Mad Mission

There are 3 great things about the first "Mad Mission" / "Aces Go Places":

1) The music score (you may find yourself whistling it)

2) The stunts

3) Sylvia Chang's legs

Other than that, this is a mildly funny - but rarely hilarious - action comedy. As I mentioned, many of the stunts (from motorcycle jumps to car crashes and from motorized gliding to tightrope walking) are WOW-worthy, and there are some clever comic ideas as well (thief Sam Hui and his partner failing to find a quiet place to discuss their latest job). However, much of the humor is simply juvenile (the bald cop played by Karl Maka is nick-named "Kodyjack", a fat Italian mafia boss makes someone "an offer he can't refuse", etc.), and the story is not all that engaging. Here's to hoping the next series entries are better. (**)

This Hong Kong action comedy film is titled Aces Go Places in Hong Kong and Mad Mission in the U.S. It is a story about an acrobat-skilled burglar named King Kong (Sam Hui), who ends up joining forces with Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka), a bumbling police detective from the states, to try to track down stolen diamonds before it ends up in the hands of a notorious European gangster named "White Gloves."

The plot is fast-paced and full of excitement and adventure in every corner, providing lots of entertainment and fun. The film's beginning is set in Venice, where we are introduced to the Gangster White-Gloves, reminding you of a James Bond-type atmosphere. It then leads to Hong Kong, where all the action take place - from King Kong and Albert Au trying to find clues to the whereabouts of the diamonds to them trying to allude the pursuing gangsters.

Sam Hui and Karl Maka (in his thick Taishan-ese accent) make a hilarious duo and had great on-screen chemistry. And, Supt. Nancy Ho, a fiery-tempered policewoman played by Sylvia Chang, adds on the humor and fun to the story. Lastly, you get to see some of King Kong's toy gadgets, from machine kites to exploding miniature racecars!

Overall, it's a must-see action comedy that remains a favorite of mine dating back to my childhood.

Grade A

Famous Jewel Thief King Kong (Sam Hui) steals $30,000,000.00 in diamonds from the mob, who have mistaken him for another famous jewel thief "White Gloves". Now White Gloves must go to Hong Kong to find the diamonds and clear his name or the mob will kill him. Hearing that White Gloves is in town the Hong Kong Police hire a chinese american detective Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka) (A spoof on Kojak) to find and capture White Gloves. Police Supervisor Nancy Ho(Sylvia Chang) is partnered with Baldy to catch White Gloves. Soon the two learn that King Kong is the one responsible for the heist and in exchange for the police dropping charges against him, he agrees to turn over the diamonds and help Baldy arrest White Gloves for crimes commited in the USA. This is a James Bond-ish style film with a lot of action and a lot of slapstick. The "Aces Go Places" music video is well placed in the middle of the film sung by Sam Hui himself. The movie spawned 5 sequels Aces Go Places 2, AGP 3: Our Man From Bond Street, ACE 4, ACE 5: The Terncotta Hit, and Aces Go Places 97, although ACE 97 is a sequel in name only, sort of what Halloween 3 is to that series.

One of the best comedies in history **********

Aces Go Places is—not that the credits will ever tell you—a remake of the Dick Emery film Get Charlie Tully. The storyline is identical, but the characters are distinctly Chinese.

King Kong (Sam Hui) is a Simon Templar-like thief, known for pulling off a major jewel heist in Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police are stumped and decide to enlist overseas help from a shortlist which includes Inspector Clouseau—but realizing that actor Peter Sellers is now dead (an interesting use of in-jokes mixing reality with the film world), they turn to their next choice, American-based Albert Au (Karl Maka), the 'Bald Detective' (the literal translation of the series Kojak in Cantonese). Sylvia Chang plays a police superintendent who Au falls for.

Apart from some changes to the story, and action sequences which arguably inspired Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and other film stars, it is Get Charlie Tully from there. Without revealing too much, the clues are identical; even certain gags.

It doesn't mean to say this is a poor version of Get Charlie Tully. It has been cleverly changed to Chinese tastes, and the movie is still funny 18 years on. Arguably, the Hong Kong writers have created something even funnier than the Emery movie through a careful use of puns and metaphors. The pace and timing remain an odd, if hilarious, mixture of British and Chinese.

It was, after all, successful enough for four more sequels through the 1980s, although after this outing, the Emery connection ended and Maka and company went for more - for want of a better term - originality.

Mad Mission is wild...that's for sure. There's tons of action, humor (especially in the full-length Versions) and crazy stunts. If you are used to normal Hollywood movies this will give you a kick like no other. Instead of complicated storylines and useless filler scenes you get action action action.

Part two is even better and turns Everything up to eleven. Go watch them all actually(maybe not the fifth)!! But make sure to watch the uncut versions, they're all around 100 minutes, not the 80 minute international cuts.

Btw the german dub is amazing and much much more humorous with its very lose translations and typical german jokes.