Fantasy Mission Force (1983)

Redundant and unnecessary.

hyped garbage

Brilliant and touching

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

"Fantasy Mission Force," is quite aptly named. The movie is a fantasy about a mission taken on by an eclectic force of military types. The catch is that all coherency stops at the title. FMF is best described as ridiculously bizarre. Only under the broadest definition can the film be said to have plot or characterization. Examining what this film has is not really of much use. Rather, FMF is most effectively evaluated by what it purposefully lacks.To be brutally honest, this film lacks a great deal of what many consider the qualities of a proper film. To be sure, a camera and actors were used. However, the film quickly begins to diverge from generally accepted standards at this point. The assumptions of the filmmakers are not really comprehensible. It would appear that creating a mixed genre farce was the goal. To achieve this, the film strings together several set pieces that peripherally hint at particular genres. For example, horror is incorporated by having the "force" stay at a haunted house. What happens in the haunted house defies explanation. Honestly, the scenes in the haunted house simply make a full break with reality and the genre. The effect is an incoherent mish mash of semi-familiar clichés causing either intensely uncomfortable confusion or riotously funny weirdness. In addition to the set pieces, the transitions make absolutely no sense. In regards to the horror scenes, the protagonists escape an incarnation of the devil by setting off a string of cheap fireworks. How does this work? Never you mind, the next set piece has already begun. While the characters remain generally the same between vignettes, everything else is altered based entirely on whim. Essentially, this film is a mess.Oh, but what a mess! The humor is an acquired taste. Imagine a film that purposefully breaks any and all assumptions an audience might have just for the sake of doing it. You want a story? Sorry. Do you like things to be slightly realistic? Tough luck. How about characters that have character? Nope. Social perspective, observational humor, or even a dram like logic? No, No, and No. What will you give me? How about whatever I feel like and a few explosions. Not only is that all the viewer gets, the end result is absolutely hilarious. FMF is perfectly summed up as the result of deviously jaded filmmakers providing "product" for a public that will consume it. If anything, the film clearly illustrates that the human animal is still amused by flickering lights and shiny things. I have never been so hilariously made aware of my almost non-existent standards.On a personal note, I will absolutely recommend this film to certain friends. Should you be a "film connoisseur" then FMF will probably not be to your liking. On the other hand, if you enjoy what can be and has been done with a motion picture camera, then this is a movie for you. The film lends itself to large amounts of intoxicants and running commentary. 3.5 of 10 stars.

Fantasy Mission ForceGenre: Martial Arts, War, Horror, Comedy Released: 1982 Director: Chu Yin Ping Starring: Jackie Chan (according to the cover)There are movies that are good to go and see in the cinema, expensive spectacles of light and CGI, impressive acting and intrinsic plot twists, films you walk away from full of hope for the future of the moving picture. Other pictures are just good to watch when you are either stoned and/or drunk. Fantasy Mission Force is one of those films. In fact, it could well be the God of the stoner film. Jackie Chan did this film as a favour to Jimmy Wang Yu, who it's said helped him out with some Triad problems, and only appears here and there throughout the movie. Which is a good thing for Jackie. Our story takes place during World War 2, and begins with Jimmy Wang massacring the Japanese with a machine gun while driving around in a jeep. On returning to base, he is given a mission to rescue General Abraham Lincoln from the Japanese in Luxemburg, and to do so he has to gather a crack team of non-army folks from various locations in Europe. After a quick musical number in Chinese (the rest of the film is dubbed), Jimmy captures his first team member by luring him with food, grabs another who's just escaped from a Chinese jail (in Europe), and bags a violent assassin couple by almost killing them first. The female part of this couple bazookas her house before she goes for some reason, and the whole gang, including a comedy duo, set off for Luxemburg in a jeep. Jacky (as it's spelt here) is a hustler, bumping people for money by duping them into fights or something. It's hard to tell. After making a large amount of cash, the local chief of police takes it off him and Jackie, missus in tow, sets off into the wilderness scant. Our heroes, crossing marshland, are attacked by masked Amazon warriors, and Jimmy is killed. Nevertheless, our heroes plod on, only to get themselves captured by the Amazons, who live in a complex riverside bamboo village (in Europe). A tuxedo-clad James Bong type rules these chicks, and wants to kill the male half of our heroic gang. Luckily, they are rescued in a hailstorm of explosions and run off to the next mental part of the film. Jackie joins in the action for a bit again here, fighting with a live chicken in his arms (chicken NOT chuffed by the looks of it), and then goes away again. Next up our heroes find themselves kipping overnight in a house full of Chinese ghosts, which leads to many bizarre scenes, including one of the heroes settling down to play cards with two ghosts, and a dinner party involving loads of scary claws taking the pish out of another character. Somehow one of the characters ends up dressed in armour and swinging a morning star about, and they all finally end up at their end destination, only to find they've been double crossed by Jimmy Wang Yu, who is still alive. However, the cast of Mad Max turn up in seventies cars (during WWII) adorned with swastikas, and a huge battle breaks out. Our heroes are all killed in surprisingly violent and gory ways, including the comedy relief who is impaled by a sword shoved up his back door! Jackie appears and sorts out the rest of the baddies, including Jimmy Wang, and the whole film just stops as if someone has switched of the DVD for you. Fantasy Mission Force goes where not even films like Zombie Flesh Eaters would dare. Two minutes into the film sanity hails a cab and gets right out of town, leaving you watching a Nazi Kong FUD horror fantasy film which is so insane you have no idea where it's going to go next. The dialogue is hilarious, the acting diabolical, and the plot developments thought out by someone on heavy sedatives. Don't buy it to see Jackie Chan, because you'll feel let down, buy it because you need to see one the craziest films in existence.

