ANN/The Straits Times – Hong Kong singer-actor Jacky Cheung may be 62, but he convincingly portrays an action hero in his 40s in the new movie Customs Frontline.
Too far-fetched?
Not according to Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau, who discussed the film in a Zoom interview with the media recently.
The movie follows a team of Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department officers who stumble upon a mysterious container ship carrying the bodies of dead crew members and a massive cache of arms.
This discovery puts them on a dangerous collision course with a ruthless arms dealer.
Yau explained that Cheung’s character is meant to be 45 years old. Given that Customs Frontline was filmed from March to June 2022, Cheung was just a few months shy of 61 during production.
“Can Jacky Cheung play the character’s age? I think he can. Technology is very advanced nowadays,” hinted Yau, 62, who stopped short of mentioning the use of digital de-ageing, a visual effects technique commonly used in films.
“Anyone can easily find out Jacky’s real age online. But if you ask me, I do not think he looks 62.
Does he look 49? I can believe that. In movies, what matters is what age you look like.”
Yau added, “Actually, Jacky’s action scenes can be very good. He is not the sort who goes one, two, three, fight. But he has a lot of experience with action films, and he is very humble.”
Cheung’s last lead role was eight years ago, as a disgraced pastor in the drama film Heaven In The Dark (2016). It earned him a Golden Horse Award nomination for Best Leading Actor.
He has worked with Yau on at least four other films, including Best of The Best (1992) and No More Love, No More Death (1993).
The filmmaker credits these past collaborations for convincing Cheung to make his acting comeback.
Yau said, “I must have left a good impression during the times we worked together.”
