Born Hero 2

The HK action film had by the mid-80's developed a set of characteristics that hardly varied from film to film. Absurd gun fights, swingy arm kung fu fights with lots of people yanked around on wires to simulate powerful kicks, lots of dangerous stunts frequently involving unprotected falls from balconies or second story windows and plots that shouldn't be dwelled on lest the holes be revealed. This is one of those but with some pluses that lift it above the crowd.

Chow Yun Fat plays it light and gives his character an appealing goofiness that carries the entire film. His chemistry with co-star Conan Lee works really well. Anyway the movie deals with drug smugglers and a beautiful mainland Chinese woman whose criminal brother gets her to delivery his stolen illegal drugs. Chow and Lee are cops assigned to the case.

The film is very rough at times. The action scenes are frequently bloody and harsh which is in contrast to the light comedy of Chow's scenes. There's a lot of juvenile humor about breasts and a tough scene where Chow's character smacks around the beautiful woman, tosses her through a glass table and stuffs her mouth full of powder. She, of course, falls in love with him. Director Liang, know for his distinctive kung-fu films earlier in the decade, is absolutely invisible in the film. Aside from the well paced fight scenes, his style is not apparent at all. The whole film is very much in debt to Jacky Chan's earlier police films.

Not bad if you give it a chance and don't expect too much.

The movie begins as a light-hearted comedy but will not stay for long. There are some excellent fight sequences (especially at the end) and sometimes the movie is very violent. A classic Hong Kong blood opera anyway, a must see for fans of the genre.

Before Tiger on a Beat hits the ten-minute mark Chow Yun Fat is taken hostage, not only does he wet his paints, but he faints and falls into a puddle of his own urine. If his wardrobe of a black sun visor, a Hawaiian print shirt tied at the waist, and bright colored golf pants didn't clue you in that he is not the same tough character he played in The Killer, Prison on Fire, or Hard Boiled, that diner holdup scene will. However, in the same scene he does swallow eighth raw eggs in one gulp, so thats to his credit.

Tiger on a Beat features Yun Fat and muscle-bound Conan Lee (who looks like Jackie Chan on steroids) as mismatched cops, Yun-Fat the unambitious, streetwise, womanizer, and Lee the hot-tempered, rookie. Its a buddy cop movie, the Hong Kong Lethal Weapon or Running Scared, with less emphasis on action than the cops drama-comedy antics in trying to bust a drug smuggler. They use a girl named Marydonna, who has started smuggling dope for her no good brother, to try and catch the gang, one of whom is the great Gordon Lui as the main henchman, but even rarer is the fact that he has hair (fans will know what I mean). Veteran Lau Kar Lueng keeps the pace going, though the action is minimal, until a fantastic final battle that involves Conan Lee and Gordon Lui dueling with some big chainsaws. Other than that it is your standard fare, some humor, some drama, an action scene or two. The film is dated, you can tell it was an 80's flick as easily Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo. Die-hard Hong Kong action fans should enjoy it. All others may want to approach with caution, as the comedy and wardrobe may be too silly for some tastes.

Also, A Better Tomorrow fans take note, Ling Ti does a cameo as an informant.

This film showcases HK star Chow Yun Fat as a police sargeant, who is paired up with detective Cho, played by Conan Lee. This film gets less like a comedy as it goes along and becomes a series of fairly violent scenes. This film is better on a big screen for full effect, but its still good. The action is fast paced and the kung fu moves, especially by Conan Lee, are fun to watch. Women are extremely secondary in this film, despite the pretty Nina Li. If you like Stallone type action with some HK acrobatics thrown in, you'll like this. Chow Yun Fat, as anyone knows who has watched him in America, is always an asset to a film. Its not great, its a little too much a few times, but if you like action/police buddy films, you'll like it.

Hollywood may only watched Chow-Yuen Fat serious performances in films of John Woo, Ringo Lam and Ang Lee. But in Tiger on Beat (1988), not only feature him used gunplay and swordplay but also comedy (one of his strength when he was still acting in Hong Kong). The movie is funny with lots of kung fu fight scenes and gun-fu, although there are a couple scenes very misogyny and abuse on women.The co-lead Conan Lee's performance is one-note but his crazy stunts and chainsaw fight with Gordon Liu is a must-see to believe. 7/10.