''Too Cool to Kill'' is a 2022 Chinese action comedy film, based on the 2008 Japanese film '' The Magic Hour''. It stars Wei Xiang as an amateur actor who is invited to play a leading role in a film and ends up drawn into a dangerous situation. It was released in China on 1 February 2022 (

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

) and in the United States and Canada on 18 February 2022. It is Xing Wenxiong's feature film directorial debut.

Plot

Wannabe actor Wei Chenggong is invited by actress Milan to star in a film playing the role of hit man "Killer Carl". When he accepts the invitation, he finds himself drawn into a dangerous conspiracy.

Cast

* Wei Xiang (魏翔) as Wei Chenggong * Ma Li (马丽) as Mi Lan * Chen Minghao (陈明昊) as Harvey * Zhou Dayong (周大勇) as Jimmy * Huang Cailun (黄才伦) as Mi Le * (艾伦) as Karl

Production

''Too Cool to Kill'' is an adaptation of Kōki Mitani's 2008 Japanese film '' The Magic Hour''. It was written and directed by Xing Wenxiong (邢文雄), one of the writers of '' My People, My Homeland''. It is Xing's feature film directorial debut. It was produced by Yan Fei (闫非) and Peng Damo (彭大魔). Filming began on 23 June 2021, and on the same day it was announced that the film would be released on Chinese New Year 2022. For one scene in the film, Wei Xiang had to speak Italian, a language which he had never studied and felt stressed about speaking, according to costar Zhou Dayong. Wei said in an interview that the crew gave him a translator, who spoke to him after shooting and helped him memorize the lines.

Release

The film was released in China on 1 February 2022 (

), and it was released in a limited number of cities in the United States and Canada on 18 February 2022 by distributor Well Go USA. It was the only pure comedy scheduled for release on Chinese New Year 2022.

Reception

The film has been one of the most successful of the 2022 Chinese New Year releases. The film grossed $217 million in its first six days, including $110.5 million in its opening weekend. It received positive reviews from advance screening audiences, and on the day of its release, it got an average rating of 9.2 on Maoyan.

References

External links

* * * * {{Rotten Tomatoes, too_cool_to_kill 2022 films Chinese comedy films 2022 comedy films Films about actors Chinese remakes of foreign films Chinese action comedy films Chinese New Year films