Dateline Boston — Spoiler alert! I will be reviewing a movie that you may have seen over the winter break.
On Christmas Day, our family saw it. The big one. The movie people have been waiting for. The one from a galaxy far, far away…I loved it. I am going to see it again. And that’s all I can say about that movie, because I don’t want to spoil it for others who haven’t seen it. Are there others who haven’t seen it yet? Maybe. Meantime, I’ll talk about a movie Younger Stepson and I saw.
Husband and Older Stepson were out running an errand, so Y.S. decided to see a movie, just the two of us. We were trying to find one to go to, and went through the ones listed at our local theaters. He wasn’t interested in the period piece at the independent theater. We checked the next one. Bad review, not interesting, a western, could be funny but sounds really stupid, subject matter interests his dad, not us, and saw it.
Next theater. Same movies as previous theater, except for one: A Chinese action comedy (with subtitles!) about an aging gangster who wants to use the old methods to deal with a problem involving his son. That could be cool. I mentioned to Y.S. how it was fun to see a movie you had no idea about. Sometimes those are the best ones.
We took the train downtown and got our tickets. We even got a discount on snacks, due to Y.S.’s teenage status. Score! I looked at the audience. There appeared to be three non-Chinese Americans who were about to watch this movie, including us. Bring on the subtitles! First came the previews. Who knew there were so many Chinese movies awaiting us in Boston? I took note of one I wanted to see, and settled in for the feature film.
The First Conflict
It started off good. The message was loud and clear—old gangster with principles vs. the youth of today, who had no respect. Life had changed for the “old man,” as he was referred to several times. He was 60. The oldtimers called him by his gangster name, Mr. Six. His son had taken off to make his own life, but word got around that the youngster had gotten himself into a bit of trouble. Dad was going to save his son. Saving him meant getting involved with a bunch of spoiled rich brats whose parents had connections. One of the rich kids had the best look. He had a black and white leather jacket with a stiff pointy collar, creased pants, white hair, and just a touch of lip gloss. He looked like he had stepped off the pages of a Manga comic.
Money was discussed, and arrangements were made to meet in a week. One of the youths slapped Mr. Six. You just knew that kid was going to get a beat down when they met in the future. The future came. Mr. Six rustled up a couple of his old cronies, and Y.S. and I waited for the big fight scene where the gangsters would show the spoiled brats what was what. It began with Mr. Six crushing the hand of the young man who had slapped him. Then one old guy took off his shirt to reveal his muscles, and whipped around a stick-like weapon.
Then they agreed to get more money and meet again. What? Where was the fight? Show those kids how to have respect! Ah well, maybe that scene would come later in the movie.
It never did. Turns out Mr. Six had major heart disease, and needed bypass surgery, which he refused. He continued smoking and dealing with thugs. He and his son got beat up in an alley and were taken to the hospital. The son stayed in the hospital with a crushed skull and a concussion. Mr. Six broke his arm, but flung the cast off and left the hospital. The guy really didn’t like hospitals.
What Did They Overlook?
Turned out that there was something else the youngsters needed from Mr. Six. By accident, they had left an important bank statement in a bag full of money. Manga Man really needed that statement. Guess what? They made arrangements to meet in a few days. The family friend gets a phone call that “he has terminal cancer.” Y.S. and I whispered to each other: “Who has cancer? The son or the dad?” We were so confused. I wanted to ask the woman next to me. I was dissuaded by Y.S.
A few days went by, and Mr. Six got ready by taking out a gigantic sword. He went to the meeting place, a frozen lake. He ran in slow motion to the middle of the lake. As he did, one side of the lake fills with youths carrying weapons. The other side fills with gangster cronies with their weapons. This fight was going to be epic!
Suddenly, he knelt down in the middle of the lake and the movie ended. WHAT???
There were so many questions. Did he have a heart attack? Was he the one with cancer and he just died? Did he give up?
Thankfully, some questions were answered during the credits, when a smaller screen popped up. It showed the gangster gang getting out of jail (okay, there was an epic battle, but we didn’t get to see it), and the son was alive and owned a bar where he taught the youth of his time to show respect.
A little fun, a little confusing. We gave the movie a 7.5 out of 10. The Mr. Six actor was really good, and that made the movie worthwhile. Go see it—it will give you something to talk about besides what happened in another movie that not everyone has seen.
Ms. Vaillancourt may be contacted at snobbyblog@gmail.com
