Few contemporary Chinese directors have cemented their reputations as fully as 51-year-old Jiang Wen, particularly following his Let the Bullets Fly (2010), which was both a box office and critical hit.

A scene featuring famed Chinese director Jiang Wen and actor Ge You from Gone with the Bullets Photos: CFP

Yet Jiang's latest movie, Gone with the Bullets, fails to grip like its predecessor (not prequel, despite what may be suggested by the English titles) despite its superb cinematography. This is mainly due to a series of prolonged, unnecessary scenes forming a medley of comedy, musical numbers and opera that were perhaps meant to be edgy, but instead fall flat.

In the 140-minute film set in the Republic of China-era Shanghai, Manchu-born Ma Zouri (Jiang Wen) organizes a global beauty contest and helps his friend-with-benefits, former beauty queen Wanyan Ying (Hsu Chi), win the prize. However, when Wanyan dies, Ma is charged with her murder and flees. One-time partner and police captain Xiang Feitian (Ge You) tries to catch him, while Wu Liu (Zhou Yun), love interest and the daughter of a powerful warlord, attempts to rescue him.

The structure of the story is nothing new, which may explain why Jiang is so eager to load it with mini dramas. Yet, they often appear out of place at times and lack integration with the whole - perhaps a symptom of having nine scriptwriters, including the quick-witted literature icon Wang Shuo and the arty, sentimental dramatist Liao Yimei.

But it is Jiang Wen as the lead scriptwriter who fails to shepherd all these distinct voices to make a cohesive whole, instead leaving us with an abundance of ingredients that spark very little chemistry.

A scene from the film

Throughout the film, Ma Zouri makes a lot of decisions regarding friendship, love, reputation and freedom that lead to situations he sometimes regrets, but eventually comes to regard with lighthearted humor. The film also manages to make several tributes to cinematic classics including La Dolce Vita (1960), The Godfather (1972), and Caesar Must Die (2012). The recollection of Ma Zouri and Wu Liu's first encounter on a ship, with Ma reminiscing about his previous life in France, makes for the film's breeziest scene, with the actress and wife of Jiang Wen dressed as the teenage girl from The Lover (1992) and acting more angelic than ever.

Unfortunately, that scene is one of the very few occasions that Zhou Yun hits the right note. For the rest of the film, her delivery of more serious dialogue is weak, and this is highlighted when she plays alongside the ever-excellent Ge You and the magnetic Jiang.

The more Zhou opens her mouth, the more unconvincing her supposedly mysterious, smart and rebellious character becomes. Jiang is definitely not against dubbing (Hsu Chi from Taiwan borrows the voice of a Beijinger in the film), so it might be wise to do this to Zhou in coming projects.

Shanghai viewers are likely to look at the film a bit differently from other audiences. For one thing, Shanghai dialect is used from time to time. The only actor who can speak it well is Shanghai-born Wang Zhiwen.

On the other hand, Jiang's visualization of Shanghai in all its glory is simply stunning. Special effects revive the sights and sounds of that era of the city. Numerous period movies set in Shanghai have gone to great lengths in terms of styling, but the authenticity and sophistication of makeup, hairstyles and costumes seen here is unsurpassed.

In sum, this is not a particularly memorable film, but it has enjoyable aspects. What's more, it means there is much to expect from Jiang Wen's next movie, for this is a director who hates downfall.

A poster for the film

Everyone's a critic



Daodao

26, advertising

"I think Jiang Wen is too obsessed with style, and this film is just a bad film with style. He paints a fundamentally simple story with too many colors, and it becomes neither convincing nor attractive."



Mr Q

32, consultant

"Though the film is set in Shanghai, some dialogue and humor is very much from northern China - some of it even resembles the Spring Festival Gala on CCTV. I know the director is trying to be sarcastic, but unfortunately it is just not that clever."



Ren Fei

29, creative industry

"Some lines touched me, the black-and-white scenes are top-notch, and the romance played by Jiang Wen and Zhou Yun is simply the director's love letter to his wife. Each of the parts looks all right by itself, but they do not make a good film when they are put together."