I Love Maria

A typical Hong Kong vehicle, with some minor Japanese influences. Hong Kong isn't too skilled when it comes to sci-fi/mecha adventures though, and so the result is quite cheesy, instead of fun and badass. The film still works as a somewhat quirky Hark comedy, but I would only recommend this one to people who appreciate outlier cinema regardless of quality.

A criminal gang is terrorizing Hong Kong with the help of Pioneer I & II, two lethal robots. When Pioneer II gets damaged during a mission she falls into the hands of a skilled programmer. He reprograms the bot to help him fight the gang, but when he teams up with an ex-gang member, both the police and the criminals are on his tail.

I Love Maria offers a basic mix of crime and comedy, which is ruined by some terrible sci-fi elements. Hark fares well in front of the camera, adding some welcome comical notes, but as a director, he is incapable of finding the right tone. Don't expect too much from Tony Leung either, in the end, I felt almost sorry for his involvement in this project. Not the worst, but hardly a film worth recommending.