VIGILANTE FORCE

No. Of Episodes: 30, 15 tapes.
Cast: Bowie Lam as Fong Nga Chai Kenix Kwok as Luk Ying Cheung (Natalie) Joe Ma as Ma Hau Yin (Ken) Tavia Yeung as Wan Ka Lei (Kelly) Benny Chan as Tao Chin Hung Eileen Yeow as Lau Yuk Yan Mark Kwok as Howard Evergreen Mak as Luk Chun Ying Ben Ng as Chan Sau Yung (King) Mary Hon as Hung Ching Kai (Ken’s mom) Law Kwun Lan as Fong Yee Gu (Nga Chai’s aunt) Ai Wai as Ng Kam Fai (Rocky)
Foreword: Vigilante Force was the first TVB cop series for 2003. There are a few new ideas and experiments here, from the pairing of couples to the animation of bullets. All give us a fresh new feeling. Good!
The Brief Story: Fong Nga Chai (Bowie Lam), a sergeant of the New Territories North District Crime Squad, grew up in a walled village of the New Territories. Nga-Chai has a good relationship with the villagers and everybody respects him. He is able to investigate crimes efficiently. Nga-Chai works very hard and hopes to be promoted. However, one day, police headquarters transfers a new superior, Senior Inspector Ma Hau Yin, Ken (Joe Ma) to the unit instead. Not long after Ken assumes his duties in New Territories, he is dissatisfied with the loose discipline and order of Nga-Chai’s team, and that they use their personal connections to get crime intelligence. He demands that the team follow police rules and disciplines. There are clashes between team members and Ken. Soon Ken realises that strictly abiding by the rules do not work in the case of this village in New Territories.
Chauvinistic Nga-Chai only concentrates on his work and often asks his buddy and colleague Tao Chin Hung (Benny Chan) to take care of his girlfriend Lau Yuk Yan (Eileen Yeow). When Yan and Hung fall for each other and decide to get married, Nga-Chai can only choose to leave the triangle love. At the same time, his childhood friend, doctor Natalie Luk Ying Cheung (Kenix Kwok) is faced with the pain of the death of her boyfriend Howard and must fulfill her promise to look after her boyfriend's other pregnant girlfriend Kelly Wan Ka Lei (Tavia Yeung). Nga-Chai and Natalie eventually face up to their love problems. The two of them show care and support for each other. Nga-Chai develops feelings towards Natalie, but she only sees him as a big brother, and turns down Nga-Chai’s love.
One day, Natalie receives a death threat. Ken emerges to protect her. Natalie has always had the impression that Ken was a womanizer. But after getting to know him further, she starts to realize that he is a very serious man. Later on, Natalie finds out that Ken was the SDU officer who saved her life in a hostage incident before. After being together for sometime, love sparks between them.
It turns out that Ken was once shot in his head. Aware that there is an unretrieved bullet in his brain, Ken buries his love towards Natalie. Unfortunately the hidden bullet apparently starts to create problems for Ken. Natalie accidentally discovers the reason why Ken is hesitant to reveal his feelings for her. Finally, Ken goes to have the operation to remove the bullet. She encourages him, by marrying him in the hospital ward. Sadly, the operation fails and Ken is paralyzed from the waist down.
Meanwhile, Hung is over spends during his wedding and honeymoon, and gets into financial difficulties. Hung borrows from underworld loanshark Luk ChunYing (Evergreen Mak). Ying has assumed the duties of triad leader for his cousin, Rocky Ng (Ai Wai). Hung has no choice but to accede to Ying’s request, and to act as informant against the police. However, it is discovered by Ken. Hung is forced to resign from the police force. He goes and follows Ying instead to help him with his triad activities. Hung gets himself into deep trouble. The police headquarters arranges for Chief Inspector Chan Sau Yung, King (Ben Ng) as Ken's replacement. King happens to be Ken’s SDU instructor. King is actually in collaboration with Ying and helps with illegal activities.
As time goes by, Nga-Chai and Kelly become the best of friends and feelings of love soon develop between the two. Nga-Chai’s aunt Gu (Law Kwun Lan) is rather disapproving towards their love.
What happens to Hung in the triad? Will Ken be able to walk again? Can Nga-Chai finally get his true love? Will the villains pay for their sins? Watch and you will find out!
Casting:
Bowie Lam – Role: Fong Nga Chai. He is old fashioned, chauvinistic and looks down on women's capabilities. Born into a police family, his grandfather and father were policemen. Smart at solving crimes but poor in the affairs of love. Has liked Natalie since childhood, and acts as a big brother to protect her. Dated Yan because she likes to climb trees like Natalie. Has a bad impression of Kelly at first, but later on he feels pity for her and her baby, and finally falls in love with her.
