michelle Yeoh as a villan for a change. While she shares the spot light with two other female characters this doesn't detract in any way from the movie; it makes it that much more interesting. It's refreshing to see a movie where the super heroes, worlds above the average joe, are women. Though there's not as many fights scenes as some of her other movies (Wing Chun, for example), Heroic Trio is refreshing with it's application of some old themes in our modern world. A definite, "must see," highly recommended for true martial arts movie enthusiasts and those new to the martial scene. Again, the shaky plot is the only chink in the armor of this movie, which is what lowered the rating to 4 stars. Michelle Yeoh fans will definitely want to run out and get their hands on this!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Absurdly over-the-top, even for Hong Kong
Review: One of Michelle Yeoh's most outre' adventures yet; a mad collision of genres and ideas in a movie that more often than not works on sheer brio. Yeoh, Anita Mui, and Meggie Cheung are the Heroic Trio of the title, a gang of female warriors who're out to defend a city that's under seige by a witch who's stealing babies to make some incoherent prophecy come true. The plot is not the point: the incredibly whacked-out stunts and action scenes are. Case in point: Cheung needs to get access to the upper floors of a building. While whistling "Yankee Doodle," she lights up a stick of dynamite, throws it under a 55-gallon drum, then climbs aboard and rides the blast all the way over the building. If you can swallow that, the rest of the movie is a piece of cake.

The two biggest flaws: one, the film's very eccentricity makes it hard to swallow at times. Sometimes more is just too much. Second, the dub job is thoroughly awful; this is one of those movies that they should have just titled and been done with it. (Curses on all HK importers who refuse to include the original language tracks and soft titles on their DVDs.) If you're a Yeoh fan, or a devotee of any of the other ladies here, grab it and run with it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Heroic Trio
Review: Proud to say that I do own the Tai Seng release of this DVD. That itself is a good thing because it doesn't have the garbage sound actors, the good stuff isn't edited, and what's the point of seeing this movie if you're not seeing it the way it should be?

But, I will say that if you do decide to pick up this movie, first, look for the Tai Seng release of it. Though it is out of print, it is still around in places.

If you can't, then, fall down to the "mouse" and pick this copy up.

A little about the movie: It was influenced by the movie "Batman," and the directors (Ching Siu Tung & Johnny To) liked it so much, they wanted to make a film just lke that. And, how can you go wrong with Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Chung and Anita Mui? You truly can't.

I would have given this movie 4 stars, but, seeing I'm not too big a fan of what Disney did to this version, I can only give it a 3. Horrid dubbing and editing so obvious to those that have seen the original.

Disney, as well as all the other movie studios, you need to stop cutting and dubbing the Asian films - you do a horrible job. Leave it the way it was supposed to be, and give us the subtitles instead.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Heroic Trio
Review: Proud to say that I do own the Tai Seng release of this DVD. That itself is a good thing because it doesn't have the garbage sound actors, the good stuff isn't edited, and what's the point of seeing this movie if you're not seeing it the way it should be?

But, I will say that if you do decide to pick up this movie, first, look for the Tai Seng release of it. Though it is out of print, it is still around in places.

If you can't, then, fall down to the "mouse" and pick this copy up.

A little about the movie: It was influenced by the movie "Batman," and the directors (Ching Siu Tung & Johnny To) liked it so much, they wanted to make a film just lke that. And, how can you go wrong with Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Chung and Anita Mui? You truly can't.

I would have given this movie 4 stars, but, seeing I'm not too big a fan of what Disney did to this version, I can only give it a 3. Horrid dubbing and editing so obvious to those that have seen the original.

Disney, as well as all the other movie studios, you need to stop cutting and dubbing the Asian films - you do a horrible job. Leave it the way it was supposed to be, and give us the subtitles instead.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Taking the formula to the limit
Review: Somebody is abducting infant boys in the metropolis and law enforcement is remiss to explain why. As we quickly discover it ends up being a Dark Master of the sewers. One of the kidnapped boys is to be selected as next emperor of this half-world and the rest will be terminated. In this very popular Hong Kong action movie about a trio of fighting females overcome their own ghosts and differences and join forces. As the jacket of the DVD explains, the police have use of the services of Shadow Fox (Anita Mui), Mercy (Maggie Cheung) and Michelle Yeoh (Invisible Woman) to stop the evil beast.

Shadow Fox (Anita Mui), and so happens to be married to police officer Damian Lau. In times of crisis, she changes to her alter ego Shadow Fox and patrols rooftops. Conversely, Mercy (Maggie Cheung) - short for Mercenary, is - as the name suggests - a killer for hire. Invisible Woman (Michelle Yeoh) starts out in the movie as the slave to the Emperor of the Underworld adding complexity to the composition of The Heroic Trio. This all-star trio of crime fighter, killer for hire, and lackey come together to form a tenuous yet effective bond.

