Don't you just hate promotional blurbs such as ''If you loved this and this film, you'll love this other probably unrelated film"? Even such ones as ''Before insert movie title, there was insert another movie title"! The latter promotional attempt would probably fit X'Mas Rave Fever (a.k.a. Rave Fever) because this comes from Alan Mak, the co-director of a little trilogy called Infernal Affairs and the excellent A War Named Desire.

To say X'Mas Rave Fever is a Hong Kong version of Doug Liman's Go isn't entirely unfair. Centering around raves, the mysterious filofax left by the equally mysterious Sonia and employing a non-linear narrative, Alan Mak's film will make viewers laugh, be quite entertained and go "umm? ok..." at certain times also. The film doesn't try and provide us with anything insightful regarding these Generation X:ers but instead just wants to have a bit of fun with structure and most importantly, plot. Best to say as little as possible but X'Mas Rave Fever does add up to a fun experience with many moods. Serious or not, that's for you to decide. For the most part, Mak manages to hold interest and a good pace although less than stellar acting from the likes of Terence Yin and Jaymee Ong makes certain scenes drag. Jaymee is of course saved by the fact that she's is such a cutie pie and Terence Yin performs the different traits to his characters, just very stiff overall.

X'Mas Rave Fever catches you off guard because it goes places you don't expect but it proves that Alan Mak has versatility, style and fresh ideas in him. It may take a second viewing to fully appreciate this entertaining slice of Hong Kong cinema but I'd be happy to go down the same strange lane again. Also starring Mark Lui, Yoyo Mung and Sam Lee in a surprisingly fun supporting role as a veteran raver. Watch out for a cameo by Bey Logan as well.

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