Il mistero del conte Lobos

Cousins Thomas and David run a mobile restaurant in Barcelona, where David's father is currently recovering in a mental institution. With an uncanny ability to get into trouble, they manage to fall in with the mysterious Sylvia who looks like a princess, steals anything she can get and may be a prostitute. Despite this, David is besotted and tries to help it when it is clear someone is out to get her. In fact more than one group is looking for her and another party has employed local bumbling detective Moby to track her down. With none of them sure why she is being targeted, but each with their own agenda, David, Moby and Thomas all try to keep her safe and uncover the truth.

A key thing to know going into this film is that the plotting was not anywhere near the top of the priority list and that it does show in the final product. The story is a really convoluted mess that has characters and scenarios that seem to exist only to allow the overall flow to continue (specifically the entire mental institute thing) and that, even with this, it has plenty of logic jumps to keep things going. This isn't a massive problem though because generally the film is a comic genre film and it is possible to accept this as coming with the territory. So it goes forward with this constantly played-up comedy air that is always silly but mostly quite amusing - I never really roared with laughter but I had frequent chuckles to myself.

A big part of this is down to the acting rather than the material and, although very much of the genre, it does work. All three of the leads do well with the comedy, all overacting and exaggerating facial expressions to emphasis things - hence it being a bit silly a lot as well. Sammo does this the most but at the same time does get the most laughs. Chan is good but doesn't have as much pure comedy in his character, while Biao has more of the romantic sap to carry but works. Where they naturally excel is in their physical action work. Sammo has the lesser part of this and his main efforts are in his (admittedly impressive) reactions to the many kicks and punches he takes. Chan gets a great scene with Benny Urquidez to show his skills and Biao is amazingly agile. The one problem with the martial arts action is that there is not quite enough of it. The end of the film is the "big" scene but up till then it is not quite what you would be used to from the genre - where amazing fight scenes are scattered throughout as well as a big finish. So at times I was coasting on the odd chuckle but the final scenes are tough and impressive - particularly Chan, doing his usual stuff but instead of making it a bit comical he makes it a lot more brutal than I have seen him do.

The support cast all overact accordingly and mostly fulfil their roles without their average acting skills mattering (eg a goon is a goon and the main fighters are very good fighters etc). Forner is not too bad as Sylvia, although her role as "woman of intense beauty" isn't helped by the impact of dating on her looks and outfits. The one supporting performance of real note is from Ng (I think - he was the mental patient who was "mentally ill - not stupid", he has two main scenes both of which are funny due to his material and his performance.

The end result of all this is not a brilliant film but still a silly and enjoyable one that never quite has enough of any one thing but still works overall with consistent chuckles and, when it comes, engaging and impressive fight sequences.

This movie does drag a bit at certain points. Personally multiple times I just wanted it to just fast-forward to the next Jackie Chan action sequences. This one really does bring out Jackie's acrobatic skills. At some parts it's like watching the Chinese Three Stooges, and the trademark Jackie Chan humor works. This one is more story focused, not a great story but a watchable one. But sometimes just didn't seem to have enough action. The main highlight fight is the one with Jackie Chan vs. Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. It's one of Jackie's highlight fights in movie history for a reason. Sammo Hung is amusing as this kid detective guy, that is amateurish but persistent. His fight sequence with the fencing expert was a entertaining watch as well. The trio does a good job of bringing in that humor and tenacity on screen. When it comes to the plot it seemed like a live action Chinese version of "The Castle of Cagliostro". Except with kung-fu and stuff. Overall it's cool to see Jackie during his prime. Despite few dragged out parts and parts that are a bit rushed. This is still a fun movie with flashy but entertaining fight choreography.

7.3/10

An emblematic Hong Kong action comedy in its heyday conjoined by legendary Kung Fu trio Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, shot abroad in Barcelona with Sammo also taking the director job, WHEELS ON MEALS sees Chan and Yuen as two cousins, Thomas and David respectively, who are adroit in martial arts (and skateboards), run a fast food van in the tourist spot, soon they will team up with Hung's amateurish shamus Moby to fight against the evil Mondale (Sancho), whose henchmen are relentlessly hunting down a young heiress Sylvia (the stunning former Miss Spain, Lola Forner), with whom both Thomas and David are infatuated.