Comment: Bowie did average in this series. I am unable to see any slight improvement from his performance. This CID role isn't a new challenge for Bowie, as he has acted in similar roles many times. I found Nga-Chai to be a rather familiar character and tended to confuse him with this other character also played by Bowie from "The Sky is the Limit", Ching. Similar background, similar clothing, nearly same hair style. Somehow, I felt that Bowie’s character was not as sharp as Evergreen Mak, Joe Ma and Benny. It was the script’s problem, not Bowie’s fault.
Joe Ma – Role: Ma Hau Yin, Ken. He is calm and smart, upright and courageous. Serious at work, he does things according to rules and is disciplined. He was brought up in a single family, has a rich father, leads a luxurious yuppie life, and drives a BMW. Because of the unretrieved bullet in his head, he develops a negative attitude towards life and doesn't dare dwell on love. He falls in love with Natalie though. Yet he's hesitant to reveal his feelings for her as he is unsure if he would be able to give her happiness. Finally he marries her, but is paralyzed due to the operation.
Comment: No wonder people say the focus of this series is on Joe’s character. Among the three main male roles, Joe is the sharpest. He really shows off a smart and vigilant policeman image. Especially in the first episode. Joe first appears as a SDU team member, really sharp and cool! His G4 background and model body helps too. I think Joe’s Ken has a rather complicated personality, this character struggles with many emotions. For example, when Ken remembered his brother and when he realized that the bullet had moved. Joe didn’t bring out the character's deepest feelings. I would say that Joe’s performance was good, but not good enough.
Kenix Kwok – Role: Luk Ying Cheung, Natalie. She is an intelligent and kindhearted A&E doctor. Very independent, focuses on her career more than love matters. The death of her boyfriend and being friends with Kelly made her realized her weaknesses. Is grateful to the ‘hero’ who saved her life and was surprised to discover that he was Ken. Admires Ken’s personalities, loves him deeply. Willing to spend her lifetime with this Mr. Right.
Comment: Kenix is above average in this series! It's her usual cold-on-the-surface but warm-in-heart role. Maybe because Kenix appears that way most of the time, the producers never think of other roles for her. This time, no big surprise from Kenix’s role and performance. She portrays a career-minded woman turn loving wife. One thing I would say, pay attention to Kenix’s eyes and you will find that they can speak. Really impressive!
Benny Chan – Role: Tao Chin Hung. He is a glib talker, smart and likes to talk things out. Treats Nga-Chai as a big brother, won’t refuse any request made by Nga-Chai. Feels sorry for the way Nga-Chai treats his girlfriend Yan. Would like to repay the love and care to Yan as compensation, which makes him fall in love with her. He gets himself into trouble while trying to satisfy Yan’s greed. Worked as an undercover cop and managed to help crack down evil Ying’s illegal doings.
Comment: Benny’s role surprised me. I never expect Benny to be paired with Eileen. Their looks are matching. Benny’s performance shows his improving acting skills, and is more mature. He also displayed the character’s struggles towards the end well. I would say Benny’s performance overall was very good.
Tavia Yeung – Role: Wan Ka Lei, Kelly. She is a playful young girl, who was brought up by her elder brother in a poor environment. Her elder brother who deals in triad society activities, always borrows money from her and gives her trouble. Has learned to survive on her own. She then meets Howard who helps her settle a legal argument. Falls in love with Howard and gets pregnant. She dislikes Nga-Chai at first but ends up touched by Nga-Chai’s care and eventually falls for him.
Comment: Tavia did a great job in portraying Kelly’s character. Amazing performance from Tavia. I can see the change in Kelly from a very tough girl to a lovely pregnant lady. Her performance is very natural, and her pairing with Bowie is refreshing. As a TVB fan, I would like more fresh surprises.
Eileen Yeow – Role: Lau Yuk Yan. She is a typical little woman, and grew up in a stable background. Her family has a dessert café and she works there. Likes branded name goods and is a big spender. Needs to be loved and taken care of. Her dream is to be a good wife and mother.
Comment: I see a slight improvement on Eileen’s acting. But I still can’t stand her voice and Cantonese pronunciation. Hope she can speak more fluently in the future.
Evergreen Mak – Role: Luk Chun Ying. He is a lowly educated, honest Kung Fu student in the beginning. Hard working and loyal to people he respects. Worked for his cousin Rocky, who was a triad leader. Later on, he reveals his evil side. Actually he is super smart and has a high EQ, a person who plans well.
Comment: This is a brilliant performance by Evergreen. A super surprise in the whole series. I wouldn’t have enjoyed this series if there was no Evergreen acting as the villain. There was a big change in Evergreen’s character. From the change we can see his good acting skills. Well done!
Theme Songs: Bowie Lam sang the theme song “Men’s heart”. It suits a cop series, the music is light and powerful, although I don’t like it. There are two subtheme songs in Vigilante Force, one is sung by Bowie and the other is sung by Benny Chan. I like Benny’s song most, the harmonious melody together with the sad lyrics, which concentrated on the love of the main characters.
PS I do not own this review.