Mo deng ru lai shen zhang

Yeah, sometimes it would have been a good idea to take a step back and have a third party take a gander at what you are about to embark upon. And the 1990 movie "Kung Fu vs Acrobatic" (aka "Mo deng ru lai shen zhang") was one such movie.

And by that I mean, the storyline told in the movie was just so far out there that the comedy was drowned in all the silly nonsense that was going on in the movie. And it was a shame, because the movie suffered terribly at the story that was written by Jing Wong. Seriously, what was the writer thinking here?

While "Kung Fu vs Acrobatic" was watchable, if you were able to get past all the goofy, crazy nonsense on the screen, then it should be said that this was not a memorable movie. I hadn't heard about it before now in 2021, as I sat down to watch it for the first time. And let me just be honest and say that this was my first and only time to watch the movie. This is not something I wish to see again.

It is simply beyond my comprehension why actors like Andy Lau, Wah Yuen and Fui-On Shing even agreed to be in something as atrocious as this was.

And it is supposed to pass as being a comedy martial arts movie, well sure. I suppose so, in an odd and bizarre manner. But if you are into martial arts comedies, there are far better movies readily available in the Hong Kong cinema, namely movies starring Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow or Sammo Hung.

I managed to sit through the entire ordeal that is known as "Kung Fu vs Acrobatic", which is a very strange title actually, but was hardly impressed by the movie. My overall rating of this wacky, strange movie settles on a generous four out of ten stars.

There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in this Chinese fantasy comedy. Two friends discover an old cave (not unlike in the first Indiana Jones movie) where they trigger a mechanism which revives a princess, her handmaiden and an evil kung fu master who have been asleep there for 250 years.

Lots of wacky fun ensues as these characters have to adapt to all the technical conveniences of modern-day Hong Kong (in fact, some of the situations are so similar to the 1993 French time-traveling comedy Les Visiteurs that one almost suspects the writer of that movie to have been inspired by this one). The evil kung fu master pursues the princess, but becomes distracted by TV commercials for everything from chips and Coca-Cola to hamburgers (where the actors use kung fu moves and dances) which he then believes are the food of champions! The movie also has many comical references to other movies, like for instance Rambo III...

The story gets rather nonsensical towards the end of the movie, particularly with the animated turtle, which has no reason whatsoever for being there. Overall, the movie is good fun nonetheless.

6 out of 10. (A "6" may seem a low grade, but I'm rather strict in my ratings philosophy. A "6" means "above average" and "fairly entertaining" and "probably worth watching again sometime".)

I'm a big fan of Yuen Wah, Joey Wang and Andy Lau, but Kung Fu vs. Acrobatic, which stars all three, was a huge disappointment for me, the emphasis on puerile Hong Kong comedy rather than martial arts. What a waste of talent!

When friends Charles and Chi (Lau and Pak-Cheung Chan) travel to mainland China on business, they discover a cave where they awaken a beautiful princess (Wang) and her handmaiden (Siu-Wai Mui), who have been magically frozen for hundreds of years; unfortunately, they also reanimate evil warlord Tien Chien (Wah), who has the hots for the princess (and who can blame him?). Having swallowed half a magic pill each, Charles and Chi now have special powers, which they will need to master if they are to defeat Tien Chien.

Hong Kong comedy is something that generally leaves my ribs untickled, so the vast majority of this film proved hard for me to endure. A glut of really dated visual effects did nothing to help matters, and for a film with 'kung fu' and 'acrobatic' in the title, this one is severely lacking in the fight stakes. The dreadful animated turtle sequence was the final straw.

A generous 3/10, one point each for Wang, Wah and Lau.

This movie was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Makes me want to go get some hamburgers. The plot of this movie was great and the interaction between the two main characters and Tin Chan was so funny i had to watch it like 50 more times. This is one of the movies that I have watched to most, over and over and it still doesn't lose its charm. Andy Lau is his usual self. 10 out of 10.

This is a Hong Kong comedy that is a spin-off from the 1960s Chinese martial arts story, Buddha's Palm. Friends Charles and Chi (Andy Lau, Pak-Cheung Chan) visit Mainland China and discover an ancient cave that houses what is supposed to be the tomb of the legendary martial artist Lung Gim-Fei. The friends find an old spell book and practice some magic, which unintentionally breaks open a wall and releases a dormant princess (Joey Wang) and her handmaiden (Siu-Wai Mui). Charles and Chi take the Princess and her Handmaiden back to Hong Kong with them, unaware that they were followed by the just-awaken evil warlord, Tien Chien (Wah Yuen).

Lead actors Lau and Chan does a good job in delivering comedy and charm, as do lead actresses Joey Wang and Siu-Wai Mui. There are plenty of puns, mostly courtesy of Chan and Siu-Wai. While there are some acrobatic superpower scenes, from Lau taking down a bunch of knife-wielding gangsters to Wah Yuen's powerful drop-kick, the comedy consumes much of the picture, leaving lesser room for action and suspense. I would have liked to see the Buddha Palm plot device emphasized more and the Joey Wang and Siu-Wai Mui characters given a larger purpose in the film.

Overall, it is not a bad comedy, but would like to see more of the fantasy elements emphasized.

Grade B-