The Women In Prison sub-genre within exploitation meets the supernatural Hong Kong style but the result is painfully dull. However this comes from a genre with filmmakers producing thrash, something all involved knew including the select audience working up a sweat to obtain these films. While there are numerous excuses for cat fights, shower scenes etc, it's strange really how Jail House Eros never ignites despite. Amy Yip's character name is the only piece of inspired comedy here....wait for it...Chesty!

Just Heroes was conceived as a charity movie for legendary but struggling director Chang Cheh. Rounding up most of the old school stars alongside some of the contemporary profiles (sans heroic bloodshed icon Chow Yun-Fat) and the hottest director of modern Hong Kong action cinema should've resulted in overwhelming success right? Disappointingly no as Just Heroes flopped and Chang himself ended up donating the money to further the study of cinema. So one of the greatest Shaw Brother's directors sadly had to fade out as someone whose movies was not desired anymore.

Veteran screenwriter I Kuang, John Woo & Wu should've known it had been proven that a little substance and depth to a triad actioner did lure people into the theatres during the era (although the presence of Chow Yun-Fat also helped). Here they stack the triad movie clichés high instead, messes up any entertainment value by talking the movie to death and even the action sees Woo on autopilot. Out of that grows a generic filmmaker of heroic bloodshed. To be fair, the film was co-helmed officially by Wu Ma and unofficially by Danny Lee and David Chiang.

The sole fun of this film is the plethora of old school performers in major to walk on roles but the most jarring casting when viewed today's eyes is Stephen Chow in a purely dramatic role prior to his breakthrough as Hong Kong's King of Comedy. Also, in a clever touch, Woo has fun mocking the impact A Better Tomorrow had on the Hong Kong youth as the film features an all too avid fan of the film, leading to the all so standard subtext that triad life is bad for ya!

Hong Kong versions were cut for violence as was a few minutes of plot twists before the action climax. MIA released both an uncut VHS and Laserdisc in the UK and currently there is a French uncut edition on dvd (no English subtitles).

Allen Fong (Ah Ying, Father And Son) portrays the strains of marriage through the eyes of a very young couple (Christine Lee & Chan Hung-Nin). They're trying to agree on whether moving to America is an option but they have conflicts of their own to solve regarding pregnancy, work situation etc etc. The content and makings of a sappy drama...normally.

Blurring the line slightly between fiction and documentary with a non-linear narrative, these aspects becomes puzzlers at times as Fong clearly stages fiction but seems to bring in real life at the same time (he appears as the interviewer). But in the end, Just Like Weather is far from sappy and instead all about Fong the excellent, low-key observer. Kirk Wong appears in an uncredited cameo.

Fong got his third Best Director prize at the Hong Kong Film Awards as well as his editing team and lead actress Christine Lee.

Buy the VCD at:
HK Flix.com
Yesasia.com