This is the first sequel to "Winners and Sinners" and returns to the screen Sammo Hung, Richard Ng, Stanley Fung and Charlie Chin. Eric Tsang joins the cast and replaces John Sham. Although a majority of the original actors from the first movie returns, they all play different characters than the previous film (but are still dubbed "The Five Lucky Stars"). They portray friends from an old orphanage and team up to help Hong Kong cop Muscles (Jackie Chan) rescue his partner (Yuen Biao) from a ninja gang and recover their stolen loot of diamonds in Tokyo.
Like the first film, the main plot is loosely tied together and is not very solid. What you get throughout the movie in addition to the main ninja gang/diamond plot is a few subplots, which, however, were averagely entertaining at best. While the intro scenes for each of the "Five Lucky Star" character were amusing, especially the hilarious scene involving Rawhide (Stanley Fung) tackling with an adulteress' husband (Bolo Yeung), the scenes involving the "Five Lucky Stars" trying to woo Chief Insp. Barbara Wu (Sibelle Hu) by playing tricks on her was drawn-out, goofy and a little boring. This, and the awkward chemistry between Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Sibelle Hu, were a distraction from the main point of the story.
The film gains traction again towards the latter half, where we get a good helping of martial arts action and some good suspense. The stunts were well choreographed and the scenes in Tokyo were a welcome departure from the usual Hong Kong streets.
While a lot more goofy and slower-paced than the previous film, it was still a treat to see the all-star cast in action and experience some of their classic Hong Kong-style humor and comedy. And, of course, the action scenes were probably the highlight of the film.
Grade C+
Like the first film, the main plot is loosely tied together and is not very solid. What you get throughout the movie in addition to the main ninja gang/diamond plot is a few subplots, which, however, were averagely entertaining at best. While the intro scenes for each of the "Five Lucky Star" character were amusing, especially the hilarious scene involving Rawhide (Stanley Fung) tackling with an adulteress' husband (Bolo Yeung), the scenes involving the "Five Lucky Stars" trying to woo Chief Insp. Barbara Wu (Sibelle Hu) by playing tricks on her was drawn-out, goofy and a little boring. This, and the awkward chemistry between Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Sibelle Hu, were a distraction from the main point of the story.
The film gains traction again towards the latter half, where we get a good helping of martial arts action and some good suspense. The stunts were well choreographed and the scenes in Tokyo were a welcome departure from the usual Hong Kong streets.
While a lot more goofy and slower-paced than the previous film, it was still a treat to see the all-star cast in action and experience some of their classic Hong Kong-style humor and comedy. And, of course, the action scenes were probably the highlight of the film.
Grade C+