1905 movie network feature With the sound of the horn for the resumption of work in theaters, a host of new films have been unveiled, including many heavyweight IP sequels.On the third day of the resumption of work, the sequel starring Andy Lau and Liu Qingyun became the first film to enter the "New Year’s Eve", set for December 24, 2020.
A week later, the sequel starring Liang Jiahui, Gu Tianle, Wu Zhenyu and Lin Jiadong released a teaser poster and made a high-profile appearance.
One is that Qiu Litao and Andy Lau joined forces to defuse bombs for the second time to enter the New Year’s Eve file, and the other is that Wang Jing used the theme to bring Hong Kong film stars back to the film market. I believe that fans who have not gone to the cinema for a long time will be happy to see this. After all, Hong Kong films have once again rushed to the forefront of the revival of the film market, and we will soon be able to reunite with our idols on the big screen.
However, this surprise is also mixed with a subtle and complex emotion, that is, although the lineup is still strong, are these starring stars too familiar?
Déjà vu! The iron star has dominated the screen for 30 years
Judging from the lineup of these two new films, we have seen Andy Lau, Louis Koo, Wu Zhenyu, Liu Qingyun, Liang Jiahui, Lin Jiadong, Jiang Haowen… This batch of male actors over 50 years old still sit firmly in the starring position with their excellent acting skills and undiminished popularity – the last time I saw Andy Lau as the starring role was last year, he cooperated with Koo Tianle and Lin Jiadong, and we will see him starring in the second half of this year;
The last time I saw "public welfare model worker" Gu Tianle, there was also his starring role last year (with Wu Zhenyu) (with Lin Jiadong and Lin Yu) (with Liang Jiahui and Lin Jiadong) "Apostle Walker 2" (with Zhang Jiahui and Wu Zhenyu) (with Jiang Haowen)…
The last time I saw Wu Zhenyu, in addition to "Home and All Things Shocked" and "Apostle Walker 2", there were also;
The last time I saw Liu Qingyun was when he starred in (with Zhang Jiahui) and;
The last time I saw Leung Ka Fai was last year when he starred in "Chasing the Dragon 2" and;
The last time I saw Lin Jiadong’s movie was also the works I just mentioned last year: "Anti-Corruption 4", Anti-Drug 2 "," Dragon Chasing 2 "…
The last time I saw Jiang Haowen, in addition to the gold medal male characters in the above-mentioned movies, there were also Du Peng, who had an aura no less than Chen Chong last year, the Kuomintang officers in "Liberation: Final Rescue", and the agents in the hospital’s transfer network this year. They were representatives of the continuous expansion of drama in addition to the traditional police and bandit model.
Of course, let alone Jackie Chan, the pride of the Chinese in the world and the leader of kung fu films; Donnie Yen, who has been playing until today with "Ip Man"; Tony Leung, who is not an honest god in literary films but has been playing from Hancheng and Tokyo to Europe; Zhang Jiahui, who has fallen in love and killed with Gu Tianle and Liu Qingyun in multiple film series; Guo Fucheng, who is in his 50s as a young and middle-aged painter without any sense of incompatibility; Zhou Yun-fa, who has evoked the climax of fans again and again with classic scenes such as "Unparalleled"; Ren Dahua, who is still difficult to get rid of the inherent image of the gang boss after his literary and artistic life; Qin Pei, Zeng Jiang and Lu Haipeng, who are irreplaceable "old men" in Hong Kong films; in addition to Jiang Haowen, the other golden green leaves – Huang Rihua Miao Qiaowei, Liao Qizhi, Lin Xue…
Having said so much, if you "taste it in detail", except for Stephen Chow who retreated behind the scenes, Jacky Cheung who gradually faded out of the film industry, Liming, Nicholas Tse, Zhang Zhilin who transitioned from the film industry to variety shows, and Leslie Cheung who accidentally left us, it seems that most of the leading lineups of Hong Kong movies are like yesterday. Ten years ago, twenty years ago, thirty years ago… These familiar faces are active on the big screen.
Even at last year’s Hong Kong Film Awards, the average age of the five best male actors nearly reached the average retirement age of 59. Where are the young people, one might ask?
Helpless? The business experience behind the newcomer of flowing water
It is true that young Hong Kong actors are still there, and their acting skills are not inferior when shooting opposite big-name male actors. They also have a good understanding of the characters, and even have a good way of acting in line with the image. Just like Li Zhiting, who started from a high starting point and later transformed into a business route, just like Zhang Jicong and Cai Hanyi, who took one step at a time, but except for Li Zhiting, most of them can only play some supporting roles. Moreover, the group of young actors in Hong Kong is far less than the population base of the golden age of Hong Kong movies, and it is difficult to produce enough outstanding elements without sufficient denominators.
Even Lin, who was once popular, could only come forward with the ruthless villain in "Anti-Corruption Storm 4", and finally became the oldest young hero in history, Zhang Wuji – similar to him are Zheng Jiaying, Tan Yaowen, etc., obviously in the year of the war, but only in supporting roles.
So far, we have seen a hint of the generational development of Hong Kong male actors: the ironclad leading role has been firmly seated by the big names with excellent acting skills and still popularity, and even the old male stars, so that the number of Mesozoic and newcomers who are not dominant at all have only supporting roles and small-cost productions.
Behind this phenomenon is undoubtedly the over-reliance of some investors on commercial value – in order to ensure box office returns, only mature actors are invited, familiar templates are used, and familiar light and shadow flavors are prepared. They dare not and will not give newcomers a chance, which leads to the repetition of "dishes" and the stagnation of "flavors" in disguise. In other words, investors’ attitude towards movies is more like an assembly line commodity than a one-of-a-kind work of art.
In the long run, although the commercial box office of the film has been guaranteed for a certain period of time, the exploration of art has been stagnant, which not only goes against the artistic nature of the film, but also will not benefit the commercial film box office that draws nutrition through artistic innovation. Just like the well-conceived "Peerless" still pins its selling point on the feelings of 30 or 40 years ago, rather than creating a new "Peerless" memory.
In other words, it has been imitated since 1986 and has never been surpassed.
Movies are like this, but why aren’t the actors like this?After winning the award for "The Thief of the Years" in Berlin, the directorLuo QiruiOne word came up: the Hong Kong spirit. "The Hong Kong spirit is a spirit of hard work, forge ahead, flexibility and self-improvement," he said. For decades, Hong Kong films have prided themselves on the "Hong Kong spirit" under the Lion Rock, which has become an extremely important theme in films, even beyond the existence of famous directors and stars.
So we have the optimistic and confident "Time Thief" that does not lose hope in the aesthetics of violence, "one step is difficult, one step is better" in the face of adversity, "McDull" that believes that tomorrow will be better, and "Little People Dream Big" under the reflection of the spirit of Hong Kong…
Perhaps the most valuable asset for young actors in Hong Kong is not the opportunity to cooperate with famous directors and celebrities, nor the ever-changing salary income, but the generations of seniors who have come all the way, illuminating the Lion Rock and illuminating the path under each actor’s feet.
If movies can do this, why can’t actors?