Tokyo Powerman

This movie was very funny! Sammo Hung has a true sense of humor. There was more comedy than action present, but it works out just fine. Jackie isn't the star of the movie. I think it works out better that way. The movie wasn't meant to be all action, but comedy mostly. The cameos were excellent!! Dick Wei's usual villainous role doesn't surprise me, but he shows off his moves and throws down in this movie!! Jackie, Yuen, and Sammo's chemistry on screen is incredible. I wonder when they trained at the Peking Opera School, did they ever think that they would use their skills on screen? Anyway, Eric Tsang is a very funny, versatile actor. His childish antics in this movie are hilarious. If you want to watch hilarious HK comedy, go meet the Lucky Stars!! They're all that and a bag of Kung Fu.

this is really two films, an hour long crime comedy and a half-hour kung fu film. i think hong Kong audiences can deal with such a mix better than most westerners. at any rate, the kung fu movie is enjoyable, very quickly paced, with some notable stunts - but to be honest, it offered very little new, and doesn't really meet the standard set by other films starring sammo hung and Jackie Chan from this era.

the comedy, on the other hand, is really fun to watch, even when it isn't knee-slapping laff-out-loud funny. this appears to be a little bit of a tribute to the Marx bros., with a touch of Cantonese slap-stick tossed in. it's really character-driven comedy; the funny bits could happen only because the characters are who they are. consequently, it just makes sense for a character - who was stupid enough to gamble on whether a fly would land on his poker hand - to be discovered looking for a hundred bucks he had lost outside at night inside a hotel lobby because 'the light's better in here'. there's also much physical comedy which is actually better to see than for me to describe.

one major warning - i've seen this film now in its original hong Kong version, which included mandarin and English subtitles; its original English-dub American release; its recent re-subtitled release; its recent re-dubbed release. of the four versions, the re-dubbed is by far the worst translation of the original dialog. although released on DVD with the new subtitles available, and so one would suppose the dub and the subtitles would be identical, they didn't even get this right - use the subtitles, avoid the new dub. and there are still crucial moments lost in the new subtitles. at one point, a character, trying to act tough, is asked what he would do if someone bumped into his car; the subtitle has him say that - essentially - he would force the guy to beg for mercy; that's not what he says, what he says is that 'i would beg for mercy' - in other words, this is the moment when his sham is exposed. i can imagine literally hundred - thousands - of people missing this joke entirely due to the bad translation here.

the best version - its original hong Kong version which includes mandarin and English subtitles .

still, even with this problem as obvious as it is, i think audiences will still find a lot to like about this film. the characters - all performed by the famous lucky-stars Chinese opera group that produced hung, Chan, yuen wah, and yuen biao - all present here BTW - are so amiable and unpretentious, it's hard not to like them, and if you do like them, you will have a good time.

It is the second film in the series after Winners and Sinners. Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars is the film after this one. I would certainly recommend this series of movies. My favourite parts of this film are the fight scenes, but the funniest moments are when Sammo Hung is with his friends e.g. the scene where they pretend that there are robbers in their house to get close to Sibelle Hu. I like the end of the film as there is a lot of fighting between Jackie Chan and Dick Wei, Sammo and Lau Kar Wing and Yuen Biao and Lam Ching Ying. This is definitely the film, which made me watch martial art movies, particularly when they are comedies.

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.

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.