In 1990, Stephen Chow starred in 11 films, of which 3 entered the top ten of the Hong Kong local film box office ranking that year, especially the box office champion "Gamble Saint" that year, which laid the foundation for Xingye's status as the "King of New Comedy" in the Hong Kong film industry. Among the other 8 works with average box office performance, there is one film with a special style and theme, that is, "A Comic Book Breaks the World" released in Hong Kong in March 1990.
The birth of this film is related to the "jianghu film wave" at that time: after the success of "The True Colors of Heroes" in 1986, there were many follow-up works in the Hong Kong film market. These works have a strong dualistic opposition, emphasizing that enmity and revenge must be repaid, highlighting the blood and romance of the jianghu.
And this nonsensical jianghu film "A Comic Breaks the End of the World", in the trend at that time, it was particularly unusual, the characters in the film did not have an absolute distinction between good and evil, and spent a lot of ink to dig deep into the darkness of the jianghu.
The story tells that Ah Xing (Zhou Xingchi), who works as a waiter in a bar, is a comic book fan who fantasizes about one day being able to run through the rivers and lakes like the protagonist in the comic.
By chance, he becomes a subordinate of mr. Wei (Yang Qun), a heavyweight in the jianghu, and forms a deep friendship with Ah Jun (Lin Junxian) and Ah Biao (Cheng Kui'an).
Together, they help Mr. Wei expand his business and meet Ann (Bo Annie), but what happens next makes Ah Xing's jianghu dream shattered...
Although the film uses comics as an entry point, when he and Ah Jun and Ah Biao formed a deep friendship and relied on his wisdom to help them resolve the crisis, he seemed to change from a bystander to an insider. When Ah Biao died tragically, Ah Jun lost his life in order to save himself, and told him to stay away from right and wrong, which also allowed Ah Xing to see an incomparably real jianghu that was completely different from the comic.
After the grief, Ah Xing gave Ah Biao and Ah Jun's relics to Ann, and told her a reason to go to the South Pole, which was ridiculous and absurd, which was the end of the little people's way to life, and also the last bit of beauty that Ah Xing wanted to give to life.
The film ends with a farewell scene that does not deliberately emphasize that there must be revenge, but can mobilize the audience's emotions, which is the most unusual place for the film compared to the jianghu films of the same period, which is also in line with the ultimate fate of the little people in the subsequent Star Ye movies.
Playing Ah Jun in the film is Lin Junxian, who has a melancholy and calm temperament, just like the protagonist of the comic. He is the person that Ah Xing yearns for and admires, and is Ah Xing's friend and spiritual teacher. And although Ah Biao looks fierce, after a long time of contact, he will find that he is a delicate person.
Mr. Wei is a hero Haojie who does not talk much, has a meticulous mind, and has mastered thick black studies in the film. When Ah Xing, Ah Jun, and Ah Biao helped him solve his opponents and make him the biggest drug supplier, he began to kill the heroes, only to make his son who was not a climate as the heir. He believed in the exclusion of dissidents and the son's inheritance of his father's business, but he did not expect that his son was even more vicious than himself. The director gave Mr. Wei such an ending, to a large extent, it is anti-thick black success learning, which is also a highlight of this film.
The film's director, Leung Ka Yan, once said: "I am not a person who is good at creating, but I have always been following the trend." "From directing "Nameless Fire" in 1984 to this "A Comic Book Breaks the World", what we can see is a more reasonable story, a unified genre style, and no sense of panic brought about by the genre mix and match of "Nameless Fire".
After the film was released in Hong Kong that year, it eventually sold for HK$15.14 million, ranking 15th in the hong Kong local film box office list that year.
The sequel to this film, "A Comic Book Breaks the World 2 Fantastic Ideas", was released in Hong Kong in 1993, but due to the major change of creators and the general story, the film finally only achieved a box office of HK$3.19 million, which was not as good as the first one.
So after filming this film, how are the other leading actors in the film except Forstar?
After filming this film, Liang Jiaren has cooperated with Xingye in many films, and is one of the most eye-catching supporting roles in Xingye movies. He has also directed several films, the most famous of which was 2003's The Story of Aaron, starring Tan Yaowen and Li Xiang. In the recent hit "Immortal 1", he also starred.
After Lin Junxian finished filming this film, he also starred in many movies and TV series. After filming the TV series "Joy Club" in 1996, he was at the peak of his career and announced that he would stop filming and entering business. In 2014, he returned to the big screen with "Best Suspects.". At present, his works to be screened include "Wind Forest Volcano" directed by Mai Junlong.
For Cheng Kui'an, who is good at playing evil people, the role of Ah Biao is not the same as other fierce roles he plays, because the film spends a lot of time telling the delicate and cute side behind Ah Biao's fierceness. After filming this film, Cheng Kui'an has starred in several films, and in August 2009, he died of nasopharyngeal cancer.
After filming this film, Bo Anne collaborated with Star Ye on Curry Pepper (1990) in the same year. In 1993, he retired from the film industry after cooperating with Zhou Runfa in "Rogue High Flying". Maverick outside the play, not coveting glory, and the role of Ann in the movie echoes, such a choice is difficult for ordinary people to do, people admire.
So, do you like "A Comic Book Goes To the End"? Feel free to leave a comment in the comments section and share your thoughts on the film.