Full Throttle


Reviewed by YTSL

Despite its starring Andy Lau as a biker lad, having a relationship between two disparate personalities at its core and featuring its share of illegal motorcycle racing scenes, this 1995 Derek Yee helmed film actually wasn’t much like what I had expected it to be:  I.e., something in between the fatalistically romantic “A Moment of Romance” and the high on action -- but low on brain cells -- “The Legend of Speed”.  Instead, the other offering that actually came to my mind the most when viewing this character-driven dramatic work -- and not just because Gigi Leung is in both of these efforts -- was Sylvia Chang’s “Tempting Heart”.  On the surface, this may seem strange, if not unlikely.  The point that I’m trying to make clear here though is that that whose Chinese title translates into English as “Chariots of Fire” is a much less adrenaline and testosterone charged -- and simultaneously more intelligent as well as sensitive -- affair than many people might expect of an(y) effort from a director cum co-scriptwriter who was a former Macau Grand Prix champion.


Something else that I found very interesting as well as admirable about FULL THROTTLE is the palpable striving on the parts of Derek Yee and his co-scriptwriter plus assistant director, Law Chi Leung, to make understandable the divergent points of view of pretty much all of the different-thinking -- but equally headstrong -- individuals who have significant parts to play in the movie.  It surely is not everyday that the makers of a film whose main male characters are the kind of men who strive to be faster than the wind:  Manage to convey -- to someone who doesn't like fast motorcycles and cars, but does love doing such as riding on rollercoasters and going white-water rafting -- the thrill and adrenaline rush of racing along on a fast and powerful speed machine; yet also confirm that such undertakings have their unnecessary dangers, too high risks and sometimes fatal consequences.
 

On the one hand, Bruce Law’s stunt and action choreography vividly communicate -- via well-shot and -edited visuals and appropriate sounds (including that of roaring throttles but also pounding hearts and strained breathing) -- the electrifying sensation and raw excitement that bikers feel when speeding and negotiating turns at 200 kph.  The dialogue that Andy Lau (whose character is called Joe), David Wu (who plays a fellow speed merchant named David Kwan), Chin Kar Lok (who portrays Joe’s best friend, a fellow named Jianle who also can be heard being addressed as Kar Lok) and Elvis Tsui (who plays a biker turned biker bar owner) are given to spout is equally -- if not even more -- persuasive in its explanation of why particular personalities in FULL THROTTLE are so strongly attracted to get on and ride a powerful motorbike as well as motivated to “be number one” on the road and in their chosen social milieu.
 

On the other hand, FULL THROTTLE does not shirk away from showing the unpleasant aftermath of high-speed bike accidents.  The film also features plenty of personalities -- including a good-natured grandmother essayed by veteran actress, Ha Ping -- who easily make arguments about the foolhardiness, childishness, wastefulness and selfishness of those who spend so much time tinkering with their expensive toys and fixating on (drag) racing.  While considering these disapproving individuals, I got to speculating re it probably not being purely coincidental that Derek Yee’s real-life half-brother (Paul Chun Pui) spends most of his screen time vehemently castigating those who his Uncle Paul character looks upon as reckless “hell angels”.  Then there is the intriguing fact of Derek Yee having bestowed the name Ah Yee on the individual who is least sympathetic to this movie’s main man’s love of machine-propelled velocity (A move that’s as suggestive to me re Gigi Leung’s character being the director’s designated (primary) altar ego in this dramatic offering as the decision by Edward Yang to have a young-but-wise character called Yang Yang in “Yi Yi”).
 

Considering that Derek Yee has worked as an actor as well as director (plus scriptwriter and cinematographer), it is small wonder that he is able to get the capable performances that he does from his cast.  Andy Lau is as good here as I’ve ever seen him.  David Wu brings as much sparkle to FULL THROTTLE as he did to his HKFA Best Newcomer-winning “Starry is the Night” role.  Chin Kar Lok shows that he can act better than one should expect of a master stuntman.  Paul Chun Pui, Elvis Tsui and Ha Ping aren’t known for letting anyone down.  In her cinematic debut, Gigi Leung is a true revelation though.  In all honesty, I found it amazing how capable the then Hong Kong Polytechnic student was of portraying someone who was in fact quite a few years older than she was as well as possessed the kind of life experiences -- and probably also personal outlook -- that was foreign to her.  Although the lanky one has her detractors, this particular performance of hers has made me her fan in addition to contributing significantly towards making this movie as worth viewing as I consider it to be.

My rating for the film:  8.