The early to mid-90s saw a few attempts at sci-fi action in Hong Kong. Nearly all bathed in dry ice and a moody aesthetic, films like ‘Heroic Trio’, ‘Wonder Seven’ and ‘Deadly Dream Woman’ appeared with only the first of the three being memorable. Even more obscure is Chris Lee’s ‘Crystal Fortune Run’ which boasts a good cast, but has long since been forgotten (thank you to A. Tran for uploading this to a certain video website and bringing it back to my attention).
Inspector Kong (Yam) is haunted by the image of a beautiful, mysterious female assassin who flitted in and out of his life during a shoot-out. This woman, Wind (Cheung Man), is soon to reappear in his life when the Diamond of Emperor Chen is stolen and she is the prime suspect. The real culprit is cocky yet cute hacker Ko Kit (Yuen) who was assigned the task of stealing the diamond but not told just how many parties are interested in it. Chief among these is deranged gangster Lung Yu (Wong) who pulls out all of the stops to get the diamond back, and isn’t dissuaded by a lot of collateral damage.
It’s strange to think that ‘Crystal Fortune Run’ is so obscure now. It features Anita Yuen at the height of her popularity and charm (a year after ‘C’est La Vie Mon Cherie’ propelled her to stardom), and two major stars of the era, Simon Yam and Sharla Cheung Man. The reason might simply be that, for all its intentions, ‘Crystal Fortune Run’ never really ignites; it starts with promise and is peppered with quality throughout, but there’s never quite enough to drag it to the next stage. Whereas ‘Heroic Trio’ had the action and the characters to lift it to classic status, Chris Lee’s action film sputters along awkwardly.
That’s not to say that ‘Crystal Fortune Run’ doesn’t have its charms though. A few good action sequences are knitted together, all leading up to a decent, though never quite spectacular finale. Anita Yuen is sweet as the cheeky Ko Kit and it is testament to her charm that her coquettish character just about avoids being annoying. Nevertheless, despite its strengths and a bit of nostalgia for those of us who remember that early-90s aesthetic, ‘Crystal Fortune Run’ is less than the sum of its parts.
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