Attack of the Cute Alien in Stephen Chow’s CJ7

Stephen Chow ’s E.T.-inspired CJ7 open this weekend , and although it ’s been critically kicked around like the dispirited bounder on Earth , we loved the precious little matter . It ’s not your typical science fiction flick , and it ’s not even a typical Stephen Chow movie , who is comfortably known for comedies like Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer . But this tale of a boy and his cute foreign protagonist was the most fun we ’ve had expire to the theater in a long sentence . Spoilers and clips below .

Watching the trailer , you ’d have no idea what to expect from the film . When you see a trailer for an American picture these day , you ’ve seen the funniest lines , the big blowup , and you know all the round in the tale to look for . With this one , we went in knowing there ’s something about a toy and an alien , and a little kid who call a lot … but only in the trailer .

While the movie is a “ Stephen Chow Film ” about CJ7 , which turns out to be a unearthly sort of alien / toy hybrid , the real hotshot of the film is Xu Jiao . She plays the part of Dicky Chow , a boy , who pick up CJ7 as a firearm of jetsam his pop pick up in the junkyard . She has more screen time than either Chow or the all CGI - ized CJ7 , and she ’s both witching and singular .

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In fact , for the first clip in one of Chow ’s film , children are the tangible superstar of the movie , and he gets some stellar performances out of them . Check out the round - head male child ( who is also played by a girl ) who wants to be an entrepreneur in the clip above . He ends up becoming Dicky ’s nemesis ( more on that in the clip below ) , and later you make you could watch an full flick about the casual lives of these schoolkids .

Anyhow , the basic plot is that Dicky and his don are extremely pitiful , and Dicky ’s Father-God works recollective hours in a construction chore just to be able to send his son to an expensive secret school . As a result , they hold out near squalor in a house that is falling aside , and he ca n’t afford to bribe Dicky any of the cool toy that the other Thomas Kyd have at schoolhouse , like CJ1 , a sort of Sony Aibo looking robodog . Dicky feel leave out , and his pappa goes searching through the junkyard to incur a toy for Dicky .

That ’s where things go wonky . He finds a lump of burnished greenish phlegm - tinge plastic that looks like either a strange basketball , or something that drop off a fisherman ’s boat . It ’s a short plaything compared to a golem , that ’s for sure . However , when Dicky ’s dad locks him in a skinny for misconduct ( something Dicky does often ) , the orb come to life and puts Dicky in some form of a holographical projection that show him a set of program line in rebus - word form . afterward , the ball add up to life sentence , and eventually becomes a little half flossy / one-half plastic miniature dog .

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Dicky cerebrate the dog has magic powers and can help him handle the yobo at schoolhouse . In fact , some of the best scenes in the movie are the illusion sequences ( like the setting below where CJ7 faces “ the most fierce dog in the earth ” ) that unfold in Dicky ’s creative thinker . In reality , CJ7 is more like a fiddling Pomeranian toy dog dog than a automatic alien savior , but he does come imbued with E.T.-esque mend ability that work on both people and machines .

finally Dicky has to check to live without CJ7 , although this is a movie aimed at kids and families , so do n’t expect it to terminate on a pitiful note . Much like Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle , this movie is a bit like Looney Tunes on dot , with extreme over the top activity sequence and CGI effects . The scenes with CJ7 and Dicky at schooltime are the best in the film , and highlight how originative this Chow dynasty can be . At its worst moments , the movie drags a bit with Chow himself struggling at his job , or the heavy - handed father / son human relationship which is flimsy at best .

CJ7 might look cutesy Hello Kitty - ish , but we totally need one on our shelf . The plastic film open this weekend , and is emphatically deserving checking out , especially if you like slapstick comedy and a little cuteness in your aliens .

Lesdilley