President and the Kung Fu Girl (2017)

President and the Kung Fu Girl (2017)
aka: Killer Woman
Chinese Title: 王牌总裁霸王花
Translation: Ace President, Overlord Flower

 

Starring: Zhang Jigui, Xie Mingyu
Director: Feng Zhe
Action Director: (pending--I don't feel like translating all the credits to figure out who did)

 

A 67-minute long light romance with the occasional fight scene. Imagine a remake of Bodyguard from Beijing with PG-sensibilities, but this time Christy Chung has a best friend (played by Sharla Cheung Man) who's a bad-ass fighter. Then Cheung, Chung, and Jet Li get into a goofy romantic triangle. That about sums up this film.

So there are two businessmen, Li and Wen. The latter is a Mainland guy with a bitchy daughter named Wen Wan. The latter is a SE Asian-transplanted Chinese guy with an adopted daughter, Li Xinyou (Zhang Jigui). Uncle Wen is scared that some Thai rivals are going to kidnap or attack his daughter while he's trying to close a deal with Li. Li sends Li Xinyou to take care of Wen Wan. Meanwhile, Uncle Wen hires Liang Shan, the head of a security company and possible amorous partner for Wen Wan, to watch over his daughter. Li Xinyou and Liang Shan detest each other at first, but gradually start to fall for each other, much to Wen Wan's chagrin.

And there is a plot to do harm to Wen Wan, but the people behind it may surprise you...or not.

Yeah, it's 67 minutes of the actress who plays Wen Wan making pouty faces and talking with an annoying voice not seen since those two young ladies of The Death Games. Yeesh. Lead actress Zhang Jigui is certainly attractive, and there is a pool party scene early on filled with well-endowed Chinese girls. That was nice. But the film is stupid, shallow, pseudo-romantic fluff.

There are several fight scenes in the movie: one at a Thai go-go bar, one attempt on Wen Wan's life at a pool party, a brief scuffle between the rival bodyguards, and the finale. Zhang Jigui is not a particularly good screen fighter. I doubt she had much training outside of whatever pre-production regimen she did for this film. Her punches look and feel soft, but are always accompanied by cables yanking her opponent back a dozen feet. The actor who plays Liang Shan fights one of the villains at the end, but it looks like basic sparring instead of a real fight. So yeah, yet another crap Mainland "martial arts" production for the books.