Eight directors, one Dennis Hopper, and a time-travel plot so wild it needs nightclub wisdom to survive.
In the future of 2010, three young Americans, Quentin, JT and Amy are visiting Shanghai, when they get shanghaied by mysterious Mr. Smith and taken to Flatland, a place where past and present meet, literally. The only way out for them is to agree to fight Khan for him, an evil ancient warrior who lives through his reincarnations and could destroy the world if not stopped in time. Coventry and Jagger help him, while encyclopedic Linda helps Smith in his 4000 years long quest to stop him. Smith has an alter ego, a wise Shanghai nightclub owner known as Uncle, who gives advice to those who need it.
Acting
Dennis Hopper playing two roles with wildly different energy levels.
Production
Eight directors somehow made an 85-minute film feel like three movies.
Director
Vic Sarin
Dennis Hopper
Smith
Phillip Rhys
Quentin Mitchell
Françoise Yip
Amy Li
Bumper Robinson
JT Dunnit
Katherine Kendall
Linda Meyers
Kee Chan
Uncle
Steven Grives
Coventry
Liam Waite
Jagger
James C. Mathis III
D. Walker
James With
Dominic Tonelli
Miguel Pérez
Petrino
Luca Bercovici
Tao
Tammy Tavares
Victoria Burns
Marisa Petroro
Marguerite
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The eight-director carousel reportedly came from the production's origins as a TV pilot that mutated mid-shoot. Each helmer allegedly handled different 'time periods' which explains the whiplash.
The 'shanghaied' premise—white tourists kidnapped to mystical China for combat labor—aged like milk in a time machine, especially with actual Shanghai locations playing exotic backdrop.
CN
