Leon Lai Movies

Two very different men vie for the affection of a beautiful and powerful woman in this historical epic from Hong Kong. During the Era of the Warring States, two rival kingdoms are fighting for control of China, the Yan and the Zhao. Muyong Xuehu (Donnie Yen) is leader of the Yan armies and guides his forces to victory, but not before the Yan emperor is murdered. Muyong is declared the new emperor of the Yan territories, angering Wu Ba (Guo Xiaodong), the late leader's nephew who killed his uncle in hopes of taking the throne. There is much public discord over Muyong's appointment, so he names as his second in command Yan Fei'er (Kelly Chen), the late king's beautiful daughter and only child. Muyong is in love with Yan Fei'er and wants to protect her, but she's a brave and headstrong woman, unafraid to put herself in the heat of battle. When a would-be killer attempts to murder Yan Fei'er, she's rescued by an unlikely benefactor, Duan Lanquan (Leon Lai), an aspiring inventor who loves in the woods. Yan Fei'er falls for the clever Duan, who has invented a machine that can fly, and when she learns that the Yan kingdom is once again under attack, she must choose between her two lovers as she returns to her people's battle for freedom. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Tsui Hark (The Blade) adapted his massive martial arts epic Seven Swords (AKA Qi Jian) from Liang yu-Sheng's ravenously popular novel Seven Swordsmen from Mount Tian. The story opens in the 1660s, following the implementation of China's (Manchu) Qing dynasty. To quell possible nationalist uprisings, the emperor issues a decree forbidding the use of martial arts, and guarantees decapitation for anyone who violates that order. A class of bounty hunters quickly formed to enforce the law and collect 600 pieces of silver for each violator; the most massive and domineering of the warriors is the bald, muscular Fire-Wind (Sun Honglei), a bellicose and volatile creature who lives in an elephantine tentlike dwelling on a hill. This walking terror selects Martial Village, a hamlet in northwestern China, as his next assignment. Meanwhile, in Martial, two young adults, Wu Yuanyin (Charlie Young) and her ex-beau, Han Zhibang) rescue an old executioner, Fu Qingzhu (Lau Kar-leung) who foresees the coming wrath and acknowledges the necessity of pulling in the mythical 'Warriors of Mt. Tian' to fight Fire-Wind and his cronies. The four warriors summoned by Fu include Chu Zhaonan (Donnie Yen), and Yang Yunchong (Leon Lai), who dramatically increase the tension and bloodshed when the former develops a crush on one of Fire-wind's hostages, Green Pearl (Kim So-yeon) and decides to kidnap her - sending Fire-wind through the roof. The critically-worshipped Hark reportedly cut two versions of this film (including a 2 1/2 hour cut and a 3-hour cut) and demonstrated incredible confidence in Qi Jian by planning it as the initial installment in a massive series of multimedia sequels, including a 74-part television series, an online video game, comics, and five additional films. The picture itself testifies to this, with the setup for a sophomore installment in its conclusion. Qi Jian, however, did lackluster box office when it opened in the Far East in July 2005, making the follow-ups less than certain. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

When two former lovers are brought back together by fate, their one chance to rekindle romance becomes more complicated than either could have ever anticipated. Zhou Qian (Leon Lai) is an outpatient doctor who works the streets of Shanghai from his SUV. His girlfriend Xin Xiaoyue (Faye Wong) is a professional party planer more accustomed to living it up than settling down and enjoying the quiet life. Recognizing this, Zhou plans to break up with Xin the next opportunity he gets. Just as he's about to do so, however, Xin beats him to the punch. Some time later, both Zhou and Xin are still recovering from their failed relationship when Xin begins planning a lavish birthday party for a wealthy business tycoon. Due to the tycoon's failing health, Xin must run all of the party plans by the man's family physician, Zhou. Is fate attempting to give the former couple a not-so-subtle message? While Zhou seems wounded, Xin doesn't appear to have any interest at all in getting back together. Still, Zhou remains undeterred in his quest to win her back, ultimately finding out where she has moved to and renting an apartment across the street in order to be closer to her. Will Zhou succeed in winning back the girl he once seemed so determined to leave, or is this one romance that simply wasn't meant to be? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The time travel drama Dream of a Warrior stars Leon Lai as Dean, a police officer who must travel back in time to save Rose, the daughter of the time machine's inventor. Making matters more difficult is that fact that the brave man loves Rose, who is stuck in the past...and the time machine breaks. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

