The Sparring Partner is a 2022 Hong Kong legal crime thriller film directed by Ho Cheuk Tin in his directorial debut.
The film stars Yeung Wai Lun, Mak Pui Tung, Louisa So, and Michael Chow,[4] with Jan Lamb and Gloria Yip listed as special performers.
Philip Yung revealed that he knocked on doors everywhere to find investors for The Sparring Partner, but results in nothing, and he used his savings for buying property to invest the film.
This is the first category III film of Mak Pui Tung, Louisa So, Jan Lamb, Choi Tsz-Ching, Chu Pak-Him, Ursula Wong Yue-Si, Chung Suet-Ying, Kiki Cheung Hoi Kei, Myth Or Yik-Ki, Rachel Leung, Nicky Wong and Patra Au.
According to the movie rating system in Hong Kong, the film is listed as category III, only allowing aged 18 or above to watch.
On September 1 the same year, Distributor Golden Scene announced that the film would be officially released in Hong Kong and Macau on October 27, with the first screenings began in the same month.
After a week of release, it reversed its decline and became the single-day box office champion for four consecutive days starting from November 3, 2022.
It is the fifth film in 2022 to break through HK$30 million after Chilli Laugh Story, Mama's Affair, Warriors of Future and Table for Six.
[14] Cath Clarke of The Guardian gave the film three stars out of five, and described the movie as "part stylish courtroom drama, relishing the intellectual sparring of the barristers".
[15] Simon Abrams of RogerEbert.com awarded the film three point five stars out of four, writing that ""The Sparring Partner" is more about the culpability and partiality of a jury of Hong Kong residents, some of whom have read about this case in the tabloids, despite being told they should not".