The recently released movie "Goldfinger" is extremely controversial.
Its investment is as high as 350 million, which is known as the largest investment in Hong Kong films in history. It aims to create a box office record for Hong Kong films in the mainland.
is also another collaboration between Tony Leung and Andy Lau after 20 years.
Tony Leung and Andy Lau have collaborated three times in total.
The first time was "The Deer and the Cauldron" in 1984, the second time was "Infernal Affairs" in 2002, and the third time was this time "Goldfinger". The interval between each cooperation between
is close to 20 years, "the king does not see the king".
According to this calculation, "Goldfinger" is most likely the last collaboration between the two in this life.
"Goldfinger" is scheduled to be released at the end of 2023, and there is a deep meaning behind it.
Back then, "Infernal Affairs" was considered a Hong Kong film to save the market. The first film was released in the Mainland in September 2003.
After 2020, the original team gathered together.
"Goldfinger" not only has Tony Leung and Andy Lau, but also the screenwriter of "Infernal Affairs" Zhuang Wenqiang is the director and screenwriter of this film.
Moreover, the story is also a "cat-and-mouse game" between the two protagonists, which is full of emotions. During the promotion of
, the film crew directly put the classic scenes from "Infernal Affairs" into the poster of "Goldfinger", which made the audience obsessed. How can you not look forward to a movie like
?
However, after the movie was released, Brother Pi watched it for the first time, but he had mixed feelings.
There are mixed reviews for "Goldfinger" on the Internet, but it is definitely not the kind of Hong Kong movie produced by an assembly line to make money.
Even from Pi Ge's point of view, "Goldfinger" is the Hong Kong film with the strongest story after "Warriors", and it is also the Hong Kong film with the best viewing experience this year in my opinion.
But on the other hand, Andy Lau's series of actions on and off screen are hard to understand. Logically speaking, with his celebrity status and his box office appeal, he wouldn't be so aggrieved when making a movie like this. ?
But in fact, it was Andy Lau who "suffered the consequences" three times and even "lowered himself" that made this "Goldfinger" possible.
The First Forbearance: Willing to Be Nicholas Tse's Backup
"Goldfinger" is a standard two-hero movie. The first confirmed protagonist is Tony Leung, and the other is not Andy Lau, but Nicholas Tse.
Speaking of the National Day release in 2018, "Wu Shuang" directed by Zhuang Wenqiang successfully counterattacked and sold 1.273 billion, becoming the annual box office champion of crime films that year, setting a box office record for Hong Kong films in the mainland, and winning the Academy Award. 7 awards, its Douban score is as high as 8.0 points, and it has achieved "making money while standing".
The success of "Wushuang" gave Emperor great confidence. Three years later, they found Zhuang Wenqiang and spent a lot of money to replicate the success of "Wushuang".
The initial positioning of "Goldfinger" was not "Infernal Affairs 4", but "Warriors 2".
from the actor configuration.
In "Warriors", Chow Yun-fat + Aaron Kwok, who are 10 years apart, are the eldest brother and the younger brother; in
"Goldfinger", Tony Leung + Nicholas Tse, who are 18 years apart, are also the eldest brother and the younger brother.
tells the story of fraudsters from a story level.
"Wushuang" focuses on "strange love". It fictionalizes the story of a talented painter and a counterfeiting genius working together to create counterfeit banknotes. There is also a wonderful twist at the end. It is a Hong Kong version of "The Usual Suspects".
"Goldfinger" focuses on "truth".
The film is adapted from a strange case in Hong Kong in the 1970s and 1980s. The story of Cheng Yiyan, chairman of the Hong Kong listed company Gary Group, who turned from a stock investor idol to a street rat. Compared with "Wushuang", it is more legendary.
After everything was ready, filming of "Goldfinger" was about to begin, but Nicholas Tse suddenly resigned. There are two possible reasons for
external rumors.
Firstly, Nicholas Tse’s schedule conflict, and secondly, he was dissatisfied with the role.
Nicholas Tse is the first brother of the Emperor, and "Goldfinger" is a major work produced by the Emperor. No matter how important his other work is, it is not as important as this movie. The first reason can be eliminated.
The second reason is more reliable.
