Mad Mission V

April 2021

Although this does appear to be a bit of an after thought, and it comes 3 years after number 4, and we do lose Sylvia Chang from this one, in my opinion this is the best of the 5, i love it.

Karl Maka and Sam Hui are joined by Nina Li Chi and Leslie Cheung for this one, Nina Li Chi is always a good choice for me.

Conan Lee also joins the party this time, some great comedy and action and a great end to the series.

10 out of 10.

This is the fourth and last sequel of the Aces go Places series, where King Kong (Samuel Hui) and Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka) were framed for robbery by brother and sister thieves (Leslie Cheung and Nina Li Chi) by taking possession of a sword from antiquities smugglers. Kong and Baldy managed to reprimand the brother/sister duo, but all were later apprehended by the authorities and sent to a prison in China.

This movie starts off pretty good with the daring heist by the brother and sister, but things get later meshed up with all the chaotic scenes of King King and Baldy trying to reprimand the thieves to the boring prison scenes in China. The movies relies a lot on slapstick silliness and forced action, leaving little room for suspense, though there are still some neat action scenes. Samuel Hui and Karl Maka seemed too over-the-top in their roles and Leslie Cheung and Nina Li Chi didn't have great chemistry. The absence of Sylvia Chang's Supt. Ho character was sorely missed. Overall, the weakest of the Aces go Places movies.

Grade C-

When The Aces latest job turns sour, partners Baldy (Karl Maka) and King Kong (Sam Hui) decide to go their separate ways; however, they are reunited three years later after a brother and sister crime duo, The New Aces (played by the late, great Leslie Cheung and beautiful Nina Li) frame them for the theft of China's national treasures, the Terracotta Army and a valuable sword.

With both the Chinese authorities (led by Conan Lee's Chinese Rambo) and a gang of criminals hot on their trail, the guys are forced to work together once again in order to prove their innocence.

Directed by martial arts movie legend Lau Kar-Leung, The Terracotta Hit is without a doubt my favourite of the Aces Go Places movies; there is still plenty of the series' trademark silliness (including a gwailo villain who wears a white pussycat glove puppet!), but this one also offers much more in the way of kung fu action than previous efforts, with the entertaining fight scenes utilising a nice range of traditional weaponry.

After plenty of daft stunts (my favourite being Nina Li's disastrous human-cannon escape plan), and lots of general looniness, the film ends with a satisfyingly furious fight amidst the Terracotta Army, which features baddies disguised as statues and absolutely loads of very painful looking falls for the film's HK stunt-men.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Ngoh meng giu King Kong, a bit like James Bond, Joi gaai paaktong, ngohdeih haih, joi gaai paaktong, ... This is the fifth entry in the 'Aces Go Places' series('Aces Go Places '97' may be related only in name, I assume). It seems to be an underrated installment in the saga as well , yet it has enough quality to hold itself together. 'Aces Go Places V'(a.k.a. 'Xin zuijia paidang') starts off with King Kong and Albert "Baldy" Au(Sam Hui and Karl Maka) kidnapping a Thai woman for a client. When their moral judgment gets in the way of profiteering, King Kong and Baldy go their separate ways. King Kong and Baldy are later re-united when a brother and sister duo of thieves(Leslie Cheung and Nina Li) posing as the Aces duo, steal a sword connected to some stolen Terracotta statues. In an interview with Peter Hunt filmed for a James Bond documentary, he claims, and I quote,"Every director puts his(or her) stamp on a film." This statement would apply to Shaw Brothers kung fu guru director Lau Kar-leung as well as the previous directors of the Aces films who've added their contributions: Eric Tsang(Aces I & II), Tsui Hark(Aces III), and Ringo Lam(Aces IV). Lau and his stunt crew bring a wide array of wu-shu and kung fu into this film. The fights are solid and fun to watch even though they're performed mostly by non-martial artists such as Sam Hui, Karl Maka, Nina Li, and the late Leslie Cheung. The absence of Sylvia Chang leaves an incomplete feeling to this entry(Chai Po[Chang] and Baldy Jr. are supposedly in Canada, as this film mentions). Still, there's a large supporting cast that attempts to stand in for Sylvia. Conan Lee is Chinese Rambo, a mainland soldier who forces the new and old Aces duos to help the Red Chinese recover the Terracotta statues, from a gwailo with white cat mittens(?, Ernst Blofeld he's not) and his lackeys. Lovely Ellen Chan portrays King Kong's secretary who suffers under his employment from damage caused by mainland bureaucrats and international criminals. Cho Tat-wah reprises his role as Wah So from the previous Aces films. Leslie Cheung is one half of the new Aces duo and buxom Nina Li(married to Jet Li Lian-jie[Gong xi nin])is the other half of the new Aces duo. Fannie Yuen Kit-ying portrays Baldy's niece(whose cabin he hides out in order to avoid the authorities and tax collectors). Singer/actress Maria Cordero has a brief cameo in the film as well. Danny Lee Sau-yin portrays a pimp from Hong Kong who awaits punishment in a mainland Chinese prison and gives information on purchasing bullets for executions! There are other supporting players whose contributions make up the film as well. Sam Hui and Karl Maka return as the aging, bickering Aces duo in the fifth(and last?) film in the Aces series. Not the best film in the 'Aces Go Places' saga, but this installment holds its own.

