I was looking through the movie listing at my local AMC and between all the usual suspects there was this strange creature, The Viral Factor by Dante Lam. After some research online I discovered that this was an unrated Hong Kong action movie, a type of movie you don’t get to see often in the theaters here. Well, off I went. The guy behind the counter didn’t even know what the movie was. It turned out to be a decent movie-going experience, but nothing to be overly excited about.
In The Viral Factor (a title that makes no sense. The original title, Jik zin, means Uphill Battle, much better) we meet agent Jon (played by Jay Chou of The Green Hornet fame) who needs to escort a virologist from Jordan, but he is betrayed by a fellow agent, who steals a very dangerous viral sample. In the process Jon’s fiancee Ice is murdered and bullet that killed her gets lodged in Jon’s brain, leaving him prone to incredible headaches. And that is just the start of an adventure that involves long lost brothers, an estranged father, and the threat of an impending pandemic that could wipe out much of Earth’s population.
The Viral Factor is a decent movie. The action is fast-paced and for the most part easy to follow. The action primarily takes place in Kuala Lumpur, except for the opening battle in Jordan, which looks like an advertisement for Call of Duty. In Kuala Lumpur the director makes use of all facets of this sprawling city. From helicopters flying dangerously between the skyscrapers to fist fights on ground level in cramped corridors and train cars. It is all breathtaking ad extremely fast. The scenes where our heroes are pursued through a crowded shopping mall are fantastic.
The only problem with The Viral Factor is its constant wish to overplay emotions to the point where it becomes almost unbearable. The melodrama is heaped so incredibly thick onto the movie that it starts to hurt your teeth from all the sweetness. But I must say that if you make it through all the melodrama without losing your faith in the movie as a whole, the ending actually is affecting and effective. In spite of all the wooden acting (especially from Chou) you do feel something for this unlucky family. At least, it did for me.
I am glad I caught this on the big screen. It gave me something else than the usual fair to watch. Of course it has already been pulled from the theaters, or maybe it landed somewhere else on an AMC screen, I don’t know. All I know is I am going to look through the listings more often to find more of these unusual screenings and I think others should too.
My Movie Year 2012 
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