Silver Hawk
Encyclopedia
Silver Hawk is a 2004
Hong Kong movie
starring Michelle Yeoh
, Richie Ren
, Luke Goss
, Michael Jai White
and Li Bingbing
, directed by Jingle Ma
. Yeoh plays the title character, a masked comic book style heroine who rides a motorcycle
, saves kidnapped pandas
and uses her martial arts
moves on the bad guys. The masked heroine theme dates back to Huang Ying, a 1948 Shanghai
book by Xiao Ping.http://michelleyeoh.info/Movie/Sh/shbook.html
is prominently featured and used by one of the secondary characters.
It was filmed back to back in both Cantonese and English.
is in our world) where she meets an old childhood friend, Rich Man. Then a flashback occurs, going back to the martial arts training academy when they were little.
He is the new head of the police department. He recognizes Lulu, Silver Hawks's name in real life, from magazine covers but does not recall her from his childhood. He tells her of his mission to arrest Silver Hawk. When they arrive at the airport, he asks for her phone number, but she asks for his phone instead. She implants a tracking chip so she can overhear his conversations and agrees to a date if he can recall who she is, tweaking his nose as she goes (the same way he'd tweak hers as a kid).
At home, she is telling her assistant Mimi about her trip when her adoptive aunt arrives with Professor Ho Chung for a blind date. Prof. Ho starts to tell her of his new project when she gets word of a bank robbery. She suggests going to the movies and leaves to get ready -- to change outfits and foil the criminals. The pattern of fighting crooks and disappearing before the police arrive repeats until she arrives at a mugging. This is really a sting for Rich Man to arrest her, but she fends him off and handcuffs him to a pole. As she leaves, he yells that she's leaving without a goodbye. This triggers a flashback to when she left the academy with a monk who would train her further in kung fu, leaving him heartbroken.
Back at home, she finds the professor's assistant waiting in his place. The assistant, Kit, escorts her to the professor's demonstration of his project: an A.I.
chip that would tap into several databases with information about the user to suggest ways for the user to improve his or her way of life. Lulu doesn't like it because it might infringe on free will. Later, Kit reveals he is a Silver Hawk fan and Man, who is there to provide security, recognizes his "little sister." Then the professor is kidnapped by Morris and Jane, with the police and Silver Hawk soon giving chase. At one point, the escape truck is blocked and the two kidnappers get out to slow the pursuit until the truck can move. Silver Hawk battles the two while a camera on his head sends images of her to his boss. The chase ends at an outdoor wedding where she chooses to save the bride instead of following the crooks.
While Man investigates Shiraishi Inc., who expressed interest in Ho's chip, Ho is brought before Alexander Wolfe, who wants his chip to take over the minds of the phone's users. He coerces Prof. Ho into helping him.
Man's investigation takes him to Zenda City (a.k.a. Tokyo), where Shiraishi is headquartered. His friend on the local force, Lt. Lisa Hayashi, takes him to the CEO, who is already seeing his niece, Lulu Wong. Later, the CEO's daughter Tina is kidnapped by Morris and Jane, and Lulu intervenes. The camera on Morris' head transmits images of Lulu to his boss (Wolfe), who deduces who Silver Hawk is. The crooks escape, and Man brings her to the local police station and asks her about her kung fu skills, which she had earlier denied maintaining. Outside the station, they see the CEO driving away and follow him, knowing that he'd refused to cooperate with police. They tail him to a meeting with Wolfe, who whisks him away in a helicopter before the two can intervene. All Lulu can do is take a picture of Wolfe and later send it to Kit, knowing that he's a fan.
Wolfe wants the CEO to put Ho's chip in a new phone and distribute them in exchange for his daughter. Later, he forces Prof. Ho to speed up his preparation of the subliminal
messages that phones will transmit, despite possible long-term damage to the user's mind. Ho manages to slip a secret message into the phone's computer code.
Days later, Shiraishi is promoting its new phone, and the CEO is more focused on that than on seeing Lulu about his daughter. Lulu goes to her apartment and finds flowers and a message from Wolfe to meet him about Tina. As she's about to leave, she finds Man, who has begun to guess who Silver Hawk is, waiting outside to talk to her. She tells him to wait in the hotel bar, but he leaves some tracking chips on top of the door. when she leaves, the chips fall onto her hair, and he tracks her to her meeting. Inside the building, she meets Wolfe, who then sends four men attached to bungee cords to attack Silver Hawk and leap away before she can respond. She manages to fend them off until Wolfe injures her shoulder with his prosthetic arms. She then uses one bungee cord to leap up to a window and escape. Man tracks her to where she'd passed out from the pain and takes her to his apartment to confront her about her vigilante actions. This is interrupted when Kit walks in and start to blab about the e-mail he'd sent her about Wolfe. Man drags him away to get the information about Wolfe. That interrogation is interrupted by a newsflash about the CEO's support of Wolfe to run for premier. Kit sees how unnatural the CEO's face is; Man sees he's wearing a new phone. The two investigate the connection.
As Lulu bathes to heal her shoulder, she recalls a lesson her teacher gave her about the nature of water and kung fu. This gives her an idea on how to deal with Wolfe.
