Not everything Clarence Fok makes is worthy of attention, but he's capable of directing surprisingly entertaining second tier genre filler. One of those directors you turn to once you've seen all the high-profile films in a particular genre.
Movies
There's certainly no lack of Hong Kong Triad films. I've seen the most prominent ones already, once in a while I find a lesser known one that has managed to escape my attention. Century of the Dragon is such a film, though considering all the talent involved I'm surprised I never noticed this one before. Shing is a standout trainee who is sent on an undercover mission. He has to infiltrate the Hung Hing gang and befriend Fei Lung, one of their toughest leaders. Once there he learns that Fei Lung isn't actively participating in the Triad business he tries to inform the cops of the situation, but they won't listen to Shing. With Louis Koo and Andy Lau in the lead you know performances will be on point. Clarence Fok isn't the most gifted director, but as part of the Hong Kong genre machine he does a pretty decent job. The film's a bit long and it offers nothing you haven't seen elsewhere, but the result is pretty solid Triad filler.Read all
Core entertainment. A Hong Kong live action version that ties into the Crying Freeman franchise. Expect some over the top action scenes, a dash of comedy and some romantic filler. It's a vintage Hong Kong combination that is known to work and doesn't disappoint. Definitely not the most remarkable film, but very solid filler.
I don't turn to Clarence Fok's to be blown away, but when looking for fun, under the radar filler his oeuvre does host some interesting films. I'd never heard of They Came to Rob Hong Kong before, but the cast looked promising enough and the economic runtime made it a perfect option for easy filler. This is one of those wacky genre blends that tries to cram everything into a single film, though underneath everything is played for laughs. There are strong action and crime elements present, but if you can't stand Hong Kong's peculiar sense of humor then you're not going to get very far with this film. With people like Eric Tsang, Sandra Kwan and Stanley Fung on board you should have a decent idea of what to expect. Fok's direction is rather basic, but there's enough silliness for a few giggles, the pacing is perfect and there are at least a handful of memorable moments. Surely not the cream of the crop, but solid entertainment nonetheless.Read all
Based on the people involved (Clarence Fok, Donnie Yen, Angelababy) your expectations may be high, just remember that Hong Kong films really aren't that good with romance, especially not the commercial ones. Together is not a bad film, it just isn't a very good one either. Too overdone and too cheesy to work well.
Clarence Fok doing what he always does. Her Name Is Cat is bog standard Hong Kong action work, with a few raunchier scenes that are tailored to stay right below the Cat III rating. That's when you know a film is made to please a specific audience rather than chase any artistic aspirations. Don't expect anything great or remarkable, but within its shelf filler context the film isn't all that bad really. I'm not a big Michael Wong fan, but this is actually one of his more decent performances, the pacing is pretty solid and Fok's direction get points for trying. That's more than I'd expected. The action scenes in particular stand out. Nicely edited, shot with the necessary flair and not lacking in numbers. In between the quality takes an expected nose dive, but it's never too cheap or cringeworthy. If you've seen all the notorious and stand out Hong Kong action flicks, this is decent filler when you need a fix.Read all
Clarence Fok delivers a pretty generic Hong Kong crime/action flick. There are some familiar faces, a few decent action scenes and the runtime and pacing are on point. That's all pretty much expected though, what is lacking is anything particular to set this film apart from a million others that look and feel just like it. When a Taiwanese gang boss resigns, he appoints Alan, his adopted son, as his follow-up. His two biological sons aren't too happy with this decision. In order to get what they feel is rightfully theirs, they team up with a police informant in an attempt to get Alan jailed, freeing up the position of crime boss once again. With people like Andy Lau, Simon Yam, and Leon Lai on board, you know you're in pretty good hands. Fok's direction is decent too, but nothing exceptional. It's a decent enough film if you're content with a bit of HK crime filler, just don't expect the world of it. This is a bog-standard crime/action flick, for better or for worse.Read all
Some familiar faces (Man-Tat Ng and a very young Louis Koo) can't save this cheesy and juvenile comedy. The acting is well over-the-top, the situational humour isn't funny and the film looks incredibly cheap. At least it's short and upbeat, which makes it somewhat watchable, but unless you're a hardcore HK comedy fan it's probably better to stay away from this one.
Silly but overly long 80s Hong Kong comedy. Not really Chow Yun-Fat's strong point, not really an outstanding niche to begin with. At nearly two hours long, this film really started to drag and annoy during the final 30 minutes. A fun cameo by Jing Wong and a decent performance by Eric Tsang couldn't save this one I'm afraid.
