Qu mo jing cha

Lam Ching-Ying--Mr. Vampire himself--is Uncle Feng, a Hong Kong policeman who uses magic to battle an evil sorceress (Michiko Nishiwaki), head of a drug smuggling operation. When he's not fighting ghosts, vampires and ghouls, Feng tries to keep two randy cops from pestering his pretty niece Lin (Mei-Wah Wong).

Like so many supernatural Hong Kong movies, Magic Cop mixes comedy with its horror, and your level of enjoyment will depend on your sense of humour. I always struggle with Hong Kong comedy, so the gags, and the irritating comedic characters, did spoil the film somewhat for me. As far as I am concerned, Magic Cop works best when it forgets all about the silly slapstick and concentrates on delivering horror, magic and crazy action, which it thankfully does in the very entertaining finalé that ends the film on a high.

Magic Cop also features just a smidgen of kung fu, but I would have liked to have seen more, especially considering the presence of Nishiwaki and the amazing Billy Chow as the sorceress's servant.

Overall, I rate Magic Cop 6/10.

This flick stars the awesome Ching-Ying Lam as a kind of current day Mr. Vampire. Sounds promising, and so are the first scenes.

Things quickly go downhill though as the two sidekicks are introduced, who might manage to provide some low brow comic relief for ages 5 and below, but are guaranteed to annoy anyone else, and who are given way too much screen time. The other prominent character, Mr. Vampires niece, must be around 18 years old, yet acts like she is a whiny cognitively challenged toddler which obviously gets irritating very quickly as well.

On the up side: Michiko Nishiwaki is convincing as a wicked sorceress, and Ching-Ying Lam doesn't disappoint.

To sum it up, there sure are some entertaining scenes and fights, but you will probably find yourself fastforwarding a lot as well. Might be worth it for Mr. Vampire fans, but certainly not required viewing.

When a famous actor dies, I usually think, "oh, that's sad", and pretty much forget about it. When Lam Ching Ying died, I was truly sad, and this movie is one of the major reasons why. In Magic Cop, Lam brings his Taoist Priest persona out of the hopping vampire genre and into a modern setting. The film masterfully combines the best elements of films like Mr. Vampire and A Chinese Ghost Story with modern Hong Kong police action films.

Somebody tell me if this one ever comes out on DVD!

It introduces us to Uncle Fung (Ching Ying Lam), a kindly rural policeman who is "more like a Taoist priest than a cop" -- including apprehending an angry ghost with a candle and cloth, after an old lady accidentally angers it. There must be a lot of people who get killed by angry spirits, if this scene is any indicator.

Then we switch to undercover cops Lam (Wilson Lam) and 'Head' (Miu Kiu Wai), who try to apprehend a drug courier, only to get tossed away like rag dolls. Turns out she died several days ago. This is the ideal crime for Fung, so he and his pretty niece Lin move into Lam's bachelor pad. No, I don't know why Fung doesn't kick Lam out the window for hitting on his niece.

When Fung isn't keeping the womanizing Lam away from his niece, the three cops are tracking the dead woman's boyfriend. The man unwittingly leads them to the head of the drug ring -- a Japanese Taoist sorceress, who reanimates corpses as couriers. Only Fung can stop another Taoist magician -- but soon they've unleashed a horrific zombie that wants them all dead.

Ching Ying Lam reprises his "vampire busting" role but as a cop as well as a priest and combats vampires really well as seen in this highly imaginative and lively HK film that mixes comedy and horror quite well. Ching Ying Lam is great as usual, exuding authority and seriousness, and is very protective towards his cute niece especially where Wilson Lam is concerned, who is quite a lustful guy. His modernity clashes with Ching, highlighting the differences between cultures. Lam is really good as the cop who doesn't believe in such mumbo jumbo and vampires but he soon changes his mind quick. In contrast, Michael Miu, another cop, is respectful to Yam. He's quite funny in his role. The special effects are a highlight. Check out the finale where our hero takes on Michiko Nishiwaki who is great as usual as the villain. She's effortlessly menacing and alluring at the same time. The humour is good, though never overwhelming. Overall, a fun watch.

One of my all-time favorites. A Taoist priest/police officer in the modern day faces down a rash of hopping vampires, as well as a sorceress whose abilities match his own.

The action scenes in this movie are just a joy to watch. Ching-Ying Lam's character performs complex, incense-heavy banishment rituals in cartoonish flurries of ultra-precise acrobatics, drawing glyphs with melted wax and controlling wafts of smoke with elegant absurdity. It really has to be seen.

I don't want to spoil much. Incredibly entertaining, delightfully fun, and completely ridiculous in the best way. Absolutely worth a watch.