In a case of major karma, journalist Wang Yi-chi (Kaiser Chuang Kai-hsun) witnesses a hit and run and nearly a decade later comes to own the car involved in the crime. As anyone with no common sense and a death wish would do, he decides to solve the cold case on his own and dives head first into a world of sinister secrets with only his charm to get him through…he’s probably as good as dead…
Coming from director Cheng Wei-Hao who previously brought us the ghost heavy supernatural shocker Tag-Along franchise, Who Killed cock robin gets a lot of mileage out of it’s gritty neo-noir tone and the considerable charisma of it’s star Kai-hsun. Speaking of which, the character of Wang Yi-chi is a master at convincing people to fork over their secrets based solely on his personality alone…it definitely works for the character, and makes him incredibly personable…but it also presents a bit of a hindrance to the narrative. Also of note are the performances of Tiffany Hsu Wei-ning as the femme-fatale every good noir yarn requires, and Mason Lee as a hermit traffic cop that steals every scene he is in.
To put it simply, crucial plot points just are handed out to Yi-chi rather than have him work for them, and this seriously impacts the whole mystery element of the piece by killing any elements of detective work that could have added a rich element to the whole affair.
All in all, Who Killed Cock Robin is an an effective thriller cum noir pastiche that’s worth a go, despite it’s stumbling blocks.
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