One of the fascinating things about Hong Kong cinema during its prime was its ability to go beyond what at times would be acceptable and really push the boundaries of good taste. The result could be some incredibly visceral images that could leave the viewer speechless. Whilst the end products themselves may not have always been particularly good, you would at least be left having a strong opinion about what you had experienced. Sometimes this ability did not always create something edifying and the worst excesses and prejudices would be revealed. This leads us to “Body Weapon” a movie that certainly will create a reaction.
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Madame Chan (Angie Cheung) has a dilemma, being in love with both Wu (Vincent Zhao) and Sam (Stephen Au), fellow officers in the Hong Kong Police. After a scandal, she is ordered to choose between them, ultimately marrying Sam. On her wedding night, three men break in, kill Sam and rape Chan. Traumatised by the events, Chan seeks revenge, learning from drag artist Pearl (Clarence Fok) how to use her body to both seduce and slay her targets. With Wu a reluctant assistant, the true reason for her attack proves to be closer than they first thought.
From reading the above synopsis it's clear that we are not in for the usual stereotypical cop flick. From the outset ,we are in full exploitation territory with graphic violence and nudity. Then it gets a bit insane….
Firstly, I don't think a modern employment tribunal would look fondly on the idea that a police inspector informing a female police officer to pick one of two men, marry them or get fired. Realism is not a strongpoint of “Body Weapon” and we haven't even gone down the rabbit hole of madness at this juncture. Yet, it's a sign that logic and taste are not going to be present any time soon. Given her attire is provocative with the camera fetishizing her body in every frame, the male gaze is clearly the target audience.
After the murder/rape sequence, we truly descend into delirium. Chan learns the art of seductive violence from drag queen Pearl. Clarance Fok plays the part in such a way that Nicholas Cage would sit in awe, such is the scenery chewed. It's a performance that goes beyond any camp stereotype and is intentionally played for laughs which causes the till then serious tone of the picture to collapse from within, as we get some seriously offensive humour .With the camera angles and manic laughing of Pearl it becomes genuinely disturbing scene.
If that is not homophobic enough, then we get the reveal of the killers in gimp costume and their motivation. If you have somehow still been paying attention then the way, this actor performs his role practically telegraphs it. The only way it could be more obvious is if he walked around with a neon sign above him flashing killer on it. The motivation makes no sense. Firstly the idea of revenge and jealousy, why did they need to kill all the others at the start of the film? Also by making the killer gay (not a spoiler as it is blatantly obvious from the outset), it just adds another layer of homophobic nastiness that is prevalent in a feature that seems to delight in its perversity.
But we haven't covered the revenge act yet. We've had the homophobia so why not throw in some misogyny too. By seducing the men and killing them in the most painful way possible, we enter full exploitation territory. Yet it saves the most mind boggling bit for the conclusion. After beating Yu, our villain is stopped by the heroine proceeding to strip down and attempt to seduce him and saying no man can resist her. Yes, this movie attempts to imply that gay men are actually straight! Not only is this scene narratively absurd but all taste has left and immigrated. I was genuinely baffled as to what was happening.
To put “Body Weapon” into context, there has often been very broad characterization when it comes to homosexuality. For every “Happy Together” that treats the subject matter with sensitivity, there is a “Pantyhose Hero” that conforms to the frequent jibes at masculinity and casual cruelty that betrays the specific cultural view. As for the misogyny, this too is a similar aspect. Chan is the typical contradiction, being both a strong female character but also overly sexualized. In the mid 1990's there was a boom in Catagory III productions. These featured increased amounts of sex and violence with very little filter, one of the most famous being “Naked Killer” which is what “Body Weapon” clearly aspires to mirror.
Here though is its fundamental flaw. It's boring. For all the attempt to titilate and shock it's only a II rating and so doesn't go as far as it thinks it does. The characters are self absorbed and unsympathetic with a killer so obvious any suspense is just lost from the outset. It tries to shock but it's a Caragory III wannabe that lacks the teeth to go all out. What you have left is an equal opportunistic feature with something to offend everyone but without the conviction to be shocking. I am personally not a fan of “Naked Killer” but at least it got a reaction out of me, this just had me drifting.
Vincent Zhao has had an odd career.Hampered at the start by trying to follow Jet Li in the “Once Upon a Time in China” series and only coming into his own in “The Blade”. He can have a presence but often comes across as bland and insular which is what we see here. Angie Cheung literally puts everything out there in a gutsy performance but is hampered by direction that focuses on her physical attributes. The fight sequences are dull too which is in keeping with the substandard nature of the whole feature.
Usually I try to find positives. Even bad films have positive aspects if you keep an open mind. Now I suspect I am not the target audience for “Body Weapon” even though I do enjoy a good catagory III. This though is not a good Catagory III, it's not even a Catagory II. It's a cheap, poorly produced piece of film making that forgets to even be interesting whilst trying to offend. Essentially it's a naughty child sniggering at saying something rude rather than the all out shocker it wants to be. Avoid and be happy that you did so!