A team of adventurers are out to save the world in this tongue-in-cheek action comedy from Hong Kong. Mac (Leon Lai), Michelle (Michelle Saram), Bird (Jordan Chan), and Sam (Sam Lee) are the Skyline Cruisers, a team of elite, super-intelligent, crime-fighting secret agents who are called in for only the most important assignments. When it's learned that arch-villain Kam (Patrick Lung) has stolen the latest innovation from one of the world's leading medical research labs -- a possible cure for cancer -- the Skyline Cruisers are sent into action, and they travel to Kuala Lumpur to track down Kam's compound and bring back the formula. However, the Cruisers are met by an unexpected ally -- June (Shu Qi), who says she's Kam's secretary and wants to help them recover the drug. San Tau Chi Saidoi was originally announced as a sequel to the 1997 Hong Kong hit Downtown Torpedoes, though the producers later denied any connection between the two films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this action thriller from Hong Kong, Jack (Leon Lai) and Martin (Lau Ching-wan) are gunmen who work for two rival kingpins, Yam (Yam Sai-koon) and Fong (Fong Ping). Jack and Martin have been warring on their bosses' behalf for close to a year, but when the two factions declare a truce, the trigger men, who have both taken a physical and emotional beating, find they're now expendable and are cut loose. After a period of bitter poverty, the two men decide to join forces and take on the gangsters who used them and threw them away. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In Shanghai of the '30s, Shuhui (Wang Lei) brings together Manzhen (Wu Chien-lien) and Shijun (Leon Lai), and the two fall in love. However, Shijun's parents in Nanjing have planned for him to marry wealthy Cuizhi (Annie Wu), who instead becomes romantically attracted to Shuhui. Manzhen is concerned about the reputation of Shijun's older sister, prostitute Manlu (Anita Mui). After Manlu marries businessman Hongcai (Ge You), he suggests Manzhen become a concubine and the mother of his children. Manlu goes along with this plan in order to save her marriage. This drama is adapted from Eileen Chang's novel, Half a Lifetime's Romance. Shown at the 1997 Vancouver Film Festival and South Korea's 1997 Pusan Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Lee Lik-chi directs this knockoff of the 1992 Whitney Houston smash The Bodyguard. Pop superstar Cindy (Sammi Cheng Sau-man) realizes that she needs some help when some loonball hurls a box full of live tarantulas at her during a PR appearance. She soon learns that she has received a number of threatening letters from a deranged fan, which were intercepted before they reached her hands. She hires Lai Su-kan (Leon Lai Ming), a bumpkin cop who moves to the city, looking for adventure. The only catch is that Lai must pretend to be homosexual, since the diva only hires gay bodyguards. Moreover, Lai, who previously was the leader of his village, is unaccustomed to working with a high-maintenance spoiled rock star. Inevitably as the crazed attack looms closer, Lai and Cindy fall in love. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Like a fine soup, this Hong Kong film offers a deft blend of several film genres to tell the story of an unlucky ex-con and the woman he loves. Having just been released from prison, Wu returns to the home of his widowed father. He is the classical angry young man; much of his anger stems from his disappointment in his father who failed to protect him when Wu was a child. The boy soon became a delinquent. When the adult Wu gets home he is not welcomed as his arrival interrupts his father's plans to remarry. As the aimless ex-con wanders about the city looking for action, he encounters Jo-Jo- who a mobster's moll who also is looking for fun. The two are drawn to each other, but are torn apart by Jo-Jo's boyfriend's henchmen who beat Wu and warn him to stay away. Back home, the daughter of Wu's father's fiance wants to stop the wedding. She forces herself upon Wu and then screams "rape." Wu continues to see Jo-Jo, but during one secret meeting encounters the scene of a murder. He is accused and sentenced for the crime. Wu escapes and heads for Jo-Jo. His father realizes that Wu was innocent and tries to help him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Peter Mak Tai-kit spins this exuberant, visually dense adaptation from the popular similarly named Japanese anime. The film is set in a world where shape-shifting alien creatures known as Raptors have infiltrated human society. To deal with this problem, Hong Kong has fashioned a secret government task force aptly known as the Anti-Raptor Bureau, recruiting young talent with telekinetic abilities such as Taki (Leon Lai Ming) and Ken (Jacky Cheung Hok-yau). The bureau's current interest is in Japanese billionaire Daishu (played by Japanese screen legend Tatsuya Nakadai, who spends much of the film looking like he is going to kill his agent) who they figure is well over 150 years old and a likely Raptor. For his part, Daishu preaches peaceful co-habitation with humans. His deranged son, Shudo (Roy Cheung Yiu-yueng), on the other hand, espouses the wholesale destruction of the human race. Of course, the presence of a mysterious drug called Happiness, which gives Raptors fantastic strength and a hair-trigger temper, is not helping the cause of the peacemakers. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This 1992 film is a live-action version of a popular Japanese comic book and animated series, transformed into a vehicle for international action hero Jackie Chan. Ryu Saeba (Chan), a womanizing private detective, is hired to find the runaway daughter of a wealthy businessman. Ryu's pursuit of the girl leads him to a cruise ship. Through coincidence, and a plot device borrowed from Die Hard, the ocean liner is hijacked, leaving Ryu to contend with the hostage takers as well as the elusive daughter. The action is satisfying, but standard fare for Chan, highlighted by a scene in which an onscreen battle between Bruce Lee and Kareem Abdul-Jabar from the film Game of Death plays on a movie screen in the background, while Chan and his opponents mimic the fight in the foreground. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide