Chow Yun-Fat 周潤發 in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
Back in 2007 when Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End hit the big screens, perhaps one of the most unanticipated elements of the film was the casting of Chow Yun-Fat as Captain Sao Feng (albeit he’s shown on the leftmost corner of the promotional poster). The plot follows Captain Barbossa, Will Turner, and Elizabeth Swan as they sail off the edge of the map to search for Captain Jack Sparrow and they must make their final alliances for one last decisive battle. It is when the crew travels to Singapore that they meet Chow’s Sao Feng, a character modelled on the notorious Hong Kong pirate Cheung Po Tsai during the Qing dynasty.
We don’t know about you, but when the facially-scarred, long-bearded, and bald Chow Yun-Fat makes his entry amidst steaming smoke, splaying his comically-long nails with an utterance of, “Welcome to Singapore,” in the most malevolent and mesmerising way possible, we let out a giggle. The image falls in line with Hollywood’s stereotypical approach of demonising the Chinese, a fact much scorned by Chinese censors, resulting in half of Chow’s scenes getting slashed.
Negativity aside, the film is an entertaining feat with timely gaiety, state-of-the-art special effects, and a grandiose showdown. If you think about it, Chow’s character is actually quite brilliant, considering the actor’s prolific history of playing gangsters who can shoot with precision even with his eyes closed. Here, he portrays a convincing fearsome pirate lord of Chinese descent.