Golden Job (2018) Review

“Golden Job” Chinese Theatrical Poster

Director: Chin Kar Lok
Producer: Eric Tsang
Cast: Ekin Cheng, Jordan Chan Siu Chun, Chin Kar Lok, Jerry Lamb, Michael Tse, Eric Tsang, Kurata Yasuaki, Billy Chow, Alan Ng, Sergej Onopko, Phil Chang
Running Time: 100 min. 

By Paul Bramhall

Hong Kong cinema has changed a lot since the 90’s, and it was during the opening of Golden Job that it hit me just how much. It was no big surprise for an early 90’s HK movie to joke about AIDS, usually involving one character ‘humorously’ wishing it on another, in a way which was so politically incorrect that, as a western viewer at least, you’d often question what you’d just heard. Times have changed a lot since then, and in the initial scenes of Chin Kar Lok’s latest directorial outing, our protagonists find themselves protecting a scientist who’s created a cure for AIDS. There’s not a single joke in sight, which I guess is a good thing, in a sign of the industries maturity towards understandably sensitive subjects. In every other aspect though, time hasn’t been kind to Hong Kong cinema.

I bring up 90’s HK cinema, because Golden Job looks to bank in on the nostalgia of a certain piece of that era, namely the Young and Dangerous series. Spanning across 9 instalments (ok, admittedly Born to Be King and Those Were the Days were released in 2000, which technically isn’t the 90’s anymore), the story of young triad punks rising up the ranks arguably did more to glorify the triad lifestyle than A Better Tomorrow could ever be accused of, and made stars out of Ekin Cheng, Jordan Chan, Jerry Lamb, and Michael Tse. Other have tried to capture the chemistry the quartet bring whenever they appear onscreen together, perhaps no more disastrously than Daniel Chan’s poorly conceived 2013 reboot, Young and Dangerous: Reloaded. So perhaps it’s only fitting that it’s one of the original Young and Dangerous alumnus who brings them back together for the first time since the closing chapter of the series.

Chin Kar Lok appeared in both Young and Dangerous 5 and Born to be King (also action directing the former), and here returns for only his 3rd directing gig in over 20 years, having last sat in the director’s chair for 2002’s HK/Japan co-production, No Problem 2. Golden Job heavily riffs on the underlying themes of loyalty and brotherhood that permeated the Young and Dangerous series, focusing on a group of 5 orphans (what else?) played by Kar Lok himself, along with the iconic quartet.

They’ve grown up as mercenaries with a moral compass (so it can be shown in China, obviously), under the guidance of a kind hearted triad played by Eric Tsang. As a last job, they take on a Robin Hood assignment in Budapest to rob a truck full of medicine (bear with me here) which they’ll then deliver to Ekin Cheng’s love interest – a humanitarian doctor saving the sick children in Africa, despite constantly dwindling supplies. Unfortunately, the truck turns out to be full of gold rather than medicine (hence the title), and its gold that belongs to a local gangster. Not only that, it turns out one of their own was in on the deal (it’s not a spoiler to say that it’s Michael Tse), cue lots of drama, shooting, and brotherly yelling. Eventually, proceedings clumsily relocate themselves to Japan, where the remaining 4 plot their revenge for the betrayal (while simultaneously remembering that there are dying kids that need to be saved in Africa).

Golden Job is an intriguing mix of the old and new. It continues to leverage China’s ongoing business interests in Africa as an excuse for ill-defined scenarios, in which they show how much they’re helping (see also Wolf Warrior 2 and China Salesman), while also heavily banking on the simple pleasure of seeing so many familiar faces onscreen together again. Time has been kind to Ekin Cheng, and with age he’s developed an easy going charisma, which is a welcome replacement to his dull as dishwater screen presence that plagued many of his older movies. We even get a reunion of Yasuaki Kurata and Billy Chow, last seen together in 1994’s Fist of Legend. While Kurata has remained a regular presence in Hong Kong movies, Chow hasn’t appeared onscreen for over 10 years, so it’s great to see him back, even if both of their roles amount to little more than extended cameos.

