Playboy Cops (2008)

Playboy Cops (2008)

Release Date: 28 February 2008 (Hong Kong)
Quality: DVDRip.XviD-BIEN
Language: Mandarin | Cantonese | English
Runtime: 98 min
Director: Jingle Ma
Company: BIG Pictures, Beijing Time Entertainment International Company, China Film Co-Production Corporation
Movie Info: IMDb
Cast: Shawn Yue, Kun Chen, Shaun Tam, Ka-Yan Chung, You-Nam Wong, Danny Lee, Michelle Mee, Vincent Kok, Xin Xin Xiong, Teddy Lin, Philip Ng, Ella Koon
Genre: Action | Romance | Thriller
Watch: Trailer
Size: 697MB

Plot: Depth, thy name is not Jingle Ma. A cop buddy flick starring pretty young men Shawn Yue and Aloys Chen, Playboy Cops initially seems like fluff for fluff's sake. Jingle Ma directed this presumably vapid action-comedy, which looks to target teen girls as its primary audience. At least, that's what the poster, cast, and spiffy Jingle Ma cinematography would seem to indicate. In truth, Playboy Cops mixes new and old Hong Kong Cinema in a sometimes effective, though questionably tasteful way. The new stuff: younger actors, Mainland investment and talent, a commercial premise, and a clean vision of Hong Kong that borders on sterile. The old stuff: sometimes out-of-place action, clichéd pathos, and such a blatant disregard for consistency or expectations that one could wonder if they walked into the wrong theater. Playboy Cops ends up a lot different than the "We're pretty and we kick ass!" poster would seem to indicate. If that sounds like a spoiler to you, then stop reading now.

Still around? Here goes, then. Playboy Cops is a hard film to describe, and not because it has a surprising or accomplished story. In fact, the paper-thin premise that passes for a plot in Playboy Cops is incredibly shallow and unbelievable, and wouldn't pass muster as a B-grade direct-to-video flick, much less a major theatrical release. Shawn Yue is Michael Mak, a "Playboy Cop" because he's the son of a rich tycoon who fights crimes with money. He pays way too much money for information, bribes people out of committing crimes, and uses wads of $1000 bills to lure bad guys into the slammer. Occasionally he kicks ass, too. Michael possesses a righteous, somewhat lazy attitude, and disregards both authority and anyone else who thinks his methods are wrong. Basically, he's a Cop Who Breaks All The Rules™, except he's rich, trendy, and wears cool white sneakers. Despite his status as a law enforcer, his rich tycoon father vaguely disapproves of his free spending, but Michael refuses to change, handing out bills at an alarming rate in the name of justice.

Besides being a poor financial planner, Michael's other major failing is his inability to win the heart of Lisa (TVB starlet Linda Chung), who's apparently the only girl around who won't fall for his "money solves all problems" attitude. Enter Lincoln Lin (Aloys Chen a.k.a. Chen Kun, of The Knot and The Little Chinese Seamstress), who wanders into Hong Kong from the Mainland to investigate the death of his brother (Teddy Lin Chun). Lincoln is also rich, and apparently has some connection to Lisa. He meets Michael while eating at a posh Central-located club for rich bastards, where the loaded-with-dough get together to party and belittle the hired help, one of them played by Son of Ti Lung™ Shaun Tam. Michael and Lincoln butt heads over Lisa because she used to date Michael and now seems to be doting on Lincoln, and Michael demands that she must be his. The two spar and exchange boring banter before Michael decides to help Lincoln on his investigation because he really does want to be a good cop, and not just a rich one who uses his money instead of his wits. (lovehkfilm)