Tossing Hong Kong into the mix does little to enliven high-finance clichs in Simon Yin's annoyingly named$upercapitalist, an ostensible morality tale that might've played off the zeitgeist in any number of ways but instead feels no more fresh than (the original) Wall Street. Box office outlook is dim.
Derek Ting plays Conner, an Asian-American hedge fund analyst who, despite a strange arrogant streak around his superiors, gets sent to oversee a major deal in Hong Kong. There he meets fratboyish Quentin (Darren Scott), who gives Conner a crash course in the way things work for aspiring HK plutocrats: "We wear the best. We drink the best. We drive the best. When it comes to chicks, we only do the best."
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Ting, who also wrote the screenplay, offers no hint of moral uncertainty here, even when Conner inevitably meets a love interest who scolds him with lines such as "actions have consequences, Conner." He comes to life only upon learning of a plan to promote innovation in his company using a social-media-inspired game that might keep locals from losing their jobs. (Facebook being well known for boosting productivity.)
Ho-hum boardroom intrigue follows, with Conner's attempts to do the right thing threatened by a ruthless schemer (Linus Roache) back in the Manhattan office.
Production Company: Random Art Workshop
Cast: Linus Roache, Derek Ting, Darren E. Scott, Kathy Uyen, Kenneth Tsang, Richard Ng, Eugene Kang, Lester Chan
Director: Simon Yin
Screenwriter: Derek Ting
Producers: Diana Footitt, Derek Ting, Joyce Yung
Executive producers: James C. Chie, Sam Kwok, Phillip Yin
Director of photography: Derrick Fong
Production designer: Niquan Riley
Music: Dennis Ting
Costume designer: Molly Maguire
Editor: Victor Pena
No rating, 96 minutes
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