Reviews (1)

Great Fires and Some Melodrama
Lau Ching-Wan stars in director Johnnie To's look at fire fighters in Hong Kong. And this is much better than Ron Howard's "Backdraft." The final warehouse fire is incredible.However, to get there, one has to sit through some melodramas involving several members of Lau's team (which is said to be jinxed) and some minor emergencies (a car accident, an elevator collapse). Fortunately, these incidents and the characters are worth watching.Nonetheless, it's the warehouse fire that pays off. The DVD also includes an un-subtitled documentary about the filming. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

High Kickin' Funfest Galore!
I realize that this may be an acquired taste which only means that even if you have not acquired this taste then you are still required to admit that this film is absolutely, positively, hands down funtastic.

Duh, I'm not even sure which page I'm on; if this is the Americanized version or not. I own the true blue Hong Kong edition which is supposed to contain some flippin' freaky scenes edited out of the American version. I've seen both but cannot remember because, oh, blar!, never mind.....

Back to the movie: "Heroic Trio" stars three of Hong Kong's mightiest screen queens as superheroes. Michelle Yeoh plays Invisible Girl who can become, well, invisible and really kick some bad man fanny, Anita Mui plays Wonder Woman who is quite different from the Amazonian Wonder Woman but just as effective, and Maggie Cheung is the streetwise little Thief Catcher who drives a mean motorcycle and carries an arsenal of nasty toys. Despite some personal differences the three gang together to track down the rotten evil doer who is 'napping poor little innocent babes to fulfill his fiendish scheme. The special effects and action scenes are psycho-silly wild yet the atmosphere is dark and moody with just enough bitter-sweetness to snap a heartstring or two.

A note on Michelle Yeoh: I don't understand Hollywood for seemingly tossing her aside after sticking her in one James Bond flick. Miss Yeoh is the best female action star around; we see Jackie here and there and Jet everywhere, but where oh where is Michelle? This woman has got the goods (my martial arts instructor Saul-Yu Lingstein will back me on this 100%), yet Hollywood stupidly persists in casting flashy young starlets who don't know kung-fu from King Kong from Donkey Kong from a horse's patootie.

Anyway, this movie is one kickin' good time and is REQUIRED viewing for all human beings. So don't just sit there - get watching!

Please note!
For those of you thinking of purchasing this DVD, please note that the dialogue is dubbed in English completely. For those of you who prefer it in its original language (Cantonese), give this a miss.

Otherwise the movie is great and the acting superb, plus we get to see the late Anita Mui in action. What can you say... top notch performance from Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung and Anita Mui.

The Heroic Trio
Proud to say that I do own the Tai Seng release of this DVD. That itself is a good thing because it doesn't have the garbage sound actors, the good stuff isn't edited, and what's the point of seeing this movie if you're not seeing it the way it should be?

But, I will say that if you do decide to pick up this movie, first, look for the Tai Seng release of it. Though it is out of print, it is still around in places.

If you can't, then, fall down to the "mouse" and pick this copy up.

A little about the movie: It was influenced by the movie "Batman," and the directors (Ching Siu Tung & Johnny To) liked it so much, they wanted to make a film just lke that. And, how can you go wrong with Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Chung and Anita Mui? You truly can't.

I would have given this movie 4 stars, but, seeing I'm not too big a fan of what Disney did to this version, I can only give it a 3. Horrid dubbing and editing so obvious to those that have seen the original.

Disney, as well as all the other movie studios, you need to stop cutting and dubbing the Asian films - you do a horrible job. Leave it the way it was supposed to be, and give us the subtitles instead.

The Heroic Trio
The bad editing turned me off to this movie. I didn't need to see the wires to know that they were using them. Thru the whole movie I spotted items that should have been edited out.

The Heroic Trio
Starring Anita Mui ('Rumble In The Bronx'), Michelle Yeoh ('Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon') and Maggie Cheung ('In The Mood For Love') as three crime-fighting superheroines in Hong Kong's answer to Gotham City, 'The Heroic Trio' is a high-kicking, crimson-soaked comic book action romp that could only come out of our favourite country for hi-octane beat-em-ups. As you might have guessed, it's hardly Oscar-winning stuff; the plot is at times incomprehensible, the sets cheap and the acting camp, but it all adds to the charm. This is, after all, not a film to be analysed, but enjoyed with popcorn on a Friday night. And, as that, it succeeds - the action sequences are very exciting, the wire work is well done, the original score is superb and, of course, our three leading ladies light up the screen at every turn. But those weak in the knee may wish to turn away at certain points as it does get a tad grisley at times, what with decapitations, exploding body parts, cannibalism and baby-murdering. Indeed, the violence is so over-the-top at times that it becomes not so much offensive as it does laughable. Which was probably the idea.

So while the movie itself is recommended, Buena Vista's DVD release definitely isn't. The Disney company has once again seen fit to edit yet another Asian movie for its Western market - this time by three minutes to remove the aforementioned gory moments. And, as expected, the original Cantonese soundtrack has been replaced with a dreadful English dub and generic score - denying us the pleasure of hearing Anita Mui's two excellent songs. Still, this is what we've come to expect from the distributor that seems to delight in infuriating hardcore Chinese film fans. Those wishing to own the uncut version of the film would be advised to seek out the 'Universe' DVD from Hong Kong or the now out-of-print 'Tai Seng' American release. Better still (if you have PAL/Region 2 capabilities), waiting for the forthcoming remastered Special Edition from British DVD label 'Hong Kong Legends' would be the ideal solution. ... Read more