Tiger on the beat

I used to watch this movie with my cousin when we were kids. It's a pretty entertaining cop comedy starring Chow Yun Fat as Sergeant Francis Li Conan Lee as Michael Cho as mismatched detectives who try to solve a case involving a cocaine ring. Nina Li Chi also stars as Marydonna, the woman unfortunate enough to get caught up in the drug ring mix.

As mentioned earlier, it's a pretty entertaining old school cop comedy - plenty of good guy vs bad guy action, slapstick moments and even a touch of drama and gloom.

The plot is pretty fast-paced and the acting was spot-on.

Grade B-

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.

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.

Man this movies chainsaw fighting seen is probably the best their ever will be, if you need any more reason to see it there is something wrong. Good script, good ideas (shotgun on a rope, who would have thought) and good acting, an explosive action packed movie

Version: Cantonese, with English subtitles (by SBS)

Hong Kong cops can do anything - including jumping off bridges, trucks, cars, shoot anything they want, all while not wearing any pants as they chase a suspect. Of course, being Hong Kong cops, they could just approach a random bystander, flash their badge, and say "I'm requisitioning your pants". If I were Chow Yun Fat, its what I'd do.

'Tiger on the Beat' has all of that and more (except for the requisitioning of pants), including the obligatory English and American bad guys. Chow Yun Fat is buddied up with Conan Lee to take on a drug syndicate, and then the fun begins. The movie begins in an entertaining light-hearted action/comedy sort of way, but as the movie progresses, turns more into an excellent action movie, getting better and better along the way. Chow Yun Fat gets to drink raw eggs, and wet his pants when a gun is pointed at him. Obviously this isn't the Chow Yun Fat you would recognize from some of his work with John Woo.

Chow Yun Fat gets top billing, and doesn't disappoint (the shotgun-on-a-rope, and a fight with an American tai-chi expert are his highlights), but the amazing Conan Lee steals the show. From hard, fast-moving fight scenes and jumping off speeding cars, to an incredible, final chainsaw-fu showdown with Gordon Liu, Conan Lee is the real star of the movie.

Any Chow Yun Fat fans, and fans of Hong Kong action movies in general, should enjoy this movie. It is, simply put, awesome. Be forewarned though, there is one moment that some might find rather tasteless (you'll know it when you see it), but otherwise it really is an incredible action movie - 9/10