Owning a motorbike meant a great deal to most young men living in Hong Kong during the early 70s and Song Da (Ti Lung) is no exception. The movie's Chinese title which interprets as “Motorbikes” says it all.
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Song Da and Ye Wei (Helen Ko) are young lovers alright, but without wheels. We first meet them on a beach where an uninterested Song Da is desperately avoiding the over friendly advances of Ye Wei to a point where he eventually runs away and jumps into the sea to cool off. Ye Wei is further let down when it's time to go home because they miss the bus. She then takes off with some passing-by young men on bikes. It becomes obvious to Song Da that he will have to get a bike to win back his girlfriend and that's the simple story line of this movie, about a young man who's obsessed to own a motorbike.
“Young Lovers on Flying Wheels” is Ti Lung's directional debut; it's inconsistent and sloppy at times. He's much better suited in the lead as a clueless, naive youth who has to struggle to get what he wants besides being ill prepared to face the world. Just as well, he's charismatic and charming enough to carry the movie since it's all about the character he portrays. The rest of the cast is mainly supporting characters with hardly any background and they come and go. The only exception is Yuan Yu Mei (Rainbow Ching Ho Wai), a wholesome girl who has the hots for Song.
Not only is he a handsome youth, Song Da is also skilled in martial arts which lead him to a kung fu tournament in which a motorbike awaits the winner. Here we get to appreciate a wonderful display of action, choreographed by Lau Kar Leung and his brother Lau Kar Wing. The highlight is a contestant who uses the spiritual style resulting in hilarious results. By the way, Song Da is not the winner of the tournament; however, he still wins a bike helmet.
The supporting characters are interesting, for example, a couple of low rent thieves played by Lee Hoi Sang and Dean Shek Tin. These two are a total contrast; the former is a bit more brainy and serious while Dean is the goofy one who can be irritating for some viewers. Accordingly, Hoi Seng is put to good use in the final fight with Song Da; unfortunately their fight is bland and not exciting. Elsewhere, Wu Ma turns up as someone carrying trays of eggs on a street. Best of all is a young John Woo who plays the man in the police reclaim center.
It's a common practice for Asian movies set in the 70s to touch on social themes. In this case, we are lead to believe that in order to achieve some acknowledgment, among the young especially, one should own a motorbike or better still, a car. These poor souls seem to be living beyond their means and forever getting into debt. Then again, this can apply to anyone starting out without any outside help. Anyhow, Ti Lung's choice of Latin rock fusion soundtrack makes the movie comes alive and puts it in a cheerful mood.
As a family comedy drama, this Shaw Brothers outing is still fun and entertaining. As always, Ti Lung's in top form, together with the funny gags he adds in between scenes plus the 70s fashion, it's definitely worth watching, especially for fans.