Because judging from the final film, although "Goldfinger" is a two-hero movie, Nicholas Tse's role is small and he is a pure tool. There is no need for the King's brother to lower himself to carry someone else's sedan chair, even if the other person is Tony Leung.
was about to start filming, and the protagonist was missing. Boss Yang Shoucheng quickly found a substitute, and after going round and round, he finally found the good old man Andy Lau to save the scene.
Andy Lau didn't mind being a backup, and he didn't care about the number of roles. Even after reading the script, he felt that Tony Leung was the most suitable to be the protagonist, and he quickly joined the crew to complete the filming.
Judging from the scenes in the finished film, Andy Lau should appear as a "special star", but the film studio considered his box office appeal and put him in the starring role. Liu had no complaints and actively cooperated with the promotion.
This is not Andy Lau's first "rescue".
When Stephen Fung directed "Rogue Alliance", the original lead actor dropped out before filming started. Andy Lau stepped in as the lead actor at the critical moment, resolving the crisis.
Later, when Wang Jing was filming "Chasing the Dragon", Andy Lau came to make a guest appearance. As a result, Wang Jing cut him into the starring role, and the movie was a box office hit.
Stephen Chow was treated like this by Wang Jing before. Stephen Chow broke off their relationship with Wang Jing directly, while Andy Lau did not complain at all.
It can be said that Andy Lau's generosity has made "Goldfinger" change from "Warriors 2" to "Infernal Affairs 4", which has improved its quality.
The Second Forbearance: Give up the c position to Tony Leung
After talking about the off-screen story, let’s go back to the movie itself. Andy Lau’s treatment in the film also makes people complain.
Audiences who have watched "Goldfinger" all have this experience.
This film is Tony Leung's one-man show, and Andy Lau is a tool man.
This is not because Andy Lau's acting skills are not enough, nor is it that the role he plays is not outstanding enough.
In Pig's opinion, "Goldfinger" is actually a combination of "Hurricane" and "The Three Troops".
This film can definitely be made into a two-hero movie that everyone will love to see.
From Tony Leung's perspective.
The financial swindler Cheng Yiyan he plays is very similar to Gao Qiqiang in "Hurry".
Gao Qiqiang has a virtuous wife, Chen Shuting, and Cheng Yiyan also has a virtuous wife, Zhang Jiawen (played by Cai Zhuoya);
Gao Qiqiang knelt down to Uncle Tai in the early stage, and kicked Uncle Tai when he got rich later.
Cheng Yiyan has Zeng Cambridge (played by Simon Yam) by his side. He relied on Zeng Cambridge to make his first pot of gold, and later defeated Zeng Cambridge.
Gao Qiqiang became a local tyrant from a fishmonger. Cheng Yiyan made 10 billion from 100 yuan and became a stock trading idol in Hong Kong.
Cheng Yiyan's deception was groundbreaking at the time, but now it seems that it is nothing more than using speculation to increase the stock price to cut leeks.
The essence of this deception has been stated in "Let the Bullets Fly":
"You must first let the gentry contribute money and lead the people to donate money. After the gentry donates, the people will follow suit. After the money is obtained, the gentry's money, such as Pay back the people's money in 30-70 cents."
Therefore, in "Tony Leung's Line", the villain's fortune-making history is very old-fashioned, and his deception is not new, but the resonance is strong.
In addition, Tony Leung's superb acting skills and Zhuang Wenqiang's skillful film techniques can bring great viewing pleasure to the audience.
But from Andy Lau’s perspective, it’s a different story.
The policeman played by Andy Lau spent 15 years chasing the murderer. The black-haired man became a white-haired man, and finally the bad guy was brought to justice.
Wait, is this plot very similar to the recently released "The Three Brigades"?
In "The Third Brigade", the protagonist Cheng Bing, played by Zhang Yi, also spent 12 years chasing the murderer, and finally got what he wanted, and even changed from a black-haired man to a white-haired man.
If "Goldfinger" can work more on this line, it can have the quality of "The Three Brigades".
With Andy Lau's status as a celebrity, he has every reason to add drama to himself.