What a sad world we live in. We go to the cinema and Spielberg tells us what to think. Films have an intended emotion to bring forth and every single aspect of the film is orchestrated to bring that emotion out in us. "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" transports us back to the old west. "Saving Private Ryan" takes us back to France in 1944. How liberating it is to have a film with no such pretenses? Imagine judging each character in a film with no latent prejudice. "Fantasy Mission Force" is that film. Characters: Because you have no clue where or when you are in the film. You also have no clue who the "good" guy is supposed to be. I will not rehash all the finer points that others have made about the film. Others have said that this film is "so bad it is good". I think it is good because you can escape the whole notion of having a director shove his/her views down your throat. Take for example the "Break-away expert" is he good or bad? I say bad. What about the "Tin-Man" (the one with the breastplate). Bad. In fact this film made me want to see all the characters die. There was no tortured hero for me to pull for or feel good for. There was no villain for me to hate or hold ill feeling for. In fact it was quite liberating to be able to make my own opinions on the individuals. Very refreshing. History: While this is supposed to be a film about WWII seeing Chinese actors-playing Japanese soldiers- in Allegmeine SS parade uniforms (poorly reproduced)is worth the price of admission. The terrain is very much Asia and not Europe. I'll include a little economy in the history; all the members of the "force" have huge sums of cash- all American cash and it's blue. One would think that the amounts of cash thrown around the "force" wouldn't be so cash strapped to take on the "mission" I digress, don't try to put any of your knowledge of history, geography, politics, or anything else you learned in school to work while you watch the film. Plot: Lurching. Awkward. And about as predictable as watching a loved one have a seizure. Again this is the allure of the film. You are at a total loss as to what will happen next. Since there is no suspense or anticipation you may feel the need to put in something that is a bit easier to digest. DO NOT! This is a life altering adventure. You have not fully enjoyed film till this. Best moments: The soldier jerked with whip, the hopping vampire comes to life, ghost shot with bazooka.....

Even if you've seen THE STORY OF RICKY, you are not ready for FANTASY MISSION FORCE! It's unpredictable, crazy, hilarious, and one of the last great non-slick Hong Kong action films ever made. If you think HK films are all about CROUCHING TIGERs and FLYING DAGGERs, think again. Jackie Chan is in the movie for about 15 minutes, but you won't mind it. If you get bored easily by films, you won't be bored by this! There's no need to reach for your remote control, because FMF will change the channel for you. And if you didn't think it was possible to find a movie that featured a flaming Chinese actor in a kilt doing a bad Oliver Hardy impression, or an Asian Pat Benatar doing an Annie Oakley routine, you're about to be proved wrong -- when you see FANTASY MISSION FORCE.