For the most part, it’s the latter that makes Golden Job an easy watch. The chemistry between Ekin Cheng and Jordan Chan is just as on point as it was back in the Young and Dangerous days, with Chan’s more emotive style of acting playing off well against Cheng’s cool headed posturing. Jerry Lamb makes for a nice counterpoint as the most down to earth of the crew, while Kar Lok kind of feels like he’s there just to make up headcount. In fairness he is pulling triple duty as co-star, director, and action director (along with comparative newcomers Alan Ng and Tang Shui-Wa), so he can’t be accused of slacking. But while Kar Lok is arguably one of the greatest stuntmen to ever grace the screen, the same can’t be said for his skills as a thespian.

Thankfully he has improved as a director, and Golden Job moves along at a brisk pace, never risking to outstay its welcome. There’s a couple of great examples of the ‘show don’t tell’ principle, when a flashback to the past occurs in the same shot, revealing a truth that impacts the scene taking place in the present, avoiding the need to go down the exposition dump route. Other areas are more problematic, such as when Cheng ends up imprisoned after the job in Budapest goes awry, it’s never clearly communicated exactly how long he’s been inside. All we know is that it’s just long enough to warrant a montage – Jordan Chan has become a homeless bum while awaiting his release (loyalty and brotherhood boxes – check!), Lamb has opened a hot spring inn in Japan, and Kar Lok – well, yeah, he’s still around as well.

Kar Lok (and his stunt team) do get to flex their action directing muscles frequently, and for the most part with solid results. The initial action opening at a conference in the middle of the desert is energetically executed, with the camera work enhancing the action rather than obscuring it, and involves a vehicle visibly branded with JCST, which I’m assuming was on loan from the Jackie Chan Stunt Team (Chan’s on-board as a producer). There’s also a thrilling car chase that takes place in Japan, which has Cheng stealing a supercar from a motor show exhibition to go in pursuit of Michael Tse. The scene acts as a calling card to announce that Golden Job isn’t afraid to get silly with its action spectacle, and in many ways it reminded me of a similar set up in Stanley Tong’s China Strike Force, which pits a Lamborghini against an F3 race car.

Unfortunately Kar Lok hasn’t learnt how to utilise CGI, so for all of the in-camera vehicle mayhem, it’s almost completely ruined by the inclusion of a poorly executed piece of CGI, that sees a car go airborne and smash into a streetlight. Action directors need to understand, that if you’re executing a scene that alternates between both live action stuntwork and CGI effects, the audience is more likely to question what else was CGI, rather than what else was real. It’s a discredit to the team that put their lives on the line to plan and execute such a high risk sequence. Back in the China Strike Force era, chances are if the same idea was presented to launch a car vertically through the air into a streetlight, it’d be ruled out as being too risky. The same principle should apply today, rather than adopting an “ok, we’ll just do that one part with CGI” attitude. That way the action maintains its integrity, and isn’t ruined by a few shoddy seconds.

Luckily the finale suffers no such issues, as the quartet coordinate an all-out assault on a military guarded island in Montenegro. Plenty of explosions and bullets are exchanged, culminating in a worthy conclusion to a movie that delivers on both the nostalgia of the past, while also distinctly being a product of the present. Complete with an end credits sequence featuring behind the scenes footage, played over the cast singing the theme song made up entirely of lyrics about brotherhood and loyalty (and a bizarre appearance by the Japanese mini-Bruce Lee clone, Ryusei Imai), the sense of familiarity is undeniably welcome.

In 2015 Ekin Cheng, Jordan Chan, Jerry Lamb, and Michael Tse made a cameo as the Young and Dangerous crew in the finale of the comedy Jian Bing Man, and many fans believed that the scene was as close as they’d get to a cast reunion, so in that regard Golden Job earns good will just for existing. In 2018 hearing Cantonese hip hop play over a scene feels like a throwback, rather than a reason to reach for the mute button (don’t worry, there’s no Edison Chen), and even Ekin Cheng’s acting seems to have improved. Perhaps it’s the passing of time from the era where Golden Job spiritually belongs which makes it an enjoyably breezy diversion, although it could certainly never be said to be anything more than that.

Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10