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| NO PROBLEM 2. Starring - Okamura Takashi - Sakai Wakana - Yuen Biao - Candy Lo - Sam Lee. Director - Chin Ka Lok. After Ota Hiroo dies it is expected that Kazuo will take over the group and inherit his assets worth over 10 billion US dollars. Sadly for him Yumiko, Hiroo’s adopted daughter is put in joint control of the group with Kazuo until she is twenty years old. The will states that when she reaches this age she will gain sole control of the corporation and all of Hiroo’s wealth. Kazuo is extremely upset by this and seeks out a hitman to ensure she does not reach twenty. After a bizarre string of unsettling coincidences Kimura Kensuke finds himself in room 9 of the Five star hotel, mistakenly identified as the famous hitman ‘Invincible’. He is given the task of eliminating Yumiko, but as he speaks very little Cantonese he has no idea why he is being shown the photograph of Yumiko, or for that matter why he has been dropped off at a fashion show. Upon arriving at the show he meets Yumiko and immediately falls for her. As the gangsters realise that Kensuke is making no attempt to kill Yumiko they take matters into their own hands and promptly start shooting, Yumiko’s life is saved by Kensuke and he is put in charge of her safety by the very nervous but unsuspected Kazuo. Within the day however Kazuo’s plan comes half way to fruition when the gangsters manage to abduct his love Yumiko from under Kensuke’s nose, things are further complicated when Kensuke is also arrested and charged with murder. What the hell is going on here! No problem 2 is not a sequel as the title may suggest but a sort of different movie altogether, which uses a slightly altered plot taken directly from the first movie. A Japanese man who can barely speak a word of Cantonese finds himself at the centre of a bizarre love triangle in Hong Kong repeatedly saying the phrase ‘no problem’. Sound like the first film? It’s a bit like watching the US horror titles ‘The evil dead 1 and 2’. The second being a remake of the first, but on a larger budget. From the opening killeresque segment where we see Kensuke lose his beloved Antonio in a way John Woo would be proud, we are instantly made aware that this movie is not to be taken seriously. The laughs come thick and fast as we are treated to parodies of everything from Jackie Chans ‘Police story’ to the subliminal 80’s classic ‘The karate kid’. The most notable amongst them being Kensuke’s portrayal of Dr Hannibal Lecter. The monkey dwarf Okamura Takashi is obviously relishing his role as the ‘No problem man’ and it shows. The appearance of Yuen Biao in the film really brings out the best in him as they react off each other effortlessly. It is refreshing to see Yuen Biao playing comedy again and definitely worth the price of the disc alone. Candy Lo as the manky mouthed Lam Doi and Sam Lee as the downtrodden Doniel are equally memorable. Chin Ka Lok has taken over at the helm this time around and assembled an impressive likeable cast. Like the prequel we are also treated to cameos a plenty as every man and his dog gets his face on screen. This all works well and in no way slows the movie down. A joy to watch and instantly funny No problem 2 had me laughing uncontrollably from the offset, this is one movie that I can recommend to all. It was only let down by the fact that I have seen this all before in the first movie albeit a lot better this time around. One other thing that really got on my tits though was the Benny Hill type comedy sequences in which the film was speeded up as characters run around. Inane. As a standalone movie No Problem 2 is great fun, as a sequel though it is just confusing. 8********stars. |
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