Cinema City's fourth sequel to one of their biggest franchises was once again put in the hands of a new director - and this time, probably the most prolific and experienced of them all, Lau Kar Leung, with his brother Lau Kar Wing, returning as action director!

The Pop's had already spent the past year or two delivering some modern day martial arts action classics, both as director and action-director, so it would only seem fit that he would continue that flow with Aces Go Places 5 - an often dark and serious film overall that seems to have totally lost its way since the insane opening chapter eight years before.

That's not to say it's a bad film...

Opening (very bizarrely) in Thailand, we see best partners, King Kong and Baldy kidnapping a Thai bride from her village, hired by the old man who claims to own her. As guilt and humanity overcome them, they set her free and betray their employer, with Maka getting in on the action in a way that seems slightly out of character.

Definitely not the most exciting opening to the series I have to say! Moving swiftly to Hong Kong, we see the return of White Glove (albeit a different actor and very different white glove) who has stolen the Chinese Excalibur and the famed Terracotta Army. The deal is very quickly interrupted by brother and sister thieves, Leslie Cheung and Nina Li Chi who get mistaken for the best partners - Kong and Baldy - who escape in the oddest of ways, with the sword.

Conan Lee (aaah, poor Conan Lee), who was under contract with Lau Kar Leung at the time - and having just completed the fantastic Tiger On The Beat movies - plays a cop from the mainland called Chinese Rambo. He does get some funny moments, and thankfully, plenty of martial arts action which is great!

In fact, this would most definitely be the one film of the series that trades it's gadgets and explosive style action, for kung fu...

Not a terrible thing at all - but as with the entry before, just a little out of place compared to the style of films the first ones set up. I must admit though, it is great to see Sam Hui do a lot of his own fighting and stunt work. Having kicked more ass than usual in the fantastic Legend Of Wisely, Sam would have been working on great productions such as Dragon From Russia and Swordsman around the same period, becoming more of an action star in his own right. In Aces Go Places 5, he continues that - with positive results.

I must also add, that Karl Maka gets some great moments in regards to his usual rough and tumble stunt work. He always cracks me up with his awkward and comedic ways of getting thrown around, or falling through something - and it often looks genuinely sore!

There is a fantastic cast throughout with of course, Leslie Cheung and Nina Li Chi joining the main stars. Conan Lee gives one of his last entertaining roles before his career quickly vanished a few years later, and the super cute Ellen Chan (Inspector Wears Skirts) plays King Kong's secretary, and even gets on a bit of the action. The great Danny Lee, Fennie Yuen and Roy Cheung all cameo at some point, and the wonderful Walter Tso returns as a chief superintendent again (also playing a similar role in the Lucky Stars series)...

The role-call for the bad guys is just as great with the brilliant Melvin Wong leading the way and Brad Kerner as the new and improved White Glove. Their henchmen include Lau Kar Leung student Mark Houghton, with Wayne Archer, Bruce Fontaine and Deborah Grant - along with the fantastic and very underused Billy Chong (Crystal Fist) jumping in for a small bad guy role in what would be his last movie role until recent years. Ha Chi Jan, the female guerilla fighter in Eastern Condors who betrays the team, gets to kick ass with a lady partner (who I think may be Lam Siu Lau from Child Of Peach) - so in terms of an action packed cast, we certainly can't be complaining!

The story has Baldy's wife and son now living in Canada, and the lack of Sylvia Chang in an Aces Go Places movie shows. It makes Maka's character somewhat lost in places as they replace her with a niece for company (although briefly). He still gives an entertaining performance as always though...

Plenty of nonsense and a weak script make for a fun but slowish start in the first 30 minutes, which result in the best partners being brought back together in an ice chamber, captured by Melvin Wong and White Glove. From here, you think things will start to pick up for the better as they ramp it up into a great getaway with some crazy stunts. Soon, Kong and Baldy capture the siblings in a bid to clear their name which leads to some torture at the fish farm - a particular nightmare of my own, so I don't envy the actors involved in this scene.

But is it enough to make it the best chapter in the series? Well, to be honest - no!

While director Lau Kar Leung may have an incredible number of classics under his belt, Aces Go Places 5 is not one of them. It's definitely not boring, but it is very uneven and lacks the same impact of other Hong Kong movies released in the same year. The closing fight scene carries over the last 15 minutes of the film, and is actually a lot of fun with some great moves - including a one-to-one between Sam Hui and Billy Chong - but is still far from being labelled as a classic...

Overall: A fine closure to the series, Aces Go Places 5 is a passable mess that still entertains on its own merits!