Mad Mission

In every Euro or American version of a Hong Kong movie I see, scenes in the Euro-version have been cut out and replaced by scenes that are supposed to be more pleasing to western audiences. This mentality I don't get but it's usually so. But alas with one of the greatest comedies in history it wasn't meant to be. I first saw the Hong Kong version on DVD, (really crisp sound!!!), and here is the story in a nut-shell. Famous jewel thief "King Kong" steals $30,000,000 in diamonds from the mob, but leaves a white glove at the scean of the crime, causing the mob to believe it to be the work of the famous jewel thief "White Glove". After tracking him down in Veins, Italy he claims that he is innocent. Not really buying his story but giving him the benefit of doubt the mob gives him a chance go to Hong Kong and get back the diamonds or forfeit his life. Mean while the "Best Partners" consisting of King Kong and Gigolo Joe have hidden the diamonds. Well actually Gigalo Joe hid them but before he could divulge the location to King Kong he is killed by Mad Max, the local gang leader, with a gang right out of the movie "The Warriors" you know the Polo gang. His crime, sleeping with Mad Maxes sister. Before he dies Joe is able to tell King Kong that he put the clues to where the diamonds are on the asses of two different women, in the form of tattoos. Mean while at the Royal Hong Kong police headquarters, the Hong Kong police find out that White Gloves is in town and they enlist the aid of the famous New York detective Albert Au, AKA:Kodiejack, AKA:Baldy to aid them in their search. Assigned to help Baldy is the super tough cop Superintendent Nancy Ho who mistakenly arrested Baldy earlier, and who is just as Sadistic as she is beautiful (watch for the meat grinder scean). The police catch King Kong and in exchange for turning over the diamonds and helping the cops catch White Gloves he will be set free. "Man the law in Hong Kong is really lenient." White Gloves and Mad Max make several attempts to kill our new "Best Partners" consisting of Nancy Ho, King Kong and Baldy, but each one is foiled. A search continues for the two women on who's butts rest King Kong's chance for freedom and White Gloves chance for life and probably Nancy Ho's chance for promotion. To add to the trouble one of the women is Mad Maxes sister. In the final scean White Gloves vs. King Kong with a squad of sports cars, I will not give away anything els toward the end, but what follows is a brief description of what to look for: 1. Great escape by wire, motorcycle, and glider. 2. Great slapstick al the way through the show. 3. Great acting by the main cast Sam Hui, Karl Maka and Silvia Chang, as well as great acting all around. 4. Great comedy as our hero's' try to convincethe women to show their stuff, so that they can examine the clues. 5. The Aces go places music video sung by Sam Hui himself "does he ever do concerts anymore?" 6. great gagits used by King Kong, a bit like James Bond 7. A climatic battle of street cars and toy cars and a great chase scean at the end. 8. Nancy "Hot-toung" Ho and her sister, both beautiful.

Euro version: Many sceans are cut out, much of the dialog is totally different which I can usually accept but here it's really bad.

Sceans cut out: 1. Part of the interrogation of King Kong at the police station. 2. Part of the scean with King Kong and Gigolo Joe in the restaurant. 3. The entire music video 4. Part of the scean with King Kong and Baldy in the hospital. Other comments about the euro-cut: 1. King Kong is now only known as Sam "Bad" 2. Gigolo Joe is now only charley "Bad" 3. Nancy Ho is now Hot-Toung "good" It's not a sexual reference and it's cool.

The Euro version is a piece of c**p, and it isn't available in wide screen!!!! No actor does their own voice over, and I know Karl Maka know english perfect. Watch the Euro cut only if you cannot stand subtitles.

