Review of So Close (2009) by Jy S — 29 Jul 2008

This action adventure is a cross between the Charlie's Angels' films from America and the Raider (Tokyo and Seoul) films from China. Put these two series together and you have a better than average action movie.

The story turns out to be more deep than one may expect and while it does have its dramatic points, it is hard to complain about them when it involves Shu Qi or Zhao Wei. This film is about an 1 hour and 50 minutes and it does seem a bit long for a movie like this, but that is because of the slow segments, which are the meat of the story.

There is a good amount of action throughout this film and each of the 3 female leads gets a chance to shine. For the most part, the action is nothing spectacular and the CG is a little weak. Director Corey Yuen decides to go with a handful of slow motion shots for the fights and some upbeat music in the background, like the Raider films.

If you like this kind of stuff, then this is the movie for you. The last 20 minutes is one long action sequence, which includes guns, hand-to-hand combat, and swordplay. The swordplay at this part is pretty impressive, if I may say so.

We can thank Yasuaki Kurata, from Jet Li's Fist of Legend, for being the villain in this fight.The acting is everything you expect from a film like this. The females are pretty, but they also do a decent job with their characters.

Shu Qi is Shu Qi. Zhao Wei, of Shaolin Soccer fame, does a good job, especially in the second half. Karen Mok actually shows that she is the better actor and fighter of the three.So Close is not an explosive big budget action adventure, but this is still a good watch to pass the time.