The
Black Falcon
Director:
Takumi Furukawa
Year
1967
The
Black Falcon is a fun and inventive Asiaspy flick brought to us by
the always entertaining Shaw Brothers and the intrepid filmmaker,
Takumi Furukawa. Steep in James Bond mimicry and splashed with a
vibrant color palette, this engaging spy effort showcases enough
action, romance, and wacky antics to satisfy anyone out there who
happens to love this particular genre. With its charismatic lead and
its string of strange characters, The Black Falcon is a tremendous
second effort for the Shaw Brothers, which following in the footsteps
of 1966's The Golden Buddha, comes off as a damn fine and
ridiculously fun production.
The film
follows the exploits of the secret nefarious agency known as Black
Falcon, an illusive group which specializes in mayhem, murder and all
things illegal. Frustrated that they can't seem to recover enough
evidence to take the organization down, the Hong Kong authorities
assign international spy Zhang Shijie to the case as he attempts to
infiltrate their ranks by courting the daughter of the organization's
leader in order to expose the group and their various activities.
What follows is a wild ride into uncharted territory for our hero, as
he comes to find out that the organization is in the midst of an
internal takeover, sparking a bloody civil war within Black Falcon,
which results in making Zhang's mission that much more perilous and
unpredictable. Good luck buddy, you'll need it.
Paul
Chang takes on the role of super agent Zhang Shijie, a Bond-esque spy
who has all the right moves and doesn't mind showing off a bit. When
it comes to charisma and style, Chang's got it down, as he injects a
healthy dose of debonair driven confidence into his lively hero while
staying sympathetic and genuinely entertaining. He fits the visual
bill of a secret agent to perfection with his good looks and
sure-headed disposition, and on top of that he pulls off the action
portions of this espionage entry with splendid ease and a classy
swagger. Of course if you're treading on James Bond territory, you
have to infuse your agent with an insatiable appetite for women and
Chang does just that as he woos multiple lovely ladies, often bedding
them at random. It's safe to say that the greatest aspect of The
Black Falcon is Paul Chang's enthusiastic portrayal as agent Zhang
Shijie.
Accompanying
and opposing Chang in this most dangerous of missions is Jenny Hu as
Julie Tan and Margaret Tu Chuan as Hu Mei. Jenny Hu's character plays
the love interest to agent Shijie and also the daughter to the leader
of Black Falcon. Ambiguously performed and delightfully portrayed, Hu
does a commendable job with the character, forcing us to ponder over
her affiliations and intentions towards our dynamic hero. On the
other side of the fence is the vivacious and highly venomous Chuan as
Hu Mei, the top femme fatale of the Black Falcon organization.
Commanding and vicious in nature, Hu Mei is a force to be reckoned
with in this movie and Chuan effortlessly demands us to take notice
of her sexy curves and deadly ways. With the combination of these two
lovely ladies, The Black Falcon makes for a beautiful smorgasbord of
eye-pleasing imagery.
When it
comes to action, The Black Falcon has that department covered as
well, as there are a number of pulse-pounding sequences and hard
hitting moments that amp up the pace of the picture with tremendous
fervor. From car chases, to gun fights, to hand to hand combat, this
film has it all and it's all displayed in the most energetic of ways.
One moment in particular features our spirited and determined spy
trading blows with a gargantuan of a man, played by Siu Gam, who
comes off as Hong Kong's answer to Richard Kiel's Jaws character.
Explosive in execution and brutal to boot, the scene depicts a
whirlwind of a fight which joyfully displays actor Paul Chang getting
the living shit kicked out of him by his larger than life foe. The
scene is just relentless as the two fighters savagely go toe to toe
and blow for blow, and the end result of this extended fight scene is
quite a spectacle and highlight of the movie.
Another
great fight scene occurs directly after this battle, as agent Shijie
takes to the streets in an effort to escape from a handful of Black
Falcon thugs. Surrounded in an expansive courtyard, Shijie deals out
a series of deathblows in an outstandingly choreographed fight
sequence which expertly showcases the film's kinetic style and
fun-filled embrace. The great thing about all of these engaging fight
scenes, is that they are filmed in some of the most picturesque and
exotic of locations. Unlike the Eurospy craze, Asiaspy films tended
to stay close to home in their location hopping and in this feature
the filmmakers decided to use the beautiful backdrops of both Hong
Kong and Macau to represent the style and panache of the picture.
Even with its lack of spacial and cultural variety, The Black Falcon
uses the stellar venues, interesting characters, and energetic
sequences to its advantage, weaving an intricate little spy tale that
is anything but ordinary.
The
Black Falcon is an ambitiously derived little gem that has all of the
trappings of a Bond film, yet transposed into a culture and
environment that is anything but familiar to 007 and company.
Immersed in a plethora of wacky characters and equally zany
situations, the film relies on the fun-factor of the James Bond
franchise as it highlights all of the formulaic elements that we all
know and love. In this most mirrored of concepts, the movie
surprisingly takes on a life of its own as it blends its own style
and substance into the trademark etchings of the cinematic espionage
world.
Paul
Chang is fantastic in the role of super agent Zhang Shijie, and his
charismatic turn as the unstoppable spy is one of the film's most
enduring qualities. Not only that, but The Black Falcon has another
pair of assets in the form of Jenny Hu and Margaret Tu Chuan, who
both bring a much needed feminine touch to the proceedings. As for
action, suspense and espionage, this film is jam-packed as it goes
from one sequence to the next, guiding us across its plethora of
pleasing venues and picturesque locations. In the end, the feature
aims to do one thing and one thing only, and that's to make a movie
that is a whole hell of a lot of fun to watch. Mission complete. The
Black Falcon is an.....
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| Cheese! |
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| Kick him in the nuts! |
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| Damn! He really did it! |
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| Love what you did with the place. |
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| Go fish! |
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| I like your nude painting pretty lady. Want to be my girlfriend? |
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| Get your feet off the table you filthy animal! |
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| Look at who's spending some time at make-out point. |
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| Staring contest..... GO! |
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| You're really creepy me out buddy. |
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| Well look what we have under here. |
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| Quit blowing bubbles and get back to work! |
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| Oh no! What a horrible time for diarrhea! |
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| I like your boobs. Real slick Zhang. |
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| It's time for a beat-down. |
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| My... my... Looks like someone has been doing some trimming. |
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| Hello, operator. Get me more bubbles. |
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| Looks like it's just about rape time. |
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| Get back in your seat you cock-blocking son of a bitch! |
