Movie review: Treasure Inn (2011)
They are probably stunned that no one is laughing.
Gong (Nicholas Tse) and Ba (Nick Cheung) are low-ranking police officers in White Horse City. When a wealthy man’s home is robbed of a precious artifact (“White Jade Goddess of Mercy”) and his family killed, Gong and Ba insinuate themselves into the investigation, which is headed by legendary investigative officer Tit Mo Ching (Kenny Ho, always a delight).
Gong, Ba and two girls they meet along the way – Water Dragon Girl and Fire Dragon Girl – all head to Treasure Inn, where they suspect the killers and thieves will be. However, Tit is not keen to have them meddle in his investigation, and worse, a sandstorm traps all including the culprits in the inn, turning the place into a battlefield.
Treasure Inn sounds like a promising movie, but not when it is turned into a slapstick comedy populated by actors with no comedic timing at all. Water Dragon Girl and Fire Dragon Girl are so annoying you cringe each time they come on screen. And Tse may play the straight man in this one, but his occasional attempts at humour are painful to watch. Stick to action, mate.
The one redeeming thing about Treasure Inn are the action scenes, though you’d get infinitely much more with a Donnie Yen movie. Other than that, this movie is a waste of film, and best forgotten as quickly as possible.
Rating: A dismal but still overly-generous 2 out of 5
This review was originally published in The Star.
Elizabeth Tai is a freelance writer, journalist and editor based in Adelaide.
Need help with your website or social media? Elizabeth, who is a digital content specialist, can help.
She also writes books. She is the co-author (as Gabrielle Low) of Malaysia Chic, published by Edition Didier Millet and Trixie Koala, a series of educational children's books.
Connect