Once upon a time, the Hong Kong film industry was one of the busiest and brightest spots for cinema in the world, second only to Hollywood. However, Hong Kong film output has decreased dramatically in recent years along with declining box office receipts due to factors such as the Asian economic recession, rampant piracy and concern over the island’s new relationship with the Mainland. Megastars like Jackie Chan and Chow Yun-Fat have abandoned ship and washed ashore in America, leaving a smaller pool of talent to cope with an ever-growing crisis. Hollywood movies have overtaken local product at the box office, as Chinese audiences tired of cheap, Cantonese-language knock-offs now devote their loyalty and their ticket dollars to the slicker Western productions.

Local filmmakers desperate for a hit have either attempted to fuse the best of East and West into a magnum opus such as Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, or at least have upgraded the quality of their Hollywood rip-offs while retaining some of the elements that make Hong Kong film unique. Skyline Cruisers is an example of the latter, a big-budget, formulaic spectacle that shamelessly pilfers from Mission Impossible and Entrapment while remaining enjoyable, if ultimately empty.

Having proven his considerable prowess helming small, intimate films (Juliet in Love, Bullets Over Summer), director Wilson Yip tackles this grand scale event with mixed results. On one hand, his flair for the visual aesthetic has never been better. Skyline Cruisers easily matches the blockbuster Hollywood action films in scope and grandeur; none of the cost-cutting so common in Hong Kong productions is to be found here. Yip gets the most visually out of every cent in his large budget. The futuristic architecture of Kuala Lumpur is photographed to its best advantage, and it is a rare shot indeed that disappoints.

Alas, a film with this many high-tech elements is ultimately derailed by that most low-tech element of all, the script. Penned by Greg Melliot (seemingly over a lunch break), the threadbare premise rests on clichés, non sequiturs, feeble attempts at humor and characterization as thin as rice-paper. With such material to work with, it is unsurprising that even a talented actor’s director like Yip fails to wring effective performances from his cast. Leon Lai is characteristically handsome and bland, while Jordan Chan is uncharacteristically unengaging and aloof. Even Sam Lee’s manic persona is considerably tamer here. Hsu Chi, one of the few actresses in modern cinema to possess acting skills to accompany her pretty face, barely registers in her throwaway part. Perhaps the only actor to acquit himself well is Taiwanese R&B popstar Alex To. Despite his role as the main villain, he receives only 10 minutes of screentime. But he puts each one to good use, snarling viciously as the only truly charismatic actor on display.

The story is what Variety would dub “one of those things.” Fittingly enough, in a film about high-tech thievery, the main plot elements themselves appear to have been stolen from Mission Impossible 2. Lai is Mac, the leader of the Skyline Cruisers, a gang of high-tech thieves with outrageously inventive gimmicks at their disposal. When the Cruisers undertake a “Mission Noble” to rescue a cure for cancer from the hands of evil, they run into unexpected obstacles, including a former Cruiser who betrayed Mac.

But one does not watch such films for the plot or the characterization, but for the action and the visuals. And these are treasures that Skyline Cruisers delivers in spades. The initial raid to steal the cancer drug is taut and perfectly paced. Tension is present in every drama-drenched second as Mac and company infiltrate the building utilizing incredible high-tech devices. Yip manages to make all this techno-wizardry compelling rather than obtuse or obnoxious. Multi-hued shades of lighting, smooth-as-butter tracking shots, and perfectly filmed set-ups make the break-in a visual palette of wonders, easily rivaling and occasionally outdistancing any of Tom Cruise’s exploits as a member of the Impossible Mission Force. Reaction shots are exquisitely well-timed, as are numerous quick-cuts that dramatically increase the excitement of the scenes without needlessly confusing the viewer.

The action scenes themselves are a rush of pure cinematic adrenaline. The flight of bona fide martial artists such as Jackie Chan or Jet Li to the States has left the local industry in something of a quandary, namely, how to continue creating the unique brand of action found in Chinese films without qualified martial artists? Consequently, Hong Kong producers have been forced to do the once-unthinkable: transform ordinary popstars and actors into action heroes å lá Charlie’s Angels and The Matrix. With a team of professional stunt coordinators and martial arts choreographers lending their not-inconsiderable talents, Yip weaves pure action poetry of the frenzied, explosive kind. Words fail to describe the raw power distilled in each battle. The stars acquit themselves brilliantly, especially Chan. His natural athleticism proves an asset as he spins, flips, and flings perfectly executed kicks with hyperkinetic vengeance, a Bruce Lee on acid. He even displays his prowess with a pair of laser nunchakus, twirling and smashing a contingent of guards into pulp. Wirework is used sparingly and subtly to good effect throughout.

Stunning visuals, nifty gadgets, cool-as-ice heroes and villains combine in a movie with tremendous style and zero substance. Skyline Cruisers shows clearly that Hong Kong cinema has what it takes to compete with its big-budget Hollywood brethren.

SKYLINE CRUISERS

directed by Wilson Yip

starring Leon Lai,Jordan Chan, Hsu Chi, Golden Harvest