3/5 stars
In the past couple of years, Hong Kong cinema has produced one inspirational boxing drama after another – 2019’s We Are Legends, 2020’s Unleashed and Knockout – even amid the dearth of cinematic releases in the period. Originally set to open in December but postponed because of coronavirus lockdown measures, One Second Champion is cut from the same cloth, its fantasy twist notwithstanding.
With a plot outline that may remind viewers not just of Knockout, but also the 2013 megahit Unbeatable, this solo directing effort by Vampire Cleanup Department co-director Chiu Sin-hang tells the bittersweet story of a deadbeat father, Chow Tin-yan (Canto-pop singer Endy Chow Kwok-yin), who takes up an ominous challenge in the boxing ring to impress his child.
Tin-yan was “dead for one second” when he was a newborn baby, and ever since has had the ability to see one second into the future. Though he briefly became a media sensation as a kid, he has grown up a slacker and a loser, who is content with his dead-end job in a neighbourhood bar.
Now a single father, Tin-yan’s only motivation in life is to fund surgery for his hearing-impaired son (Hung Cheuk-lok) – that is, until boxing fanatic Yip Chi-shun (played by the director) spots his dexterity and offers to teach him boxing as a way to revive his own failing gym.
A newcomer to the sport, Tin-yan nevertheless rises through the ranks as he easily avoids the punches of his professional opponents. But what if, as sometimes happens, he loses his special power one day?
At its heart a conventional tale about never-say-die spirit, One Second Champion may disappoint those drawn by its high-concept premise – the implications of the protagonist’s condition are never fully explored. What it offers instead is the ultimate underdog story, as Tin-yan, who has lost his super power, goes into a potentially deadly fight with an elite Thai boxer (Chanon Santinatornkul, Bad Genius) – giving the film its rousing climax.
Chow’s character may be too low-key to be truly memorable, but paired with the energetic Chiu – who may be channelling his flashy persona as a rock musician, his other profession – makes one half of an interesting double act. Lin Min-chen, playing Chi-shun’s relative and Tin-yan’s potential love interest, is underused, while Hung, as the protagonist’s goofy son, steals quite a few of the scenes he is in.
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