Rating:
6.5
AKA: Chasing in Pattaya
Year of release: 1991
Genre: action
Director: Li Siu Wah
Action director: Simon Chui
Producers: Stephen Ho, Peter Chan
Writer: Jong Ching-Ling
Cinematographer: Poonsawad Dhimakara
Music: Tang Siu-Lam
Stars: Chin Siu Ho, Sharon Kwok, Poon Chi Man, Philip Ling, Conwyn Sperry, Reon Ditticchai, Ron Banchong Sung, Simon Chui
Not rated; contains IIB-level violence, nudity and language
DVD Information
Company: World Video
Format: widescreen
Languages: English (dub)
Subtitles: none
Extras: trailers, filmographies
Notes: Pretty typical for a World Video release. The picture is faded and scratchy, the dub is cheesy and there are no extras of any interest. But it is watchable, and this is the only option available for US viewers.
Movie Review index / Main Page
Dead Target
Dead Target, like many B-list action pictures produced during the early 1990's, feels like someone threw a movie script into a blender and the director decided to work with whatever mixed-up sludge came out. The proceedings here oftentimes don't make a lick of sense and calling the production a "shoestring budget" would probably be generous. But Dead Target still offers up enough action and (mostly unintentional) comedy to make it worth a viewing.
The film's plot has Poon Chi Man as a soldier who is trying to protect a Thai relic from an unscrupulous gweilo (Conwyn Sperry). He manages to hide it away, but years later, Mr. Evil Gweilo returns to find it, and uses Poon's granddaughter (Sharon Kwok) as bait. Teaming up with an Interpol agent (Chin Siu Ho), the trio try and stop the relic from falling into the wrong hands.
The plot is pretty basic, but it doesn't really get into just how nutty Dead Target gets. This movie has to have the most topless transsexuals ever outside of a porno -- I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it sure does keep things interesting to say the least and differentiates Dead Target from movies of a similar ilk. There's also some decent fight sequences and a smattering of gore. Unfortunately, there's no sex or drug use, but Dead Target is already over-the-top enough that it doesn't really need anything else in those departments.
Ultimately, there are a couple of things that hold Dead Target back from being a true B-movie classic. The pacing is way off -- there's just too much time thrown into exposition scenes that end up going nowhere. The editing is also substandard. For instance, in one scene, the gang is fighting on a train in the middle of the night. In the next, the world's fastest sunrise must have happened, because it looks to be about noon. Still, if you're not too nit-picky and are in the mood for a good brainless action flick, then Dead Target is right up your alley.
