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"Got backup?"
Chongqing Hot Pot was a strange amalgamation of buddies flick and thriller where most of the turning points relied heavily on coincidence and luck. Clocking in around 90 minutes, it felt much longer.
Three childhood buddies, Four-Eyes, Xu Dong, and Liu Bo are trying to peddle their failed hot pot restaurant that lies underground in an abandoned bomb shelter. Gambler Liu Bo owes a huge sum of money to the loan shark Seven. He’s hoping the sale of the restaurant will help him pay off the ruthless businessman. A buyer is willing to put some money down on the hot pot spot if they expand it. In the process of expansion, they accidentally knock a hole in the building above which coincidentally happens to be a vault in a bank. To steal or not to steal? And how to repair the floor so that no one notices it? They gain help from an old school friend who coincidentally works in the bank and is unhappy with her co-workers and had a crush on Liu Bo in middle school. Their efforts are thwarted when coincidentally a crew of deadly thieves picks that bank to rob on the day their plan is to go down.
Despite all the beatings Chen Kun’s Liu Bo took at the hands of the loan shark gang and the robbers, I found my mind wandering during much of the film. Aside from Liu Bo, the other friends were underdeveloped and not very compelling. It didn’t help that the buddies were supposed to be in their mid-twenties and the men’s ages IRL ran from 35-40. The story depended heavily on fate stepping in over and over again which detracted from the urgency and real threat to the characters.
Chongqing Hot Pot had an interesting premise as the down on their luck friends had to decide if they wanted to continue to be losers or become hunted criminals. Turns out the three didn’t have to undergo any character development as fateful coincidence lent them a hand in their decision and future.
21 April 2025
Three childhood buddies, Four-Eyes, Xu Dong, and Liu Bo are trying to peddle their failed hot pot restaurant that lies underground in an abandoned bomb shelter. Gambler Liu Bo owes a huge sum of money to the loan shark Seven. He’s hoping the sale of the restaurant will help him pay off the ruthless businessman. A buyer is willing to put some money down on the hot pot spot if they expand it. In the process of expansion, they accidentally knock a hole in the building above which coincidentally happens to be a vault in a bank. To steal or not to steal? And how to repair the floor so that no one notices it? They gain help from an old school friend who coincidentally works in the bank and is unhappy with her co-workers and had a crush on Liu Bo in middle school. Their efforts are thwarted when coincidentally a crew of deadly thieves picks that bank to rob on the day their plan is to go down.
Despite all the beatings Chen Kun’s Liu Bo took at the hands of the loan shark gang and the robbers, I found my mind wandering during much of the film. Aside from Liu Bo, the other friends were underdeveloped and not very compelling. It didn’t help that the buddies were supposed to be in their mid-twenties and the men’s ages IRL ran from 35-40. The story depended heavily on fate stepping in over and over again which detracted from the urgency and real threat to the characters.
Chongqing Hot Pot had an interesting premise as the down on their luck friends had to decide if they wanted to continue to be losers or become hunted criminals. Turns out the three didn’t have to undergo any character development as fateful coincidence lent them a hand in their decision and future.
21 April 2025
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