The Champions
Review
Format: VCD
Stars: Yuen Biao, Cheung Kok Heung, Dick Wei, Eddie Ko

What happens when you mix Yuen Biao and Soccer? The Champions. I found this little piece in Chinatown this weekend, and I'm extremely glad I did too. It has some awesome technique and speed and it's just a little story about a soccer player and his trials.

King (Dick Wei) is the captain of the Lam Wai soccer team. Lee Tong (Biao) comes to the area (wherever it is) in order to both escape from his homeland where he accidentally committed a crime and so he can get rich and famous. He hears about King's team and decides to join. Little does he know that this team is known for hiding some tricks up its sleeves.

Yuen Biao looked like he was 18 years old in this movie, I swear. But I read that it was made in 1983. Dick Wei even looked young, maybe in his 20's, but that's doubtful because he had started making movies 6 years previous after being a captain for the Taiwanese army. Being in their primes, Biao and Wei were able to accomplish some great things in The Champions. Biao plays his classic self, being a little guy and taking the punches hard, but still getting up for more, while Wei takes on his bad guy image. They both move exceptionally well, and I wondered at times whether the film was undercranked but I watched the ball move normally and realized that these guys are just fast. Move well? They move well on the field and in training. Biao lets us know that he CAN do soccer. He can be one of the slickest players on the field. The guy's quick, there's no denying that.

Fans of Biao won't be disappointed. In fact, I don't think any fan of Hong Kong movies will either. Although there's hardly any fighting, Biao and Wei do some great tricks. Biao, while picking up some balls, throws one up from behind and kicks it without looking.. into a small basket 10 feet away, and thinks nothing of it. That's Yuen Biao. Dick Wei does his barrage of kicks on the field to block the ball and also to get opponents out of the way. That's Dick Wei. There's no shortage of this action. There's even a dance scene where Cheung Kok Heung and Dick Wei try and make it look like a tango with their dates, but they're actually doing a fight! It's great. To top the movie off, there's a soccer game at the end that's loaded with this stuff and lasts a good 15 minutes, or at least that's how it felt with how much individual content went into it.

For some reason, the VCD that I bought this movie on was letterboxed in the credits at the beginning, but never again. This is too bad. Lots of the area was lost and the subtitles had to be taken in context because they'd sometimes extend outside the screen on both sides. This was the same for OUATIC 1. But that's ok, everything was great. The scenery was fitting (green and blue, soccer, it fits), the acting was very humorous and happy, and the facial expressions only added to the enjoyment.

Because this is one of the least mainstream yet one of the most entertaining pieces I've ever seen come out of any country, I give it a

10/10

Again, if you think I'm being generous, read the Eat My Dust Review. Then you'll think again. I'm easily amused by good quality stuff, yet I'm TOTALLY DISCOURAGED by the ugly. This, however, is one of a kind, and I bet you'll never see Biao in another sports, let alone SOCCER (best suited for him, the guy is as agile as a cheetah), movie again. Go find this one.



UPDATE 10/9 - Rating System Change

5/5 - Such a delightful and fun film that really should be seen by people of all ages and, uh, yea. Original, fast paced, Biao in his hayday.

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