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James Marsh

1/5 stars
The court of public opinion is in session and casts its judgemental eye over a freak incident at a public hospital in the mainland Chinese thriller Malice, produced and co-scripted by blockbuster filmmaker Chen Sicheng and directed by Lai Mukuan and Yao Wenyi.
Zhang Xiaofei (Hi, Mom) stars as Ye Pan, an ambitious journalist whose hunger for a sensational story spirals out of control after a nurse and a young female patient fall from the hospital’s roof.
Mei Ting co-stars as Qian, the mother of the young victim, who cries foul and demands justice, only to also fall under polarising scrutiny.


Malice points an accusatory finger at online news agencies, which have exploded in number and popularity across China in recent years.
Whether operating as individual influencers or within a more traditional newsroom environment, as is the case with Ye Pan and her team, their guerilla-style live-streaming approach to reporting has proved very difficult to monitor.
Their unfiltered, unregulated coverage can reach millions of viewers instantly, generating impressive amounts of revenue in the process, which can in turn sway their editorial and ethical judgement.
Ye Pan finds herself under increasing pressure from her greedy editor (Zhang Zixian) to get the scoop on this bizarre double fall and exploit the fact that her estranged husband (Huang Xuan) is the police officer leading the investigation.

The young victim’s mother claims that the nurse involved, Li Yue (Chen Yusi), was to blame, while scandals soon emerge smearing both Yue and Qian’s reputations.
With her plucky intern (Li Gengxi) in tow, Ye Pan hopes to navigate this volatile landscape and uncover the truth before her own reputation is also tarnished.
Playing out with precisely the same unquenchable thirst for rabid sensationalism as the journalists it criticises, Malice unspools at a frenetic pace that becomes less and less plausible with each passing moment.
Almost without exception, everybody is operating at cross purposes, harbouring long-festering ulterior motives, while documenting each other’s misfortunes with unscrupulous glee.

The film’s moralistic underpinnings are impossible to ignore, while its messaging resonates loud and clear. We now exist in an online media landscape where news stories, scandals and exposés are unleashed into the world without any oversight, corroboration or culpability.
The film stops conspicuously short of accusing AI and deepfake technology of proliferating the endless torrents of unverifiable slop that clog the daily news cycle.
Instead, it is far more willing to hammer home, with breathless panic, the fact that unsanctioned online news agencies, motivated solely by turning your casual clicks into a fast buck, cannot and should not be trusted.
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A still from Malice

A still from Malice (category IIA; Mandarin), starring Zhang Xiaofei, Mei Ting and Chen Yusi and directed by Lai Mukuan and Yao Wenyi.

Zhang Xiaofei (left) and Li Gengxi in a still from Malice

Huang Xuan (centre) in a still from Malice.

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Lam Suet (left) in a still from The Lychee Road.

Da Peng (left) and Sabrina Zhuang in a still from The Lychee Road.

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Eddie Cheung (left) and Helena Law Lan in a still from Reborn (category IIB; Cantonese), directed by Danny Pang. Venus Wong co-stars.

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Cecilia Cheung at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2004. The actress’ personal life garnered a lot of attention in the 2000s, with tabloids covering scandals and her high-profile romantic life. Photo: SCMP

Cheung in 1999. Photo: Oliver Tsang

Cheung speaks after receiving the award for best new performer, as veteran actors Liza Wang and Danny Lee look on, at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards in 2000. Photo: Martin Chan

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Starring Zhang Xiaofei, Mei Ting and Chen Yusi, Malice wants to deliver a message that China’s rising online news agencies can’t be trusted


Starring Zhang Xiaofei, Mei Ting and Chen Yusi, Malice wants to deliver a message that China’s rising online news agencies can’t be trusted.


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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Starring Zhang Xiaofei, Mei Ting and Chen Yusi, Malice wants to deliver a message that China’s rising online news agencies can’t be trusted

Starring Zhang Xiaofei, Mei Ting and Chen Yusi, Malice wants to deliver a message that China’s rising online news agencies can’t be trusted