Bambole e botte

Really silly stuff, goofier than usual, but fun nonetheless. Another of Jackie's "minor" movies, he's back in a smaller part, but he does get to scrap a bit with Richard Norton, who showed up later in "City Hunter" and "Mr. Nice Guy." The ending of course is really cool, and it's fun to see a young Michell Yeoh in a tiny, tiny part....

Despite an outstanding cast and some brilliant fight scenes, Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars, (the third in the 'Lucky Stars' series after Winners and Sinners and My Lucky Stars) can be a struggle to sit through at times, due to its heavy dose of poor slapstick humour and a rather incomprehensible plot (which is too daft to go into at length). However, if you can make it past the puerile comedy (face pulling, 3 Stooges-style routines, and endless attempts by the 'heroes' at ogling or fondling young women) and turn a blind eye to the forgettable story (cops v bad guys), there is plenty of other stuff to enjoy about this manic 80s Hong Kong classic.

Featuring martial arts superstars Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Baio and Andy Lau, Twinkle Twinkle's action scenes are amongst the best you'll see on film. An early fight, between good guys Chan, Baio and Lau, and a warehouse full of gangsters, showcases each star's incredible moves, with Baio in particular impressing with some mighty fine acrobatic kicks. Sammo Hung also gets to shine in a fantastic showdown against both an Aussie bad-guy (the formidable Richard Norton) and a sai wielding Japanese killer.

And even when the action lulled, and the 'comedy' was in full swing, the movie kept my attention thanks to the presence of several rather lovely ladies: pretty Sibelle Hu returns as Barbara Woo; the gorgeous Rosamund Kwan stars as lady-in-peril (and object of lust for the guys) Chi-Chi Wang; and even Michelle Yeoh pops up as a sexy Karate instructor.

Although not the best Hong Kong actioner of the 80s by a long shot (Sammo Hung's Eastern Condors gets my vote for that accolade), Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars is still, on the whole, very entertaining and well worth giving a go.

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

The Five Lucky Stars, played by Sammo Hung, Richard Ng, Stanley Fung, Eric Tsang and Charlie Chin, return in this action-comedy sequel. Charlie Chin's character, Herb, makes a cameo appearance only and is replaced by his brother, Pagoda (Kiu Wai Miu). They get themselves involved in an illegal drug operation plot, where an informant is assassinated by the drug lord, and is instructed by Chief Insp. Barbara Woo (Sibelle Hu) to protect the informant's friend Yi-Ching (Rosamund Kwan) while she and her police team attempt to bring down the illegal operation.

The main plot is loosely tied together and the film contains various subplots that were quite silly - from the Lucky Stars' vacation in Thailand with a bunch of tour girls to Sandy's (Richard Ng) meeting with a witch doctor, and from cops Muscles (Jackie Chan) and Ricky (Yuen Biao) high intensity fight with a gang of arm dealers to the Lucky Stars' attempts to woo Yi-Ching. It gets quite annoying at times when the movie strays away from the main plot, but what made up for it is the huge all-star cast, its numerous martial arts action scenes, humorous one-liners and just class Hong Kong-style comedy.

I remember first watching some parts of this film when I was a kid and was pretty entertained by it. The appearances of the martial arts trio of Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Andy Lau was neat stuff and, of course, it was cool seeing the Five Lucky Stars in a sequel again.

With such a large cast of characters, it's fun seeing how each contribute to the story. The film is not as entertaining as the original "Winners and Sinners" film, but it has more fun and action than the second film. Despite the loose plot, the filmmakers really packed a lot of stuff in this flick.

Grade B-

After one of his informers is murdered by a Thai gang boss, lawman Muscles (Jackie Chan) calls in his former orphanage pals, 'The Lucky Stars', to go undercover and infiltrate the boss's underworld establishment. The unorthodox Kidstuff (Sammo Hung) and Ricky (Yuen Biao) soon prove their worth, and are ultimately joined by Muscles for an explosive martial arts finale.

Jackie Chan and Yuen Baio are sidelined this time, making room for more buffoonery from the Lucky Stars, who, as usual, are lusting over women - Rosamund Kwan is the main centre of their attention - and it's funny to a point, but eventually it can get tedious and the line between humour and perviness is blurred, especially with the buffoons trying to cop a feel and leer. Having said that, it's entertaining film, and the fights scenes standout with some lethal foes. The use of badminton against swords is an inspiring idea. Richard Norton is one tough dude. Not as good as My Lucky Stars, but still a good one.

The script is totally incoherent (something about a letter that could expose a criminal organization... don't even bother to think about it), and most of the comedy is lame, but the action is fast and exhilarating. Jackie has a small part and barely any dialogue in this one; I also would have liked to see more of the gifted Yuen Biao, who has a way of making even the most amazing stunts seem effortless. Sammo Hung gets the lion's share of the fighting, and at the end he is pitted against Richard Norton, one of the most worthy villains of Jackie Chan movies. I give "Twinkle" * for the comedy and *** for the action, so the average is **.