Doctor Mack (1995) Poster

(1995)

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8/10
Tony Leung excels at wisecracking characters!
thebeautifulones9 January 2006
A feel good movie about doctors.

It's a somewhat hilarious movie, no, not rubber faced comedy, but feel good comedy, the sort TLCW is more suitable for.

He acts as Dr Mack, a wisecracking medical genius, who believe it or not, has no license to practice in HK, but does a good job treating his patients, and still manages to look cool nonetheless. When it comes to the most difficult operations, he is able to carry it out.

Sadly, his life is quite a mess. He and his classmate, Roger Law (played by Alex To) fall for the same girl, but he gives her up because he feels he cannot be a good husband to her. She returns to find him to seek treatment when she is dying of bone cancer. He treats her, but she still dies.

Roger Law is a good surgeon, but not as intelligent as Mack, hence each time Roger has a problem, he seeks advice from Mack. Mack helps Roger although he knows he will not gain any credit from it, but does so because he feels that as a doctor, his duty is always to the patient and to no one else. Roger may be a good surgeon, but he wants the glory for himself. When Roger is given the chance to try and save Professor Bao's work, he does so to ensure that he gets credit for it, although Bao's true protégé was always Mack. When Bao dies, Mack gets into trouble with the medical board, and Roger is determined to see that Mack loses his license.

Lau Ching Wan does a good job as the police officer Chiu, who is smitten with the prostitute, Mei. He wants to her only customer, and even mistakes Mack as trying to sought her services, when in truth Mack was treating her for womb cancer. Lau's lovesick character and the things he does to prevent people from seeking Mei are hilarious, but not totally over the top.

Christy Chung provides good eye candy, as Roger's girlfriend, Jamie who is actually smitten with Mack, and who knows that Mack, not Roger is the true genius behind the medical treatments and surgeries. She actually marvels at Mack's selflessness as a doctor, providing the homeless with free health-care.

Andy's rather emotional turn as Dr Sam So who was in love with his patient, Zin (who happens to be Mack's ex-girlfriend's sister, and who, as fate would have it, suffers from bone cancer) makes you feel for him. It's not OTT emotional, but emotional enough to make you feel for him and his difficulty. Actually Zin was supposed to be Mack's patient, but Mack decided to use Zin as a way of making Sam understand that he has to learn to deal with patients who have little time left.

Alex To did good with his character as Roger Law, given the limited screen time. I wished there was a bit more development with his character, but as the immoral doctor who finally realizes what being a good doctor is all about. His determination to see that Mack loses his license makes you hate him at first, but when he needed an operation, and it was Mack who saved him, Roger learns what being a doctor is all about.

No prizes for guessing who Tony's character ended up with! That's the spoiler!
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8/10
Cinema
saint_henry8819 July 2019
Watch this in 2019. This is what the cinema needs. No sophisticated gadgets,big twists,just simple straight forward story line. Life is complicated, why should movies be.
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9/10
Leung Chiu-Wai elevated it
arnoldpoon2 September 2023
In case I forget, congratulations to Leung Chiu-Wai for winning the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement. In this film, I love his peevish acts and nonchalant lack of stare.

Set in a time when people of Hong Kong were known for their neon lights, poster-ridden lampposts, and distinctive hairstyles, the film has simple characters with complicated characters. But what captivated me was the plot that might seem too ordinary at the first glance, and yet outstanding in its storytelling. It was well-paced: no arcs have been rushed; each character has their emotional attachment. (I discovered later it was adapted from a manga) There were no excesses. Nice production designs too. This kind of combo might have been commonplace then; it is no easy sight today.
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