Title : The Deadly Disciple
Year : 2001
Director : S. Mohan
Cast : Vishal Kotian, Christina Hoh, Dalip Singh, Jesse Lim, Farouk Hussein, Jacinta Lee, etc.

Reviewer : Reuben Kee
Rating : **1/2

The Deadly Disciple - review by Reuben Kee

"I am an Indian..."

The history of filmmaking has taught us that quality should never be "over-substituted" by accessories. Looking back on films such as "Cleopatra" and "Waterworld" will give you a clearer picture of what I mean. The two mentioned movies were injecting huge amounts of money into its production in the hopes of 'churning out' products of substance. The same goes for movies like "The Cable Guy" (reliance on Jim Carrey's reputation), and "Pearl Harbour" (subject, publicity and popularity of cast). This brings us to "The Deadly Disciple", the second Malaysian English language movie to hit our screens in less than a month. It had three things going for it. One, it's movie that can boast of having Bollywood actors on board. Two, martial arts that play an integral role in the movie. And three, it is after all, an English-language movie. So, what went wrong?

Suria (Vishal Kotian) is a typical nice guy, who hates to fight and is generally a peaceful fellow. He grows up under his uncle's care, who is a martial arts master, and his "brother", the very-serious Krishna. There is a martial arts exhibition going on in Malaysia, and both Krishna and Suria are sent there to represent their school. It is here that they encounter Si Fu Wong (Jesse Lim), and his band of culprits, Zeta (Jacinta Lee), Crouching Tiger (Farouk Hussein), Dragon (Dalip Singh) and Chow One Fat. It is also here that Suria meets and falls in love with Mei Lee (Christina Hoh), who is actually harbouring an unknown secret.

Little do our unlikely heroes know that Si Fu Wong and his gang (surprise, surprise) are actually the bad guys, dealing with drugs and prostitution. When Suria happen to stumble upon a sinister plan by Si Fu Wong, he is killed off by Wong's henchmen. End of story? It could have been... if not for the sequences involving heaven, angels and Bruce Lee (?). Suria is told that his time is not up yet, and that he needs to return to earth to protect Mei Lee. Before you can say "Jackie Chan rules, and Jet Li drools", Suria finds himself being trained and now he is ready to return to earth to settle some unfinished business.

Now don't get me wrong, the movie is no Buster Keaton, but some of the slapstick gigs presented were actually working and you might find yourself laughing out loud. The humour is simple and it speaks for itself, rather than "imposing" it on you. It doesn't take itself too seriously, preferring instead to let down its hair and just have a good time. That is evident in one or two ways. The martial arts sequences were mostly passable although there were some that were impressive enough. The scene involving Suria training with the late-great (and everyone's hero) Bruce Lee was pretty good.

So, (again), what went wrong? If there is one thing that "The Deadly Disciple" should learn is the fact that all this martial arts/Bollywood stuff just doesn't cover up the fact that the film was poorly made. The pacing and the flow of the story were in absolute disarray, encouraging audience to piece and match the story themselves. Some of the scenes were way too childish and cliché, backed by some of the corniest lines ever (I will squash you like a cockroach). It didn't help either that this movie reminds you of those funny Japanese swordsman show (you know, where the typical line will be "I have come for you").

Kotian's Suria is just plain annoying, what with his constant bickering and complaining. In all fairness, however, he does provide a decent job at the kick-ass department. Christina Hoh looks ravishing, but a weak script spoiled her efforts. However, I was really torn by the casting of Jesse Lim as Si Fu Wong. Lim was struggling with his English pronunciation throughout the whole movie. In a way, it was logical because the character comes from China, but then again... you draw your own conclusions. The rest of the cast were not really given much of a chance to shine, falling victim to an uninspiring script.

The verdict? The movie basically has its redeeming factors as well as its "top ten reasons" why it should be avoided. I am not going to be arrogant in telling you whether you should watch it or not, bearing in mind that there is indeed a market for it. Serious moviegoers should definitely think twice before purchasing that ticket, but as for the rest of you... why not?

Source : http://www.cinemaonline.com.my (1/11/2001)