Shanghai
2/4
Starring: John Cusack, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chow Yun-Fat, David Morse
Rated R for Strong Violence, Some Drug Use and Brief Language
Ever since I heard about this project a few years ago, I was dying to see it. I'm a huge fan of Gong Li, and the thought of her (not to mention two of Asia's biggest male stars appearing with her) made me drool with anticipation. I waited patiently for its release. And waited. And waited. Anticipation gave way to frustration as the film had been delayed for two years (even though it had been submitted to the MPAA), and through research I concluded that the film would never see the light of day in the U.S. Finally, I decided to see if I could get it on Blu Ray, which I eventually did.
The obvious question is why the film wasn't released in the U.S.? I mean, it has John Cusack and his Asian co-stars aren't exactly unknowns. Ken Watanabe got an Oscar nomination for "The Last Samurai" and starred in two movies for Christopher Nolan. Chow Yun-Fat is a John Woo favorite and had the lead in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Gong Li is widely regarded as one of the best actresses working today, and starred in three mainstream US movies. Given that, and the fact that studios will release anything that they can market ("John Carter" is a perfect example), it's an interesting question, but it has an obvious, but unsatisfactory answer: there's no way the film would make a profit in the U.S.
For starters, the story is film noir, which can make a profit, but usually doesn't bring in megabucks. Second, the film isn't very good. The acting is nice, but character development is minimal and the story only occasionally makes sense. The film was clearly designed with Oscar potential in mind, but two years in the editing room proved how troubled this film actually was.
The film takes place shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Paul Soames (Cusack) is a spy who has been sent to Hong Kong. His best friend Conner (Morgan) has been found murdered, and his superior Richard Astor (Morse) wants him to find out who killed him and why. Conner was investigating Anthony Lan-Ting (Yun-Fat), a crime lord who pays the Japanese army enough to make them leave him alone. That gets him involved with Anthony's wife Anna (Li) and a cop for the Japanese army named Tanaka (Watanabe).
As is to be expected, the acting is good, although not as good as you'd expect. The script, by Hossein Amini (who has never written a good script), doesn't give them much latitude (it's one of those scripts that wants to be intelligent and hip by only giving you have of the information you need). John Cusack, who lobbied aggressively for the role once he found out they were considering him for it, is effective but little else. Gong Li, the force of nature that she is, is wonderful, although there is one scene where she seems unfocused. Although Cusack and Li are both wonderful performers, they don't have any chemistry of any kind. Ken Watanabe has to act like a villain while Chow Yun-Fat has absolutely nothing to do. Ditto for Franka Potente and Rinko Kikuchi.
"Shanghai" was the brainchild of Oscar-nominated producer Mike Medavoy (he was nominated for Best Picture for "Black Swan"). Born in Shanghai, he had developed the project through his company Phoenix Pictures, and it was bought by Harvey Weinstein whil he was still at Miramax (yes, I know, that is a very long time). After 8 years, the film was finally produced and it's not as good as I think Medavoy have hoped.
Many scenes by themselves work well (with a cast like this, how could it not?). It's just that they have been connected in a very unsatisfactory way.
Starring: John Cusack, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chow Yun-Fat, David Morse
Rated R for Strong Violence, Some Drug Use and Brief Language
Ever since I heard about this project a few years ago, I was dying to see it. I'm a huge fan of Gong Li, and the thought of her (not to mention two of Asia's biggest male stars appearing with her) made me drool with anticipation. I waited patiently for its release. And waited. And waited. Anticipation gave way to frustration as the film had been delayed for two years (even though it had been submitted to the MPAA), and through research I concluded that the film would never see the light of day in the U.S. Finally, I decided to see if I could get it on Blu Ray, which I eventually did.
The obvious question is why the film wasn't released in the U.S.? I mean, it has John Cusack and his Asian co-stars aren't exactly unknowns. Ken Watanabe got an Oscar nomination for "The Last Samurai" and starred in two movies for Christopher Nolan. Chow Yun-Fat is a John Woo favorite and had the lead in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Gong Li is widely regarded as one of the best actresses working today, and starred in three mainstream US movies. Given that, and the fact that studios will release anything that they can market ("John Carter" is a perfect example), it's an interesting question, but it has an obvious, but unsatisfactory answer: there's no way the film would make a profit in the U.S.
For starters, the story is film noir, which can make a profit, but usually doesn't bring in megabucks. Second, the film isn't very good. The acting is nice, but character development is minimal and the story only occasionally makes sense. The film was clearly designed with Oscar potential in mind, but two years in the editing room proved how troubled this film actually was.
The film takes place shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Paul Soames (Cusack) is a spy who has been sent to Hong Kong. His best friend Conner (Morgan) has been found murdered, and his superior Richard Astor (Morse) wants him to find out who killed him and why. Conner was investigating Anthony Lan-Ting (Yun-Fat), a crime lord who pays the Japanese army enough to make them leave him alone. That gets him involved with Anthony's wife Anna (Li) and a cop for the Japanese army named Tanaka (Watanabe).
As is to be expected, the acting is good, although not as good as you'd expect. The script, by Hossein Amini (who has never written a good script), doesn't give them much latitude (it's one of those scripts that wants to be intelligent and hip by only giving you have of the information you need). John Cusack, who lobbied aggressively for the role once he found out they were considering him for it, is effective but little else. Gong Li, the force of nature that she is, is wonderful, although there is one scene where she seems unfocused. Although Cusack and Li are both wonderful performers, they don't have any chemistry of any kind. Ken Watanabe has to act like a villain while Chow Yun-Fat has absolutely nothing to do. Ditto for Franka Potente and Rinko Kikuchi.
"Shanghai" was the brainchild of Oscar-nominated producer Mike Medavoy (he was nominated for Best Picture for "Black Swan"). Born in Shanghai, he had developed the project through his company Phoenix Pictures, and it was bought by Harvey Weinstein whil he was still at Miramax (yes, I know, that is a very long time). After 8 years, the film was finally produced and it's not as good as I think Medavoy have hoped.
Many scenes by themselves work well (with a cast like this, how could it not?). It's just that they have been connected in a very unsatisfactory way.
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