Despite its flaws, this is an entertaining fantasy adventure that both kids and adults will enjoy. Worth seeking out.
CJ7 (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:37
Rotten:39
Average Rating:5.3/10
Consensus: Eccentric and sweet, Stephen Chow's latest is charming, but too strangely and slackly plotted to work as a whole.
Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for language, thematic material, some rude humor and brief smoking
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Comedies
Theatrical Release:08-08-2008
Synopsis: Chinese writer-director-comedian Stephen Chow (SHAOLIN SOCCER, KUNG FU HUSTLE) takes a break from his usual action-comedy adventures for an E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL-inspired tale of family bonds... Chinese writer-director-comedian Stephen Chow (SHAOLIN SOCCER, KUNG FU HUSTLE) takes a break from his usual action-comedy adventures for an E.T.: THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL-inspired tale of family bonds and personal integrity. Chow stars as Ti, a down-on-his luck widower who must funnel all of his wages into the private school education of his nine-year-old son, Dicky (Xu Jiao). The two are reduced to living in an abandoned building and scrounging for necessities, as well as playing nightly games of "clobber the cockroaches." Ti tries to appease Dicky's desire for a trendy new toy by bringing home a mysterious green orb found at a garbage dump. Dicky is soon shocked when the orb transforms into a perky doglike alien being, dubbed "CJ7." When Dicky witnesses CJ7's otherworldly powers he imagines CJ7 to be the answer to all of his school troubles: passing tests, excelling in gym class, and overcoming the school bully. But CJ7 is not as all-powerful as Dicky believes, and when tragedy strikes the family both Dicky and CJ7 must overcome doubt to reveal their true inner strength. Both CJ7's creature animation and a side order of Chow's kung fu kinetics provide plenty of laughs for kids. At the same the film's adult themes of social inequality, honesty, and self-sacrifice will give kids and parents plenty to discuss once the film is over. Frequently silly but genuinely heartfelt, CJ7 features enough of Chow's trademark twists to make for a unique family entertainment experience. [More]
Starring: Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang, Lam Tze Chung
Starring: Stephen Chow, Xu Jiao, Kitty Zhang, Lam Tze Chung
Director: Stephen Chow
Director: Stephen Chow
Screenwriter: Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok
Producer: Stephen Chow, Chui Po-chu, Han Sanping, Vincent Kok
Composer: Raymond Wong
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for CJ7
Chow’s kung fu fans may be disappointed that he’s made a family film, but on its own terms it’s well crafted, quite touching and frequently LOL.
Whimsical, knockabout and slightly out there, it's an enticing watch and one which more adventurous young audiences won't find too alien.
There are some nice surreal touches, such as getting enormous adults to play two of the eight-year-olds. But I can't forgive Chow for a misjudged and frankly offensive ending, which is culpably evasive about the reality of life and death.
With its fast action, cute critters and schoolyard antics, children and fans of Kung Fu Hustle should enjoy Stephen Chow's CJ7, which further cements his reputation as a commercially gifted director.
Chow’s film is a charming, funny illustration of family life that explores the notion of being given a second chance. A kids’ comedy with a heart.
What charm CJ7 has is of the Saturday-morning variety, built upon a tiresome mixture of slapstick humor and comic-book action.
Diluindo seu senso de humor anárquico e cartunesco no intuito de criar um filme família, Chow concebe apenas uma história formulaica, artificial em seu sentimentalismo barato e sem a menor graça.
The tone veers wildly from sentimental family drama to cartoonish fantasy, and some of the attempts at humor badly misfire.
Chow's child-like sense of wonder is no guarantee that he can make a suitable film for kids.
He knows he's the hundredth director to rip off E.T.: he's just going to do it better, and with jokes fit for a vintage Warner Brothers cartoon. [Blu-Ray]
In spite of the hole the writers dig themselves in accidentally turning the main hero in to a really unlikable presence, "CJ7" is a great twist on the boy meets alien tale...
The choice between fantasy and reality is ultimately what CJ7 addresses and dramatises. Chow's film is charming, to be sure - but that is just the half of it.
Chow loves his comedic exaggerations, and for good reason: he executes silly with dazzling skill. CJ7 might be a minutely less aggressive production from Chow, but that doesn't make it any less unreal or hilarious.
This is a wildly inventive and funny film that is a breath of fresh air.
Always intriguing but not always fully involving, CJ7 still features, as with its resurrecting dog, Chow's enlivening touch. Even when his film isn't completely absorbing, it seems he never met a dying genre cliché he can't reanimate.
CJ7 is a deceptive little delight, a movie that wisely avoids the pitfalls of its obvious homage to set its own cinematic course
CJ7 acknowledges the clichés, sometimes embracing and sometimes satirizing the conventional depictions of kids and adults in family films.
While to many audiences it might seem bizarre and out there, it's perversely watchable.
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