But he knows that one movie cannot fit into the capacity of two movies. As his role increases, Tony Leung's role must be reduced accordingly. The content of the movie is enriched, but the result of both rain and dew is that it will become mediocre.
Andy Lau accepted this flat role. Under his background, Tony Leung's role was plump and tense, and his acting skills also shined.
Anyone who is familiar with Andy Lau knows that in terms of acting, he has always regarded Tony Leung as his opponent. The two were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor three times, but he lost to Tony Leung twice.
He must have lamented, not been angry, and even brooded over it, but as time passed, when both of them had gray hair on their temples, he chose to let go, and changed from a pursuer to an appreciator. He lost one person, but won the big one. pattern.
There is a lot of ridicule of Lao Liu in "Goldfinger". The most obvious one is at the end of the film -
Tony Leung said to Andy Lau, "For more than ten years, you have followed me closely, but you can't catch me. Are you angry?" gas?
This sentence is a pun. Without Andy Lau's generosity, Zhuang Wenqiang would not have written such a line.
At the film's press conference, Andy Lau even took the initiative to give up his C position to Tony Leung Chiu Wai.
The story of "how to be good when you are good" was interpreted by Andy Lau into the wonderful story of "heroes cherish heroes"
The Third Ninja: In the same schedule, the left and right hands fight each other
Brother Pi mentioned before that there is a "Andy Lau Law" in the film and television industry, which is Although Andy Lau is no longer at his peak, movies starring him can usually guarantee a box office of 500 million yuan.
When movies were booming, a movie could easily sell 2 or 3 billion, and "Andy Lau's Law" seemed insignificant.
However, when the movie winter arrives and the movie box office shrinks, "Andy Lau's Law" is extremely precious.
The movie market is currently in a recession. During the release of "Goldfinger", another movie "Stealth" starring Andy Lau was also released.
Two movies starring the same actor were squeezed into the same schedule. The only reason was to take advantage of the actor's popularity.
Who rubs who?
After careful analysis, the answer is ready to come out.
"Stealth" is a film produced by Andy Lau's company. Andy Lau is the lead actor and producer and has absolute say. The film was announced in June this year.
"Goldfinger" is produced by Emperor Films. Although Andy Lau is the starring role, he is only a temporary helper and has no say in the finalization of the film. The film was announced in August this year.
The conclusion comes out.
Andy Lau first decided on the release date of "Stealth", but in order to capitalize on his popularity, Emperor immediately chose to release it on the same date, causing an embarrassing situation where Andy "beats himself".
If it were anyone else, I might be scolded. Replacing
with Andy Lau is no big deal.
was asked this question when promoting "Goldfinger", and Andy Lau was very candid.
He tactfully said that the two movies were produced by two companies and he could not make the decision.
Then he admitted that under this situation, he was under great pressure at the box office. Of course he hoped that everyone would go see both movies, but most viewers would still make a choice between the two.
In the end, he probably took care of Tony Leung's feelings. Andy Lau added, let's go back to "Goldfinger".
Two movies fighting on the same stage will cause serious internal friction, but Andy Lau's spring breeze makes everything invisible.
Brother Pi noticed that the box office of both films reached 45 million+ on the first day of release. The box office trend of
is similar. The final box office predictions given by the online platform are 630 million and 510 million respectively, both exceeding 500 million. "Andy Lau's Law" is about to be realized again.
"Goldfinger" is by no means a perfect work. It has a stale taste and a lot of familiar plots, but the film is extremely complete and the story is very solid.
Andy Lau gives way to Tony Leung Chiu Wai to shine, the plot is well detailed, the characters have clear priorities, and a good drama is born.
We applaud Tony Leung for another god-like performance, but don’t forget that Andy Lau behind him is even more worthy of awe.
The rise of Hong Kong films is inseparable from Louis Koo. He and a group of younger brothers work tirelessly to output works every year.
is inseparable from Tony Leung. He is calm and gentle, and defends the glory of Hong Kong films with his exquisite performances time and time again.
is even more inseparable from Andy Lau. Although he has become a legend, he has stooped down time and time again and led the lonely Hong Kong movies to break out of the world.
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Department: One Piece of Chicken
©Original丨Article Copyright: Pippi Film (ppdianying)
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