This third
film in the Lucky Stars series follows the same well-worn path as
the previous two, with the plot taking a back seat to the comedy
and action.
Unfortunately, whereas those previous offerings managed to pack
in many memorable scenes, Twinkle, Twinkle seems more like a rehash
of the first two. The "horny guys in a house" scenario
is so close to the one featured in My
Lucky Stars, and Winners And Sinners, you almost forget which
film you're watching.
Whilst the comedy is far from unfunny, it does start to drag in
places, and an overriding feeling springs to mind, that the series
has run its course.
Aside from the comedy, the fight sequences, whilst no more frequent
than in My Lucky Stars, are easily
the best in the series - extremely well choreographed, and exciting
to watch.
In particular, the battle in the Pepsi Factory is testament to Sammo's
ability to make his actors look their very best, with a young Andy
Lau showing-off some nifty fist and footwork.
Due to a back injury, Jackie once again has a role more akin to
an extended cameo, and only features briefly in the finale. Stepping
into the breach is Sammo, in an encounter with Richard Norton so
realistically filmed you'd wonder how either of them ever worked,
let alone walked, again!
Whilst
avoiding the foibles of the My Lucky
Stars DVD, namely the trails
and strobing, this transfer is equally disappointing.
Although colours are strong and well-defined, the most noticeable
deficiency of the visuals are their lack of detail. This softness
is consistent throughout, and makes the image look old, and not
a great deal better than VHS.
Music
and the odd sound-effect are handled by the left and right speakers,
whilst everything else is issued from the centre channel.
An aspect with the previous Lucky Stars disc was its general lack
of bass, and thankfully, Universe have rectified this problem.
Whilst the audio is still not quite as solid as I would have liked,
it features no distortion, and is generally very pleasing.
Trying
to translate Hong Kong jokes is often difficult, and nigh impossible
if the subtitles are sloppily transcribed.
Although a few grammatical errors are present, the general level
of the subtitles is very good, with only the occasional joke falling
flat.
By no
means state-of-the-art, the menus are a slight improvement over
the "old-style" Universe menus. Their presentation is
of a generally high standard, with some nicely composed background
images and clear layouts.
At least
the extras contain a trailer from the Lucky Stars series this time,
with My Lucky Stars, Battle Creek
Brawl and Twin Dragons, featuring under the "More Attractions"
menu.
8 chapter-stops as per usual, as well as the theatrical trailer.
The most disappointing area of the extras are the "Stars' Files"
- or lack of them. With the large list of talented and well-known
actors appearing in this series, the decision to include info for
only Sammo and Jackie is a very lazy move by Universe.
A
rather poorly designed and composed cover, with images lacking clarity
- much like the transfer.
The general lack of effort shown in the cover art is disappointing
and certainly doesn't make it jump off the shelf at you.
The only
difference between this and the dubbed VHS I own, is the opening
scene, where Miu Ka-Wei is sprayed with Pepsi by the gang, as they
sit down for breakfast.
A fairly unfunny scene, which adds nothing to the film, and therefore
is of no major concern.
It's
strange how the series has evolved in some ways, whilst regressing
in others...What started as a very balanced combination of stunt-work,
fight scenes and comedy, gradually changed into a series which strengthened
its martial, whilst weakening its material.
The initially hilarious interplay between the characters eventually
becomes tiresome, as does the script, and the desperate attempts
to continue the series ultimately lowered its quality.
However, taken as the final part of a trilogy, Twinkle, Twinkle
Lucky Stars proves a fitting end to an often excellent series.
| MOVIE |
 |
7/10 |
| PICTURE |
 |
7/10
|
| SOUND |
 |
8/10
|
| SUBTITLES |
|
8/10
|
| EXTRAS |
 |
3/10
|
| MENUS |
|
7/10
|
| PACKAGING |
 |
4/10
|
| OVERALL |
|
7/10 |
