Evidently,
French prisons are so hot at rehabilitation either. To be fair, this Hong Kong
jewel thief was primed for recidivism. He was caught stealing part of the
priceless “Gaia” three-piece necklace set. To find the villain who betrayed
him, he will need the other two pieces. He will also commit crimes against the
English language, but his French copper nemesis sounds nearly as awkward in
Stephen Fung’s breezy The Adventurers (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
Dan
Zhang is an old school Thomas Crowne kind of jewel thief, who was planning on
going straight after the big score that sent him up the river. With a few loyal
accomplices and “Red” Ye, a hotshot new recruit, Zhang plans to take the other
two pieces of Gaia. The first outstanding component-piece has been put up for
charity auction in Paris by Tingting, a Chinese celebrity animal lover.
Ironically, Red will whip up the animal rights protestors against her, over her
alleged fur wardrobe, to cover-up the caper unfolding.
That
will be the easy heist, even though it is in Bissette’s backyard. The hard one
will be the third piece of Gaia, nestled in a vault within a castle outside
Prague, owned by a nouveau riche Chinese oligarch. His security is
state-of-tomorrow’s-art, but Zhang has Red. However, Bissette also has his own
surprise ally, Amber Li, the art expert who authenticated the original fateful
piece of Gaia, who happened to be engaged to Zhang at the time. Unaware of his
true profession, she also felt slightly betrayed by the events that transpired.
Despite
the fractured syntax, The Adventurers is
cheerful throwback to old fashioned caper movies. Yes, there are all kinds of
double- and triple-crosses going on, but it is still a genuinely low stress
affair. It is all about exotic locales (Paris, Prague, Kiev), cat burglar
stunts and gizmos, and a ridiculously attractive cast (Andy Lau, Shu Qi, Zhang Jingchu, You Tianyi, and probably Tony Yo-ning Yang counts too), plus bonus
character actors Jean Reno and Eric Tsang.
If
you enjoy watching Raffles-like characters shimmying across ledges and
illuminating motion sensor-lasers, then The
Adventurers is your cup of General Foods International Coffee. As Zhang,
Lau has his on-screen charm cranked up to eleven. Shu Qi enjoys playing against
type as the mercenary femme fatale Red, but Zhang Jingchu might actually
outshine everyone as the sensitive but cerebral Li. Of course, Reno and Tsang
do their thing as Det. Bissette and Zhang’s “uncle” fence, King Kong.