OGUN, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- In the Taiwanese American gangster comedy-drama The Brothers Sun, what is the first voice you hear? Talking endlessly about chocolate cake is Sandi Toksvig.
The Great British Bake Off is blaring in the background of a spotless Taipei penthouse as the owner methodically creates his own showpiece by carefully dipping a cocktail stick into a layer of sponge, then deciding it’s not quite done and popping it back into a hot oven. Three masked assassins broke in at that point and attempted to kill him.
At the end of the hand-to-hand combat, they are dead and he is not but he’s still furious: they’ve distracted him for too long.
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The cake’s burnt!
The baker is Charles Sun (Justin Chien), the son of Taiwan’s top crime boss and a powerful mobster in his own right. When the attack turns out to be part of a wider assault on his family, Charles is tasked with protecting the forgotten wing of the clan, his mother and brother, who are living normal lives in Los Angeles.
His relocation, followed by the Suns’ vicious Taiwanese opponents, sets off an action comedy heavily influenced by Jackie Chan that derives a great deal of energy from variations on that opening gag: a tough gangster business colliding with the banality of daily life.
theguardian