Andy Lau’s Spy Thriller “Switch” Arriving in Theaters Soon
Initially set to open in cinemas last October in conjunction with China’s National Day, 3D action film, Andy Lau’s (刘德华) Switch <天机·富春山居图> had to defer its release date due to failure to meet China’s rigid censorship guidelines. The release of the latest trailer yesterday indicates the film will finally be released this year.
In its first cut, Switch was cited as missing music and breaching the country’s security. When it was finally approved, it was alleged that Andy did not like the special effects and re-filming had to be done.
Switch tells the story of how a top Chinese agent (Andy Lau) had to battle a multi-national organization to recover the country’s stolen national treasure – the “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains” painting. The film stars Chiling Lin (林志玲), Zhang Jingchu (张静初) and Tong Dawei (佟大为) and is a collaboration between 4 major studios – China Film Company, Pegasus Entertainment, Media Asia Film Production and Phoenix Satellite Television.
In the newly released 100-second trailer of Switch, each frame is filled with tension and urgency. Switch was filmed at international locations and boasts impressive action stunts. Towards the end of the trailer, viewers can also see how technology is infused into the film when the electronic screen Andy was using transformed into the 691.3 cm painting, thus combining the use of technology with antiquated aesthetics.
Director Jay Sun (孙健君) said of the clip, “The trailer is the visual refinement and amplification of the movie. The movie is filled with espionage action and the subject matter is the recovery of the art piece.”
Though Jay Sun has almost 18 years of directing experience, Switch is his first foray into film. The theme of espionage is often featured in Hollywood movies, but it is hardly seen in Chinese movies, which is what prompted Jay to the challenge. “Switch is not a run of the mill spy movie. When you think of spy movies, naturally you will think of James Bond or The Bourne Legacy. We don’t want viewers to see this as another action-packed movie that is common in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. Switch is a combination of all that – the movie is packed with action which includes suspenseful spy wars and a little love story thrown in.”
Switch was produced on a budget of 160 million RMB, one of the largest for an Asian modern action film. To assist filming, an international team was brought on board. Chuck Comisky, who had worked closely with Avatar director, James Cameron, was hired as the 3D visual effects supervisor.
Andy Lau said, “On the first day of filming, I already knew this is a modern action movie revolving around the theme of espionage. Because this is a relatively new theme in Chinese cinema, the progress naturally took us longer. Thankfully, we had a very creative international backstage team. Through the process, we believe we have propelled the Chinese entertainment industry to new heights.” With the rapid advancement of the Chinese cinematography techniques, Andy believed Switch will not disappoint viewers.
Switch, which was filmed in six cities in four countries, including Hangzhou, Fuyang, Taipei, Tokyo, Milan and Dubai, will be released in 3D in cinemas soon.
“Switch” Trailer
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This article is written by Karen for JayneStars.com.
I recall an article on Jayne Style where Chiling Lin was pictured in a backless dress. She seems to like the style 🙂
Still – the trailer looks good. Will be a movie on the horizon for me.
TVBFanatic,
Good memory of beautiful ladies in sweeping gowns. 🙂 Chiling will be using her seduction skills to accomplish her mission. She looks very alluring soaking in that bathtub in the above picture.
andy lau as a super spy? not feeling that one
Chiling Lin can’t act.
But she is excellent in creating obscenities and using men to create scandals for her self promotion.
She will benefit from this movie as fans are going to watch Andy Lau thus box office is assured.
obscenities? is she that of a foul mouth? Hard to imagine Asian Artists are foul-mouth. If she is, then she reminds me of Naomi Campbell.
Look out for more obscenities and moronic statements from Lin Chiling from now to the movie premiere.
It’s common acts from her.
Her critics claim she is just a vase, so
she make sure she is an unbroken vase, of course, she is a plastic vase that cannot be broken.
very Mission Impossible like. Nonetheless, it looks good. Love Andy, but not sure about Chiling Lin; haven’t seen enough of her to judge.
ugh – is Andy Lau’s voice dubbed? it sure does sound like it.
Andy Lau’s voice is dubbed by….Andy Lau. He usually redubs his voice to get the accent out in the studio in post-production.
Looks fun, but like another poster said, more mission impossible and less james bond.
Wish they would have focused less on female models and more on male villians, cause using oretty females as a selling point just screams “we don’t have much substance in our film, so look at these pretty girls instead”.
It’s a shame, I think it would be really cool to see a serious james bond type spy movie from HK/China. – Although I don’t know if they can pull that off atm.
Have a Mission Impossible feel to it. Seem interesting. Also Andy’s like fine wine! He is aging so well!!!
andy was too OLD for this role..