The next day, Kit has discovered the secret message Prof. Ho put in the code. Wolfe plans to activate the mind control in a few hours, but they don't know where to look for him until Silver Hawk sends them the address. There, the police battle Wolfe's thugs until Silver Hawk arrives to help put them away. Kit finds a way to Wolfe's lair and then tend to Prof. Ho while Silver Hawk and Man battle Wolfe and his men. She uses cloths attached to her flying blades to subdue his prosthetics, and she and Man finally defeat him. But they must use Wolfe's retinal scan
to stop the process, so Kit tricks him into opening his eyes. This foils his plan but also activates the self-destruct system. Silver Hawk and the rest escape, but Wolfe is crushed to death.
Back in Polaris City, Lulu has a date with Man. He's called away on official business, leaving the question of whether he'd arrest Lulu unanswered. Silver Hawk later drives up next to man, and the two tease each other about their signature moves.
2004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
Hong Kong movie
Cinema of Hong Kong
The cinema of Hong Kong is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese language cinema, alongside the cinema of China, and the cinema of Taiwan...
starring Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh
Michelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress, well known for performing her own stunts in the action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s....
, Richie Ren
Richie Ren
Richie Jen is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He has become extremely popular throughout Asia, particularly in the Chinese-speaking countries. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.-Films:...
, Luke Goss
Luke Goss
Luke Damon Goss is an English singer and actor. Since 1994, he has been married to backing singer Shirley Lewis, , and has one stepdaughter, Carli. In January 2007, he and wife Shirley moved permanently to Los Angeles, but still maintain a residence in London...
, Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White is an American actor and martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn...
and Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing is a Chinese actress and singer.-Life and career:Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers...
, directed by Jingle Ma
Jingle Ma
Jingle Ma Cho Shing is the Hong Kong-based writer/director of action films such as Tokyo Raiders and Seoul Raiders. He can speak 5 different languages and currently lives in Hong Kong with his 7 children.-Filmography:-External links:* at * *...
. Yeoh plays the title character, a masked comic book style heroine who rides a motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
, saves kidnapped pandas
Giant Panda
The giant panda, or panda is a bear native to central-western and south western China. It is easily recognized by its large, distinctive black patches around the eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. Though it belongs to the order Carnivora, the panda's diet is 99% bamboo...
and uses her martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
moves on the bad guys. The masked heroine theme dates back to Huang Ying, a 1948 Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
book by Xiao Ping.http://michelleyeoh.info/Movie/Sh/shbook.html
Cast
- Michelle YeohMichelle YeohMichelle Yeoh Choo-Kheng is a Hong Kong-based Malaysian Chinese actress, well known for performing her own stunts in the action films that brought her to fame in the early 1990s....
- Lulu Wong / the Silver Hawk - Richie RenRichie RenRichie Jen is a Taiwanese singer and actor. He has become extremely popular throughout Asia, particularly in the Chinese-speaking countries. He graduated from the Chinese Culture University's physical education department.-Films:...
- Rich Man - Luke GossLuke GossLuke Damon Goss is an English singer and actor. Since 1994, he has been married to backing singer Shirley Lewis, , and has one stepdaughter, Carli. In January 2007, he and wife Shirley moved permanently to Los Angeles, but still maintain a residence in London...
- Mr. Wolfe - Li BingbingLi BingbingLi Bingbing is a Chinese actress and singer.-Life and career:Li had no intention of becoming an actress initially and enrolled specifically in a high school for prospective school teachers...
- Jane - Michael Jai WhiteMichael Jai WhiteMichael Jai White is an American actor and martial artist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is the first African American to portray a major comic book superhero in a major motion picture, having starred as Al Simmons, the protagonist in the 1997 film Spawn...
- Morris
Trivia
The original N-gageN-Gage
The N-Gage is a mobile telephone and handheld game system by Nokia, based on the Nokia Series 60 platform, released in October 2003. It began sales on October 7, 2003. The N-Gage QD replaced the original N-Gage in 2004....
is prominently featured and used by one of the secondary characters.
It was filmed back to back in both Cantonese and English.
Plot
The movie starts with Silver Hawk riding on her motorcycle through an alternate version of China. She is chasing thugs who have stolen pandas and are getting away in a truck. She attaches her bike to the truck, jumps on top of and fights the men in the truck until they give up. She heads back to Polaris City (located where Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
is in our world) where she meets an old childhood friend, Rich Man. Then a flashback occurs, going back to the martial arts training academy when they were little.
He is the new head of the police department. He recognizes Lulu, Silver Hawks's name in real life, from magazine covers but does not recall her from his childhood. He tells her of his mission to arrest Silver Hawk. When they arrive at the airport, he asks for her phone number, but she asks for his phone instead. She implants a tracking chip so she can overhear his conversations and agrees to a date if he can recall who she is, tweaking his nose as she goes (the same way he'd tweak hers as a kid).