From Ching Siu-Tung comes a great action movie. Hong Kong action films do not stray too often from the formula of the three-babes and it does not seem to be dying out anytime soon. Along the same lines such films So Close and Naked Weapon (both also available on Amazon.com) also take the formula and run with it. For anyone interested in this genre those are tow other movies to purchase. The Heroic Trio detours in the end to a strange Terminatoresque - which you will need to watch the movie to figure out, that's far from necessary - but makes it nonetheless entertaining. I can't get enough of wirework films so for all those HK film enthusiasts - this is keeper.

Miguel Llora

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The Heroic Trio
Review: Starring Anita Mui ('Rumble In The Bronx'), Michelle Yeoh ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon') and Maggie Cheung ('In The Mood For Love') as three crime-fighting superheroines in Hong Kong's answer to Gotham City, 'The Heroic Trio' is a high-kicking, crimson-soaked comic book action romp that could only come out of our favourite country for hi-octane beat-em-ups. As you might have guessed, it's hardly Oscar-winning stuff; the plot is at times incomprehensible, the sets cheap and the acting camp, but it all adds to the charm. This is, after all, not a film to be analysed, but enjoyed with popcorn on a Friday night. And, as that, it succeeds - the action sequences are very exciting, the wire work is well done, the original score is superb and, of course, our three leading ladies light up the screen at every turn. But those weak in the knee may wish to turn away at certain points as it does get a tad grisley at times, what with decapitations, exploding body parts, cannibalism and baby-murdering. Indeed, the violence is so over-the-top at times that it becomes not so much offensive as it does laughable. Which was probably the idea.

So while the movie itself is recommended, Buena Vista's DVD release definitely isn't. The Disney company has once again seen fit to edit yet another Asian movie for its Western market - this time by three minutes to remove the aforementioned gory moments. And, as expected, the original Cantonese soundtrack has been replaced with a dreadful English dub and generic score - denying us the pleasure of hearing Anita Mui's two excellent songs. Still, this is what we've come to expect from the distributor that seems to delight in infuriating hardcore Chinese film fans. Those wishing to own the uncut version of the film would be advised to seek out the 'Universe' DVD from Hong Kong or the now out-of-print 'Tai Seng' American release. Better still (if you have PAL/Region 2 capabilities), waiting for the forthcoming remastered Special Edition from British DVD label 'Hong Kong Legends' would be the ideal solution.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: The Heroic Trio
Review: The bad editing turned me off to this movie. I didn't need to see the wires to know that they were using them. Thru the whole movie I spotted items that should have been edited out.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Heroic Trio Cut and English Dubbed
Review: The Buena Vista DVD is cut but at least 2 minutes and is missing the original Cantonese soundtrack. Real fans of the movie will pass on this one and get the import from Hong Kong which is uncut.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: AVOID BUENA VISTA VERSION!
Review: The Buena Vista version of this film has been cut by roughly 20 MINUTES (compare running time in the specs with the other version on DVD), rescored, and otherwise cheaply altered. Disney/Miramax do this with ALL of their DVD releases of Hong Kong classics, which they have more or less monopolized the rights to in terms of US distribution. I wouldn't mind so much if they would simply release the movies as they were intended to be seen -- but this is ridiculous. The changes are all completely unnecessary. Thanks for nothing, Miramax. Harvey Weinstein fails to realize that nobody -- NOBODY -- who truly likes and wishes to own a movie like The Heroic Trio is going to prefer a heavily cut down, edited, altered version, once they realize that is what they are getting. So pointless. Anybody who values asian cinema at all should avoid buying any foreign films from Disney/Miramax/Buena Vista. A lot of American distributors are guilty of these practices, but some are helping improvements along -- for instance, Columbia TriStar's domestic release of the "Once Upon a Time in China" trilogy is perfectly satisfactory. It is in its original widescreen ratio, uncut, with its original score and audio tracks; clear subtitles are offered, as well as an English dubbed version for those so inclined. Is such a basic package really asking so much?

When it comes to this particular movie, I recommend seeking out an import version if you are going to purchase it. The import versions have failings of their own, but at least you'll see the COMPLETE movie as it was intended to be seen.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: these ain't no angels
Review: The Heroic Trio is your typical over-the-top Hong Kong action flick, with outrageous stunts and action that will have you choking on your popcorn in astonishment (I guarantee you will never forget the decapitation cage or the motorcycle flying sideways through the air-- among other things). Though it has been compared to Charlie's Angels, this is much more a comic book fantasy, and if you accept it on the level of Batman or Spiderman, then you'll do just fine. My only complaint is that the women have an amazing ability to recover from their injuries. And the last line is a hoot; after accessorizing their outfits with capes, the one says, "The press are coming; we have to look good." (!!) If only more of the dialogue was that goofy. Still, after one viewing you'll be saying Lucy, Cameron, and Drew Who?


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