In the early 1990s, the Hong Kong film market was in a period of change. Under the influence of a variety of factors, the market for comedy and action films, which had been stable at the box office, began to shrink. Sammo Hung's film company, whose main product is this type of film.
Coupled with the gradual loss of the previous works, the company's operation was in trouble, and finally it could only announce the suspension of production.
Once upon a time, the name Sammo Hung was a guarantee of the box office. The movies he starred in and directed were almost always guaranteed to be blockbusters. However, in the 90s, with the changes in the market environment and the tastes of the audience, Sammo Hung gradually faded.
He couldn't adapt to the fast-changing market, and gradually declined in the film and television industry.
Just when Sammo Hung was at his worst career and his future was uncertain, an old friend reached out to him. This friend is Luo Wei, a veteran filmmaker who has worked with Sammo Hung many times.
Seeing Sammo Hung slip from the top, Luo Wei decided to give him support and let him shoot two films for his film company "Wanli Pictures".
For Sammo Hung at this time, this is undoubtedly a great opportunity to regain his prestige. He is full of confidence and pride, hoping to turn the tide and let the audience see his strength again.
Who knows, both movies ended in failure, and neither submitted a satisfactory answer, which can be imagined as stimulating Sammo Hung. What made him even more difficult to accept was that this was a serious drag on his friend Luo Wei's company.
Faced with the fact that both collaborations failed, Sammo Hung blamed himself. Feeling ashamed of his friend Luo Wei arises spontaneously. In order to compensate Luo Wei and repay him for extending an olive branch, Sammo Hung decided to take a desperate gamble and go all out to make another movie.
This time, Sammo Hung gave up directing and let his old partner Chen Xunqi take the lead. Considering that gambling films are very popular in the current market, obvious gambling elements are incorporated into the film, imitating Wang Jing's style, hoping to win favor.
In order to ensure the box office power of the cast, Sammo Hung used his network to invite many friends in the circle to perform with ease. All the actors came with a sincere heart, and none of them received any remuneration.
However, even with the strong cooperation of famous directors and the star-studded cast of top actors, the film still received a lukewarm response after its release and continued to lose money. Sammo Hung and Chen Xunqi, two giants in the film industry, could not stop the fate of the box office Waterloo in the end.
They had to face another failure, and this time it almost made Rovi's film company unsustainable. For the two, this is undoubtedly an unbearable blow.
After the fact, the reason for the failure is mainly due to the overly conservative creative thinking. "Five Lucky Stars of Fortune" follows the usual routine of the series: lucky stars are funny, complete tasks, and end actions.
This formulaic creative mode is a choice that takes into account the audience's familiarity with the series and reduces the risk.
However, the market in the mid-1990s was no longer what it used to be. The audience's aesthetic fatigue is obvious, and they are no longer interested in repetitive story patterns. Relying solely on familiar ways to innovate loses the novelty.
The so-called old wine in new bottles can neither get new audiences nor retain old users. This conservatism and comfort eventually made the film lose its vitality.
It can be said that Sammo Hung and Chen Xunqi insisted on continuing the consistent model, which was a move to ensure quality and quantity, but it was precisely such a safe choice that made the movie lose its breakthrough.
There is no way out of the old road, and the new road is not daring to go, and the result can only be a fiasco. In fact, this also reflects the gradual loss of influence and judgment of the two in the market changes.
Time has passed, the environment has changed with people, and they can only accept their fate in the end.
In fact, behind Sammo Hung's all-out efforts this time is an endless sense of goodwill and guilt. Luo Wei, an old friend who has been friends for many years, has reached out to help him several times to help him get out of the trough.
Now it is facing a stormy situation due to the failure of two cooperations. In order to repay the kindness, Sammo Hung was willing not to accept the remuneration and directed this movie with only a sincere heart.
For this reason, he did not hesitate to squander his savings, violated the laws of business, and only sought the quality and effect of the movie, without considering the return of the cost at all. All the friends in the circle who work together are also enthusiastic and go to the performance without any conditions.
It can be seen how much effort Sammo Hung put into making this movie for his old friend.
However, despite assembling such a lavish lineup, the movie still cannot escape the fate of failure. This shows that in the changing market environment, it is not enough to rely on personal connections and goodwill.
The trend of the times is coming, and personal emotions and good deeds are difficult to defeat the general trend after all. Sammo Hung also had to admit this fact: all his planning and intentions could not withstand the ruthless reality blow in the end.
The cruelty of the market makes people have to be extremely powerless.