THE HEROIC TRIO, with Anita Mui Yim-fong, Michelle Yeoh (Yeung Chi-king), Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Damian Lau Chung-yan and James Pak Sek-chin. Directed by Johnny To Kei-fung and Ching Siu-tung. On Newport circuit.
IN A film industry noted for its blatant commercialism, The Heroic Trio stands out in the way it attempts to capitalise on current trends. This futuristic martial arts epic combines cartoonish fantasy with swashbuckling drama, two of the more popular genres in recent months.
Add to this package a stellar trio and Hongkong's top action choreographer (Ching Siu-tung) and, on the surface at least, the elements would seem to guarantee a smash hit.
The key words here are ''surface'' and ''package''. For the superficially attractive packaging barely conceals a story so feeble it makes the average comic book look as weighty as War and Peace.
Set at an undefined time in Hongkong's near future, the film recounts how three super heroines save the territory from an evil Ching Dynasty sorcerer intent on restoring China's imperial monarchy. ''China cannot be without an emperor,'' the 100-year-oldfiend (Yam Sai-kwoon) states.
Neither can a futuristic film be without an interesting vision of what that future may be. The sets are clever, with the colour scheme vaguely echoing a Batman-type palette.