Tokyo Powerman

A follow-up to Winners and Sinners,this is,like that film,essentially a comedy starring Samo Hung and some Hong Kong comedians,the Lucky Stars, with what really amounts to little more than an extended cameo from Jackie Chan. He has more scenes in this one,but despite what DVD covers might say he certainly doesn't 'star' in the film.

Opening with some great car and fight action involving Chan and his fellow Peking Opera School graduate Yuen Biao,the film than becomes,for almost the next hour,a series of comedy set pieces involving the Lucky Stars. As well as slowing the film to a halt the problem is that very little of the humour seems funny to these western eyes and may only be understood by Hong Kong audiences {as in a lengthy sequence on a bus involving jokes about Chinese dialects and the like}. Much of it is taken up with the men all trying to find ways to get close to female star Sibelle Hu, in what looks alarmingly like sexual harassment. Only Eric Tsang's childlike behaviour and Righard Ng's double takes,plus a gag about a walnut,seem to work.

After what seems like an eternity of this stuff the last 20 mins is all fantastic action,with a very imaginative fairground set piece which may have influenced Beverley Hills Cop 3,ninjas,and some terrific fighting involving Chan,Hing,Biao and some other Hong Kong action folk. Maybe it's a case of too little too late. As with some other Hong Kong films the action seems to cancel out the comedy and vice versa. It's OK,but Winners and Sinners before it and Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stare are better.

For someone who loves the "three brothers" in the outstanding "Dragons Forever", or the also excellent "Wheels on Meals", "My Lucky Stars" was a poor offering. The fight scenes at the end, particularly Jackie's unique and exciting romp through the "haunted house", account for four of my five-star rating. The vast stretch of "humor" in the middle is comprised of some Chinese-nuanced gags, inaccessible to my Western senses, and a load of truly imbecilic slapstick, most of it so juvenile and embarrassing that I had to eventually begin fast-forward searching, to get to some decent action. I can only recommend the first 10 minutes, and the last 20.....

For fans of Jackie Chan's and Sammo Hung's other work together (Project A, Mr Nice Guy etc.) this is a step down in terms of sheer martial artistry. Aside from a good opening sequence in a fairground and the last twenty or so minutes, the rest of the film is Chan-less and situation-based comedy springing from the main band of failed crooks. Sammo is the leader of a ragtag bunch heading to Japan for reasons that really only become clear towards the end.

Along the way though, there is some rich comedy mined from both the collection of characters (including a womaniser, a wannabe telekesisist - is this a word? - and a chubby dimwit whose loyalty literally knows no bounds.) A couple of the routines are a bit trying - a scene with a female assistant investigator and a faked robbery is too long and obvious - but generally it is quite charming and sweet. One routine in a Japanese restaurant is priceless, the gag built up well between the different characters and paying off beautifully.

All in all, it moves along at a fair pace and is so gently and confidently performed that it's an enjoyable way to spend ninety minutes. A bit more Chan, a bit more action and a tighter story would have made it more memorable, but if you like the genre, this is better than a lot of the similar films. And, perhaps because of when it was made and presumably to boost Hung's profile, JC plays the same character as in the Police Story films. (Just a tidbit for the hardcore geeks out there...) Worth a rent if not a purchase.

This movie begins with some jaw-dropping, "holy s**t" stunts performed by Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao. Then Biao's character gets taken as a hostage by the villains, and the next hour belongs to Sammo Hung and his gang, the infamous "Lucky Stars". Their comedy is often labored, and always lowbrow, but it manages to be occasionally funny. I've seen three films with them now, so I'm more accustomed to their brand of humor, but they're definitely not to everyone's taste. In the final 20 minutes, we get to the fight scenes, which are choreographed in the usual inimitable Jackie-Sammo style, yet I have some complaints: most of the fights are either too brief or too choppily intercut with each other. For example, what could have been the ultimate cinematic catfight, between the stunningly sexy Sibelle Hu and the beautifully muscular Michico Nishiwaki, is pretty much a disappointment: too brief, intercut with a parallel Sammo fight, and Ms. Nishiwaki comes to a rather demeaning end. Another example is the Jackie Chan vs. Dick Wei fight, which is over much too quickly. Both Nishiwaki and Wei are better showcased in the excellent Hong Kong actioner "In The Line Of Duty 3". In fact, probably everyone involved with "My Lucky Stars" is better showcased somewhere else. But for fans of the genre and the stars, the movie is worth a viewing. (**)

Jackie's got a smaller, more serious role here, but I'd say it's worth it. You gotta have a penchant for goofy stuff though. This group is pretty enjoyable together, and the bits with Chan battling his way through the Haunted House is well worth it. Sort of a "minor" Jackie fil,m, it's worth a watch.