At home, she is telling her assistant Mimi about her trip when her adoptive aunt arrives with Professor Ho Chung for a blind date. Prof. Ho starts to tell her of his new project when she gets word of a bank robbery. She suggests going to the movies and leaves to get ready -- to change outfits and foil the criminals. The pattern of fighting crooks and disappearing before the police arrive repeats until she arrives at a mugging. This is really a sting for Rich Man to arrest her, but she fends him off and handcuffs him to a pole. As she leaves, he yells that she's leaving without a goodbye. This triggers a flashback to when she left the academy with a monk who would train her further in kung fu, leaving him heartbroken.
Back at home, she finds the professor's assistant waiting in his place. The assistant, Kit, escorts her to the professor's demonstration of his project: an A.I.
A.i.
A.i. is a three-piece rock-electroclash band based from Los Angeles, California. The band consists of Nick Young , Zack Young , and Milen Kirov . In September 2007, A.i...
chip that would tap into several databases with information about the user to suggest ways for the user to improve his or her way of life. Lulu doesn't like it because it might infringe on free will. Later, Kit reveals he is a Silver Hawk fan and Man, who is there to provide security, recognizes his "little sister." Then the professor is kidnapped by Morris and Jane, with the police and Silver Hawk soon giving chase. At one point, the escape truck is blocked and the two kidnappers get out to slow the pursuit until the truck can move. Silver Hawk battles the two while a camera on his head sends images of her to his boss. The chase ends at an outdoor wedding where she chooses to save the bride instead of following the crooks.
While Man investigates Shiraishi Inc., who expressed interest in Ho's chip, Ho is brought before Alexander Wolfe, who wants his chip to take over the minds of the phone's users. He coerces Prof. Ho into helping him.
Man's investigation takes him to Zenda City (a.k.a. Tokyo), where Shiraishi is headquartered. His friend on the local force, Lt. Lisa Hayashi, takes him to the CEO, who is already seeing his niece, Lulu Wong. Later, the CEO's daughter Tina is kidnapped by Morris and Jane, and Lulu intervenes. The camera on Morris' head transmits images of Lulu to his boss (Wolfe), who deduces who Silver Hawk is. The crooks escape, and Man brings her to the local police station and asks her about her kung fu skills, which she had earlier denied maintaining. Outside the station, they see the CEO driving away and follow him, knowing that he'd refused to cooperate with police. They tail him to a meeting with Wolfe, who whisks him away in a helicopter before the two can intervene. All Lulu can do is take a picture of Wolfe and later send it to Kit, knowing that he's a fan.
Wolfe wants the CEO to put Ho's chip in a new phone and distribute them in exchange for his daughter. Later, he forces Prof. Ho to speed up his preparation of the subliminal
Subliminal
Subliminal may refer to:* Subliminal stimuli* Subliminal , Israeli rapper and producer* Subliminal , an electronic music label...
messages that phones will transmit, despite possible long-term damage to the user's mind. Ho manages to slip a secret message into the phone's computer code.
Days later, Shiraishi is promoting its new phone, and the CEO is more focused on that than on seeing Lulu about his daughter. Lulu goes to her apartment and finds flowers and a message from Wolfe to meet him about Tina. As she's about to leave, she finds Man, who has begun to guess who Silver Hawk is, waiting outside to talk to her. She tells him to wait in the hotel bar, but he leaves some tracking chips on top of the door. when she leaves, the chips fall onto her hair, and he tracks her to her meeting. Inside the building, she meets Wolfe, who then sends four men attached to bungee cords to attack Silver Hawk and leap away before she can respond. She manages to fend them off until Wolfe injures her shoulder with his prosthetic arms. She then uses one bungee cord to leap up to a window and escape. Man tracks her to where she'd passed out from the pain and takes her to his apartment to confront her about her vigilante actions. This is interrupted when Kit walks in and start to blab about the e-mail he'd sent her about Wolfe. Man drags him away to get the information about Wolfe. That interrogation is interrupted by a newsflash about the CEO's support of Wolfe to run for premier. Kit sees how unnatural the CEO's face is; Man sees he's wearing a new phone. The two investigate the connection.
As Lulu bathes to heal her shoulder, she recalls a lesson her teacher gave her about the nature of water and kung fu. This gives her an idea on how to deal with Wolfe.
The next day, Kit has discovered the secret message Prof. Ho put in the code. Wolfe plans to activate the mind control in a few hours, but they don't know where to look for him until Silver Hawk sends them the address. There, the police battle Wolfe's thugs until Silver Hawk arrives to help put them away. Kit finds a way to Wolfe's lair and then tend to Prof. Ho while Silver Hawk and Man battle Wolfe and his men. She uses cloths attached to her flying blades to subdue his prosthetics, and she and Man finally defeat him. But they must use Wolfe's retinal scan
Retinal scan
A retinal scan is a biometric technique that uses the unique patterns on a person's retina to identify them. It is not to be confused with another ocular-based technology, iris recognition.-Introduction:...
to stop the process, so Kit tricks him into opening his eyes. This foils his plan but also activates the self-destruct system. Silver Hawk and the rest escape, but Wolfe is crushed to death.
Back in Polaris City, Lulu has a date with Man. He's called away on official business, leaving the question of whether he'd arrest Lulu unanswered. Silver Hawk later drives up next to man, and the two tease each other about their signature moves.