The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel (2013) User Reviews

Just keep watching ... it makes more sense

[cocomieux-91-229721 · 7/10 · 26 August 2014]

For the first part of the movie, I was disappointed. The movie starts with a very dramatic opening about a cholera outbreak that is devastating the population in Peking. Then it changes tones and becomes a strange comedy of overacting and ridiculousness. Just as I was about to give up, there is a twist in that explains things. Then the movie made more sense, and was quite enjoyable.

It is a lot of fun, zany, has interesting graphics, lots of twists, and is apparently based on a true story.

Overall, it was a great action, spy, comedy, out there movie that was really surprising considering the synopsis on Netflix.

Pre-WWII Japanese Occupation of China

[westsideschl · 5/10 · 12 July 2014]

Very typical Chinese historical drama with quality acting, sets, costuming, props & action scenes. The writer takes literary liberties with known documented occurrences of occupying Japanese testing cholera on Chinese civilians in the years leading up to WWII. A, at times, slapstick comedic rendition of some Chinese intelligence agents acting as Japanese Kabuki and other unusual roles in order to elicit an antidote from a captured Japanese officer and his scientist. And, at other times, a to-the-death standoff confrontation with the occupying military who have them surrounded.

What lowers it's rating? First, the script tended to jump about, especially time periods which to a non-Mandarin speaking person made it difficult to follow. Second, the English subtitles moved far too quickly to both view the movie and finish reading the text. If we add time for comprehension then the storyline came across as more confusing than it needed to be. Not a comfortable flow to how the story was presented.

Hard to take...

[planktonrules · 1/10 · 7 June 2014]

"The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" is set during WWII. According to the film, the Japanese have deliberately unleashed a cholera epidemic on the Chinese people in Beijing. While I don't think this actually happened in real life, the Japanese did experiment with germ warfare during this time and did reportedly test these weapons on Chinese prisoners—so the idea behind the film is plausible.

When the film begins, two Japanese agents are traveling incognito through the streets of Beijing. A bandit attacks them and soon their wagon is torn to pieces—and the trio end up in a bizarre brothel. There, a group of greedy Chinese folks are concerned about what sort of treasure the two agents have brought with them in a canister. However, they are horrified to see that it has something to do with the epidemic— though whether or not it's the cholera or the cure is uncertain.

All this sounds very scary and serious, right? Well, it's not. While the basic idea is interesting, the story is just dreadful. Much of this is because it's all played for laughs—with fart jokes, scatological humor and, worst of all, the most atrocious overacting I have ever seen. Obviously the director had instructed them (particularly the woman) to make goofy faces and overact—and the effect is just awful. To make it worse, the film is VERY talky and downright dull. The film truly grated on my nerves and seeing goofy faces and googly-eyed expressions really wore thin—and I simply gave up on the movie after a while. Finishing the film was a chore and by then I'd lost all interest.

My advice is to skip this one. However, don't assume that this movie is at all typical of Chinese films. In fact, I have been really impressed by so many recent Chinese releases as they generally are very cinematic and professional and should be able to grab a significant chunk of the international box office. But I also feel that when many people outside China see "The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel" they night falsely assume all Chinese films are awful. This one is, clearly, but it's the exception to the rule, believe me! For a fun Chinese comedy, try "Shaolin Soccer"...it is terrific.

WAR

[fezhang-56830 · 8/10 · 19 December 2017]

Different from the ordinary anti-Japanese war films, the surface has been funny, but each laugh is not only laugh and after make me pondering, the actors are indeed selected well, there is a strong drama conflict. Also I think the storyline progress very fast and jumped, it make me lost at some points. Some of the scenes are not what I expected, because some plots just like add to the story abruptly. The movie shows the strong of the Chinese united and many Chinese traditional traits. It also shows how poor China was back to 1940s. People could not have enough food and live within the bloodcurdling of war.