The Hong Kong cut is top notch!!! A perfect ten, the greatest Action Comedy there is. You will not be disappointed.es

Famous Jewel Thief King Kong (Sam Hui) steals $30,000,000.00 in diamonds from the mob, who have mistaken him for another famous jewel thief "White Gloves". Now White Gloves must go to Hong Kong to find the diamonds and clear his name or the mob will kill him. Hearing that White Gloves is in town the Hong Kong Police hire a chinese american detective Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka) (A spoof on Kojak) to find and capture White Gloves. Police Supervisor Nancy Ho(Sylvia Chang) is partnered with Baldy to catch White Gloves. Soon the two learn that King Kong is the one responsible for the heist and in exchange for the police dropping charges against him, he agrees to turn over the diamonds and help Baldy arrest White Gloves for crimes commited in the USA. This is a James Bond-ish style film with a lot of action and a lot of slapstick. The "Aces Go Places" music video is well placed in the middle of the film sung by Sam Hui himself. The movie spawned 5 sequels Aces Go Places 2, AGP 3: Our Man From Bond Street, ACE 4, ACE 5: The Terncotta Hit, and Aces Go Places 97, although ACE 97 is a sequel in name only, sort of what Halloween 3 is to that series.

One of the best comedies in history **********

This Hong Kong action comedy film is titled Aces Go Places in Hong Kong and Mad Mission in the U.S. It is a story about an acrobat-skilled burglar named King Kong (Sam Hui), who ends up joining forces with Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka), a bumbling police detective from the states, to try to track down stolen diamonds before it ends up in the hands of a notorious European gangster named "White Gloves."

The plot is fast-paced and full of excitement and adventure in every corner, providing lots of entertainment and fun. The film's beginning is set in Venice, where we are introduced to the Gangster White-Gloves, reminding you of a James Bond-type atmosphere. It then leads to Hong Kong, where all the action take place - from King Kong and Albert Au trying to find clues to the whereabouts of the diamonds to them trying to allude the pursuing gangsters.

Sam Hui and Karl Maka (in his thick Taishan-ese accent) make a hilarious duo and had great on-screen chemistry. And, Supt. Nancy Ho, a fiery-tempered policewoman played by Sylvia Chang, adds on the humor and fun to the story. Lastly, you get to see some of King Kong's toy gadgets, from machine kites to exploding miniature racecars!

Overall, it's a must-see action comedy that remains a favorite of mine dating back to my childhood.

Grade A

Mad Mission, a stunt-filled Hong Kong action/comedy that proved so successful it spawned four sequels, stars Sam Hui as a daring thief who must join forces with a balding cop (Karl Maka) in an effort to retrieve a hidden cache of diamonds. But the only clues to the whereabouts of these gems are tattooed on the butt-cheeks of a couple of beautiful women...

With its basic plot lifted from the much more enjoyable Dick Emery film 'Ooh... You Are Awful', a naff score based on the James Bond theme, some dreadfully unsophisticated slapstick comedy, and a series of unexceptional stunt sequences, Eric Tsang's madcap movie left me cold. It seems that once again I totally fail to understand the Chinese sense of humour.

Perhaps part of the problem is with the version of the film that I watched: from reading the other comments here on IMDb, it would seem that I have seen a cut that has been edited for a Western audience. I guess that there is a slim chance that the original HK cut is superior, but to be honest, I'm not willing to waste any more time trying to find out.

Based on the version that I have seen, I give Mad Mission 4/10.

There are 3 great things about the first "Mad Mission" / "Aces Go Places":

1) The music score (you may find yourself whistling it)

2) The stunts

3) Sylvia Chang's legs

Other than that, this is a mildly funny - but rarely hilarious - action comedy. As I mentioned, many of the stunts (from motorcycle jumps to car crashes and from motorized gliding to tightrope walking) are WOW-worthy, and there are some clever comic ideas as well (thief Sam Hui and his partner failing to find a quiet place to discuss their latest job). However, much of the humor is simply juvenile (the bald cop played by Karl Maka is nick-named "Kodyjack", a fat Italian mafia boss makes someone "an offer he can't refuse", etc.), and the story is not all that engaging. Here's to hoping the next series entries are better. (**)