The star trio (their third picture together, preceded by PROJECT A and WINNERS AND SINNERS, both released in 1983) brings about authentic bonhomie in their two against one raillery, with Hung often comically in the receiving end of the ribbing and pratfalls. Forner's deceptively virtuous damsel-in-distress (petty larceny merely a peccadillo) doesn't drive a wedge between the two cousins, instead, Thomas and David's gauche vying for her affection elicits abundant lulz, including one sterling idea from Thomas, by suggesting David's father (Paul Chang Chung) to marry Sylvia's mother (Sentís), both mental hospital residents (there are stimulating cameos from regular collaborators Richard Ng, Wu Ma and John Sam as fellow head cases) who are smitten with each other, to the utter dismay of Yuen, since he and Sylvia will become step-siblings.

Whereas the plot gives no spectacular twists or suspense to elevate WHEELS ON MEALS head and shoulders above its similar peers, the climatic action set piece is a captivating blinder, in particular, the fisticuffs between Jackie Chan and kickboxing champion Benny Urquidez, which gives a visceral flesh-to-flesh impact that bespeaks what makes martial arts actioner such an entertaining delight to watch, and Chan's epiphany of loosing up in the face of a formidable rival well speaks volume of his trademark amalgamation of levity and lethality that eventually would win him gazillion of fans in every nook and cranny of the world, an exemplar of how to take up the baton (from Bruce Lee, obviously) and pass it on with one's own distinctive style (Chan is in his sixties and his clout still rolls on).

Elsewhere, Hung relishes in the self-referential jokes of his (only slightly at then) portly figure (when Moby hollers around in looking for a man named Fatso, whose corpulence can legitimately pale him into insignificance, or the running jokes of being unable to keep up with a simian Chan in all the shinning and whisking), and in fact, Hung is famous for his disproportionate agility that lends him a unique presence among other uniformly jacked Chinese martial artists. Without any help of wire-fu, Hung really cuts it both in and behind cameras, and WHEELS ON MEALS is a testimony to the halcyon days of Hong Kong action cinema, fun, thrill and a bit of romance, recommended for the whole family.

The basic synopsis of Wheels on Meals is as follows: Jackie Chan and Yuen Baio are two Chinese immigrants who run a mobile snack van business in Barcelona. Sammo Hung, also a chinese immigrant living in Barcelona, works as a very badly dressed PI. Sammo is hired by a dubious looking gentleman in a bowler hat to track down a Spanish girl, who it just so happens is the daughter of Yuen Baios dad's girlfriend. This sets the scene for, amongst other things, a bizarre retro skateboarding sequence, a ludicrous car/van chase and a top class fight at the end.

For me, Wheels on Meals represents the ultimate combination of comedy kung fu and naive slapstick humor. It's worth pointing out that this film isn't as good a Martial Arts flick as some of the earlier works that it's three main stars were involved in (Young Master, Magnificent Butcher, Prodigal Son, etc). However, the main strength of Wheels on Wheels is it's ability to get new mileage out of some very old gags, and it also proves once and for all that unusual hats can be very funny.

I give it nine out of ten.

If Sammo could ever do anything right, he could choreograph. He's a master of martial arts choreography and many of Jackie's and Biao's best films come with Sammo doing the choreography. This movie is a prime example of this.

The film deals with two Chinese men in Spain who run a food truck. They meet a pick-pocket who turns out to be heir (along w/ her institutionalized mother) to a large fortune, which is coveted by some nasy goons. Sammo plays a detective that's on the case. All this builds up to an excellent climax at a Spanish castle.

One thing that I did like a lot about the movie was the script. The rapport between Yuen Biao and Jackie Chan was excellent, and they get a lot of witty comments, comebacks, and responses to supposedly stupid questions. You have to see the subtitled version to understand.

Like I was saying, the choreography in the film is great. Unfortunately, there are only about 4 fight scenes or so before the climax that are all really short. It really left me craving a lot more. The finale is a true piece of work. Jackie takes kickboxing champ Benny "The Jet" Urquidez in one of the best one-on-one's ever filmed. Yuen Biao takes on Keith Vitale, another karate champ. Sammo takes on the lead villain in a Chinese variation of European fencing.

The action isn't wall-to-wall but what's there is excellent. The relationship between Yuen and Chan is also great. It's a Jackie Chan film worth seeing.