A few days ago, Channel News Asia reported that martial arts star Donnie Yen would be appearing alongside Cecilia Cheung in an adaptation of the 2005 Brad Pitt/Angelia Jolie action comedy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The new Hong Kong version, titled Assassin Couple, will “feature a completely different storyline” with a few similarities here and there.
Even though we had heard that the two were planing on taking a break from film, guarantee of a massive paycheck convinced them both to star in the faux remake. Apparently half of the film’s budget has gone to the salary of the two leads which, if you ask me, isn’t a very good start to the filmmaking process.
The film will see Yen and Cheung play a couple skilled in martial arts and gunplay who try to deal with the love-hate relationship they share at home, even as they go about their lives as professional killers.
It seems that the Chinese are starting to remake more and more American comedies for their own audiences. First it was the Andy Lau remake of the Mel Gibson comedy, What Women Want, and now Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It seems the common theme is wildly popular storylines with big name actors attached to them. I’m curious to see how the Chinese put their own twist on the story.
What are your thoughts on Donnie Yen starring in this kind of film? I welcome it since it’s a change of pace from all the period pieces he has been working on.
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