Shu Qi, Karen Mok, Zhao Wei in "So Close"

In "So Close" director Corey Yuen Kwai went with his strength: whenever it made sense to the story and a few times that it didn't he went with a screen filling close-up of one of the three leads. He was right to do so--while Shu Qi, Karen Mok and Zhao Wei are talented performers they are also gorgeous and each in her own distinctive fashion. No point in trying to describe the plot since the more one explains who is doing what to whom and why they are doing it the less sense it makes--but it works well as a story on the screen. The first couple of scenes tell us that we had should not only suspend our disbelief but check it at the door. Once that is done the viewer can enjoy the car chases, gunfights, hand to hand combat, awe inspiring high tech gadgets and strong hints of Sapphic attraction. It begins with Shu Qi jumping off the top of a skyscraper and being lowered to the ground on a thin steel wire after killing an ultra-evil guy in what he thought was his impregnable fortress. She uses a perfect combination of low cunning and high fashion. The ending is Zhao Wei and Karen Mok fighting the way to the top of another skyscraper to kill an even more evil guy. They (literally in many cases) cut a path through a couple of hundred heavily armed retainers before facing the big man himself.

They know not only how to use a pistol but how to look good while doing so:

Karen Mok:

Shu Qi:

Vicky Zhao Wei:

Before this there is Shu Qi's leap into the void, wearing a jumpsuit that only a costume designer could love:

She is the picture of insouciant confidence on the way down, smiling while listening to Zhao Wei (her sister) tell her where the car will be when she lands:

Zhao Wei tries to seduce Karen Mok from across the street with a look:

There is some attraction/avoidance going on between them:

Which they were kind enough to recreate for the press while hyping the movie:

When Karen Mok and Shu Qi get together it is serious stuff but true to form they look wonderful while trying to kill each other:

Ultimate honors go to Karen Mok when two thugs dispatched by a mobster to kill her in an elevator. Not a good move on their part. That's her new assistant cowering in the background:

She obviously has the drop on them but just one look at Karen Mok's face would be enough for me to surrender:

"So Close" is a fun movie.