Zui jia pai dang 3: Nu huang mi ling

I watched the Mad Missions in order 1, 2, 3 (4 will be next). The first confused me so much that I stopped the viewing and restarted the next day. The second stunned me so much that I re-watched it the same evening. And now this one..

It is different, with another director, and a much higher budget, it appears. It is still silly, but seems to have grown up and dropped most of the boys' toys the first two featured.

But I also noticed how with experience one sees a film differently. Had I watched it without context, I might have thought, "that hairy-beardy police chief is very unconvincing". But what I thought was, "Hey, there's Tsui Hark again, the FBI loonie from #2". And soon to find out he's also the director of this piece. With experience, one starts to feel as part of the family of Sam Hul, Carl Maka, Sylvia Chang (why, I even was at their wedding) ...

Again there were cute details that made me laugh out loud. Consider a high security access system that plays Tic-Tac-Toe (and can be cheated with extra hardware). There's a glimpse of that old boy's humor again.

The German CinePlus DVD has the English soundtrack for which I'm very grateful (the German dub added excess silliness). And, if you care to spend another half-hour, a very rich set of cut scenes (some adding new content to the plot, some just out-takes). Silent (just with the title music), but ample proof how much hard work goes into making such a film - innumerable retries of the fight at the Seine, or just the scene in Bond Street which starts at street level and then pans up to a window.

I must say I have now acquired the Zuijia Paidang taste, and look forward for #4 now :)

Our Man From Bond Street, the third in the Mad Mission series, sees Tsui Hark taking over directorial duties from Eric Tsang, but fans of the films needn't worry, 'cos pretty much everything else stays the same: Sam Hui, Karl Maka and Sylvia Chang all return for more daft comedy/action and spy-spoofery; there are tons of crazy stunts and silly gadgets; and the whole effort has a chaotic, shambolic feel to it that makes one suspect that they made everything up as they went along.

Part 3 sees Sam Hui's affable thief duped (by a faux British secret agent, his beautiful partner and a Queen Elizabeth II lookalike) into stealing the Crown Jewels. When he is made aware of his mistake, he is convinced by a real British agent (played by Peter Graves, star of 60s TV series Mission Impossible) to team up with his Hong Kong police buddies and get the valuables back.

As much as I like daft films with shonky effects (there are dodgy models, bad mattes and visible wires from start to finish), I do find the Mad Mission movies leaving me distinctly unimpressed thus far. There's only so much awful slapstick comedy that I can take (and that theme tune is also starting to grate).

However, with totally whacked-out action featuring such jaw-dropping sights as a gang of jet-pack wearing Santas staging a heist, a huge shark-shaped submarine (complete with teeth!), and a crazy fight atop an Eiffel tower elevator (between Sam Hui, and genuine Bond villains Richard 'Jaws' Kiel and Harold 'Oddjob' Sakata), those who have enjoyed the previous installments will no doubt also find this one enjoyable.

For the most part, this is pretty entertaining.But it has one delightfully visually inventive robbery sequence featuring among other things santa claus's on jet packs, and motorcycles flying through the air. If only for that sequence alone, the movie is worth watching.

Tsui Hark's entry into the mad mission series takes things to the next level with a hilarious riff on infamous James Bond films. Kicking off in Paris, we see King Kong on his holidays only to be suddenly attacked by a mysterious girl, followed by the hat throwing Odd-Job, before getting into battle in an elevator on the Eiffel Tower with Bond villain, Jaws himself!

After a crazy parachute jump, King Kong hits the water - although is lucky enough to have a mini-oxygen tank and propeller shoes to help him. And thankfully too, as a huge submarine designed to look like a shark comes after him. Once swallowed, Kong is introduced (hilariously) to James Bond and Queen Elizabeth who want to hire him to steal back the Queen's crown jewels...

Obviously, all is not as it seems, and so it begins!

Its clear that director Tsui Hark (along with co-director Yuen Kwai) wanted to deliver the biggest and funniest chapter of Aces Go Places when he made this one. Slickly directed, although never taking itself seriously of course, Hark swaps the crazy OTT gadgets and toys for a more advanced, hi-tec array as seen in the Bond films of the same era, complete with giant super computers and sets.

The slapstick is far from gone - but it does have quite a different tone at times to the first two films. It still has many laugh-out-loud moments, and of course by this stage the main cast is very comfortable in their roles. The added story of King Kong trying to pull of such a heist without betraying his friends helps mature things a little more also.

The cast is just as much fun as the film itself. The wonderful Ricky Hui (from Mr. Vampire and brother to Sam) gets more than an extended cameo as a cop, as does the hilarious John Sham (Winners and Sinners). Karl Maka just always cracks me up and I love watching the roller-coaster of a relationship between him and Sylvia Chang. The one-and-only Peter Graves (Mission Impossible; Airplane) also pops up which just adds even more of an international flavour to the film!

Another addition is that of Baldy Junior. The poor child of Maka and Chang! I'm sure this actor has been scarred for life after his experience on this film... Aces Go Places 3 is seen by many as the weaker of the series, but I have to disagree. It's quite different yes, but something well needed in terms of keeping things fresh for fans of the films. After all, the 2 previous chapters were so similar, I don't know if a third would have worked using the same formula. So, boring - it most certainly is not!

Overall: Slick and ambitious, part 3 is crazy fun and takes the series in a whole new directions!

The second sequel to Hong Kong's Aces Go Places, it is a story about King Kong (Samuel Hui), while vacationing in Paris, being kidnapped by a British agent called James (Jean Mersant), who wants to recover one of the stolen crown jewels, the Star of Fortune, supposedly at the request of the Queen of England. King Kong attempts to steal the jewel at the Hong Kong Police Headquarters without his partner-in-crime, Detective Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka), knowing.

Like the previous movie, the plot is fast-paced and full of adventure. the story has slightly less corny jokes and silly action than the previous movie, and incorporates some slick and daring cross-culture references, like the appearance of James Bond villain actor Richard Kiel and Mission Impossible actor Richard Graves. There are also characters named James Bond and Oddjob in the movie - obvious references to 007 films. King Kong trying to pull off a heist while not betraying his partners is a pretty captivating plot.

There is wild action in abundance, but still doesn't quite capture the fun of the original film. Still, it's worth a watch.

Grade B-