Review: Comic King is one of those rare surprises. One of those movies you set out determined to be as skeptical as possible about, but just end up loving. So let’s go ahead and get the bad parts out of the way so I can talk about why I enjoyed this movie so much. First off, Comic King has a very cheesy premise. I like the idea of two friends striving to become comic artists, but there is no real struggle to get the job. It all kind of falls in their hands. Even after they become lowly assistants, more success is gained by just asking their boss if they can do their own comic. He, of course, immediately agrees.

I was also thrown off at the beginning by the lack of any background details on the two chums. It would have been nice if they had added scenes at the start that showed how much they wanted to be artists, and how they ended up at the tryouts. Oh yeah, and the love triangle part of the story is kinda played out. You know, Guy A loves the girl, but the girl has fallen for Guy B. We’ve heard it all before.The good news is, this is where I stop complaining about the movie.

One thing you should take note of, is that Comic King is not the kind of comedy that will have you rolling on the floor gasping for air the whole time. Sure, there are some goofy parts, but it offers more of an enjoyable viewing than just a knock out joke fest. The funniest part is that Nicholas Tse gets every picture on the back of the box, but he is far from the main character. I guess Tse sells.

The most unique parts of this film actually take place inside of the comic itself. From time to time, scenes from the newest issue, or even thoughts and conflicts the main characters are having are played out inside the panels. The coolest part is, they use live action with drawn backgrounds at times, and studio-type sets at others. BE WARNED: In one of these scenes there is a great deal of bargain bin CG used. This makes it look less like a Chinese movie, and more like a Chinese Dire Straights music video, if you know what I mean. If these effects had been used in a serious movie, the disc would go out the window. With Comic King you can let it slide, though. I kind of took it as a Stormriders parody.

The first comic that the two friends produce as an individual team is called “Knife, Sword, and Smile”. During the scenes inside the comic, Nicholas Tse plays the main character Knife. But when the friends part ways, Wan (who the lovely lady of the story likes) gets inspired by a Triad group to do a comic about..well, Triads. This is definitely the point that the movie gets boosted up a level in my rating, and reason enough alone for everyone to see it. You see, the comic is called “The Triads” and is a direct parody of the Young and Dangerous series. The very first suggestions for the comic are, “have the girlfriend be a stammer”, and,”Have a character named Chicken”. The scenes that follow are great. With Nicholas Tse playing the role of Ho Nam (like in the Y&D prequel), I thought these parody scenes were perfect.

I also personally thought that the actors did a great job. Julian Cheung and Eason Chan were great as the two comic artists. Before watching the movie, I didn't know Nicholas Tse was in it, so for the first half, I thought it was just someone that looked a lot like him. He was pretty good too, especially in the Triad scenes. Ruby Lin is a fine, fine lady. A character that really stands out, though, is the insane leader of the comic corporation. In meetings, instead of talking about the action scenes, he makes his assistant act them out with him. You gotta peep his shades too.