The Twins Effect

Well don't expect anything deep an meaningful. Most of the fight scenes are pretty decent. The two leading ladies are quite endearing but their lack of HK action background shows at times. The ending maybe lacks something but I quite enjoyed it none the less. The cheesy humour isn't probably going to appeal to anyone who hasn't watched a bunch of HK films but if your down with that sort of thing and have a couple of hours to fill with something meaningless you could do a lot worse than this. (OK so you could do better but.......)

Certainly on a par with most of the Hollywood blockbuster action drivel.

7/10

Lotsa action, cheesy love story, unexpected actors and overall great fun. The special effect are acceptable/decent, some of the fighting is kinda neat with some interesting acrobatic moves. The overall story moves along, and is cheesy enough to keep you wondering when the inevitable is going to happen, although there is a bit of a twist (just a small one). The overall naivety of the movie make it quite whimsical at times. Cute enough chicks too what more could you want. PS. if you're gonna review a movie like this, try to review it in terms of the category the movie would fall (not necessarily where it was intended to fall). ie don't bomb out good cheesy movies!

I think a strength of this film is that it never takes itself too seriously. The subject matter is fairly dark, a love "square" revolving around a Vampire Hunter, his new assistant, his sister, and a vampire prince who is being hunted by his fellows so that a vampire lord may ascend and become a daywalker.

The love story between the Sister and the Prince is cute and touching at times. He falls for her instantly, and pursues her with vigilance and charm, not falling on the very clichéd vampire seduction. How does a girl resist a guy who risks his life just to see her during the day?

The movie does a good job foreshadowing the action. The hunters use an equalizer that quickly plays into the Hunter/Assistant relationship. The story shows us right away what the girls are capable of with a hilarious fight over a stuffed bear. Even Jackie Chan's bit part ends up being more than a cameo, as his characters reappears to help the heroes out.

The choreography was refreshing to me. I watched "Hero" recently, and while the story was excellent, the fights were laughable with people spinning around in the air like they just had a major stumble in zero gravity. In Vampire Effect the action ranges from, car chases, tug a war with a stuffed bear, a tight roof top chase with capoeria involved, an excellent all out brawl between the girls and the legions of vampires, and extensive use of grappling techniques which I rarely see in movies.

The use of caucasian actors for most of the vampires was clever, it fit into the plot as these type of beasts were supposed to be from out of town. They also looked tall, pale, and alien against the mostly Asian cast.

If you like good choreography, a bit of angst, and a nice dose of humor. I would recommend it. Don't expect Hero.

Like a very expensive Buffy episode peppered with plenty of humor. Lots of wire and stunt kung fu. The Twins Effect goes on the list of classic must see HK films. The vampires have a cool blend of hopping ghost type and the pretty boy European style. If you get the opportunity to see this one in the theatre it is worth a 30 minute drive, otherwise buy the import DVD before someone screws it up by giving it a bad dub.

One comment I have to post for this movie: Make sure you buy the Asian (not US) version of this film! Like many big name HK films (eg Iron Monkey, Drunken Master etc) the version sold by the big retailers (WalMart, Amazon etc) is cut to ribbons! About 20 minutes have been removed from the film! (Some of which are major plot points for later)

This film is pretty much a HK version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Take some very popular HK idols & throw them into a vampire story. Jackie Chan even has a cameo (& his son ends up getting a role in Part 2... hmm...) Its a quite good film & is recommended. 4 out of 5 stars. Oh & the teddy bear fight scene is a classic :)