The first in a series of high-profile, hugely-popular Chinese comedies, this broad spoof mixes general Hong Kong weirdness, plenty of slapstick comedy, and a few decent fight scenes into a largely derivative and nonsensical plot. Crucially, this is a film which hinges on the humour – you either find it hugely funny or totally awful. Sadly, I fell into the latter camp, and for me the jokes fell flat every time. The film became largely pointless as soon as I realised this and what followed as an hour and a half's worth of boredom. Camp star Karl Maka, imitating Telly Savalas' Kojak, plays Babyjack, an investigating detective, and he teams up with a short-haired, kick-ass female cop – the character already a cliché even by this early point. There are minor appearances from the likes of Dean Shek and Tsui Hark, and Sam Hui, a low-rent Jackie Chan lookalike, provides some charisma in a heroic role.
Various scenes in the movie include: the hero firing a grapple and sliding down a wire before jumping through a window; a series of booby-trapped toy cars that blow up genuine vehicles (an idea ripped off in Grand Theft Auto), a series of bizarre car chases that are played for laughs, and more boring chases than you can shake a stick at. Four sequels followed, with varying degrees of success, but I have to admit that I'm not too excited about watching them after sitting through this debacle. For Chinese comedy, I much prefer the hijinks of the LUCKY STARS films...
Various scenes in the movie include: the hero firing a grapple and sliding down a wire before jumping through a window; a series of booby-trapped toy cars that blow up genuine vehicles (an idea ripped off in Grand Theft Auto), a series of bizarre car chases that are played for laughs, and more boring chases than you can shake a stick at. Four sequels followed, with varying degrees of success, but I have to admit that I'm not too excited about watching them after sitting through this debacle. For Chinese comedy, I much prefer the hijinks of the LUCKY STARS films...