Description:
Hailed as Kung Fu Hustle actor-director Stephen Chow's variation on E.T. the Extraterrestrial, CJ7 is an odd and somewhat distressing children's movie that will certainly appeal to some kids and traumatize others. Chow stars as near-homeless laborer Ti, who spends most of his meager earnings on private school tuition for his beleagured son, Dicky (Jiao Xu). Lonely, friendless, and picked on by bullies and uptight teachers alike, Dicky's life changes when he acquires ultra-sophisticated robot toy CJ7, left on Earth by an alien vessel. Instantly, the boy fantasizes about all the ways CJ7 can implement his long-standing vows of rev
Hailed as Kung Fu Hustle actor-director Stephen Chow's variation on E.T. the Extraterrestrial, CJ7 is an odd and somewhat distressing children's movie that will certainly appeal to some kids and traumatize others. Chow stars as near-homeless laborer Ti, who spends most of his meager earnings on private school tuition for his beleagured son, Dicky (Jiao Xu). Lonely, friendless, and picked on by bullies and uptight teachers alike, Dicky's life changes when he acquires ultra-sophisticated robot toy CJ7, left on Earth by an alien vessel. Instantly, the boy fantasizes about all the ways CJ7 can implement his long-standing vows of revenge toward sundry tormentors. But things don't quite work out that way. CJ7 is more of passive, robot pup than fierce warrior, a fact that aggravates Dicky and makes the gizmo much more vulnerable to attacks from mean-spirited kids. But Dicky himself unleashes his own, pent-up wrath on poor CJ7, too, subjecting it to violent, albeit cartoonish outbursts that sometimes make one wonder who this film is for. Chow himself is very good in a classic role as threadbare guardian of a lonely child, a man whose hopes for his son outweigh every other consideration, to the point where they live in a cockroach-infested dump. Trying to grab onto lighthearted moments, Ti and Dicky make the best of it, but the film's action is so loopy and the violence so shrill it is hard to feel good about CJ7 for very long. --Tom Keogh
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Number of discs: 1
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