Review of CJ7 (2008) by Hazlee S — 02 Mar 2009

Stephen Chow's latest film has been discouraged by critics claiming this is similar to Flubber - let me point out that they are entirely wrong!

Through his typical humour he's turned the concept of an alien toy into a wonderful story. Raising a child in a public school, Ti (Chow) is very poor - he can't afford anything and when it comes to finding new things they need he takes a trip to the local rubbish tip in vain. Upon one of his many visits he discovers a green ball that a UFO has dropped (though he's completely oblivious as to what happened).

He takes it home and introduces it to Dicky (his son), at first it seems to be little more than a rubber basketball until it turns into an animal and transforms a rotten apple into a new one. Using its magical powers, Dicky takes it to school to help him exceed in all subjects (including Phys Ed). Thanks to Chow's humour this introduces many funny moments as I found myself constantly laughing.

Though the film runs at a slower pace and shows little kung fu its more of a family film but a brilliant one that's enjoyable for any age - highly recommended! You can import the HK blu-ray movie as its Region All but there's an american version to be released in the next 2 months which includes special features that were entirely absent from the HK version.