Shanghaï Express

"The Millionaires Express" from 1986 is a movie that I hadn't even heard about prior to 2021, when I was given the chance to sit down and watch it. And with it being a Hong Kong movie, of course I needed no persuasion to sit down to do so.

I will say that "The Millionaires Express" (aka "Foo gwai lip che") is definitely an archetypical mid-1980s Hong Kong action comedy. So if you have seen movies from the Hong Kong cinema from around that time, then you know what you are in for here. And it should be said that writers Sammo Kam-Bo Hung and Keith Wong definitely delivered a good script, and director Sammo Kam-Bo Hung brought it quite nicely to life on the screen.

The storyline told in "The Millionaires Express" is actually one that grasps multiple storylines and interweaving them nicely together for a wholesome movie. There is the story of the thief stealing from Russians, the story of three robbers, the lawmen of the town, some Kung Fu gangs, and of course the foreign soldiers, to mention a few. While it might seem like quite a handful to handle, it is actually done in a very satisfactory manner.

Now, what really impressed me about "The Millionaires Express" was the impressive ensemble of actors and actresses that were in this movie, which included the likes of Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Biao Yuen, Eric Tsang, Richard Ng, Wah Yuen, Kenny Bee and Rosamund Kwan, to mention but the most recognizable of faces and names, if you are familiar with the Hong Kong cinema.

"The Millionaires Express" is a good combination of story, action and interesting characters, and it is nicely spruced up with a good amount of comedy as well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and it was definitely a nice surprise of a movie. And it is a movie that I will warmly recommend that you sit down to watch, if you find yourself given the chance.

My rating of the 1986 movie "The Millionaires Express" is a six out of ten stars.

The "Wealthy train" aka "Millionaire's express" looks like an action film. But strangely each and every moment that in a normal action film would have been dramatic here turns into a farce. It has all necessary elements of a classical western, only things happen in China. The fighting stuff is really well done, only instead of tension it brings another occasion to smile. It is extremely rich in characters and situations. One could say overcharged. But most of these situations are illogical: I mean, if it were true, it would never happen, at least it would not happen this way... But it doesn't matter. Do not look for any logical explanations, the film is not about that. In fact it is a parody. And a good one. People who created this film gave a free course to imagination, and the audience is invited to do the same thing. It's like a game: recognize all moments which usually are presented so seriously in many action films (and are supposed to thrill us!) and see how ridiculous they often are. "Wealthy train" is one of those films that never becomes outdated. It will be appreciated by everyone who is able not to take himself too seriously. Watch it when you want to relax, cheer yourself up and just have fun!

The Millionaires' Express is a Western, a comedy, and a martial arts movie rolled into one, but it mostly just uses the first of those for its setting. I think it's largely a comedy with some brief action scenes/stunts thrown in for good measure throughout, and then it goes for broke with the martial arts stuff in the last 15 minutes. When it's focusing on martial arts, it's at its strongest, because the whole finale is really top-notch stuff. It did also make me wish there'd been at least one more big martial arts-heavy sequence, but at least the quality was good, even if the quantity left me hungry for more.

It may also have a few too many characters, being about various groups of people (mostly shady folks/robbers) who all end up in the same town, with the train alluded to in the title not playing quite as big a role as I expected. It made me sad at first, but then what the movie ended up being - and where it ended up having most of its action - still ended up being satisfying, so it wasn't all a loss.

Like a number of Hong Kong action comedies, I did feel like the comedic stuff was more hit-or-miss, but thankfully there were hits, and not too many misses. It was a fun time - not among the very best martial arts movies of this era, but also far from one of the worst (and there are others where the action's good, but the comedy does nothing but miss).

It's a crazy movie, but awesome all the same. It's an incredibly visual story. The first time I saw it was a Cantonese version with no subtitles, but I still followed the whole story. The humour is also very visual and very funny! However, the stand out moment, ignoring the awesome battles running through the film, has to be Yuen Biao's flip from the top of a burning building. If you watch this film for no other reason, you have to see one of the greatest stunts ever committed to celluloid. Simple yet MAD! For fight fans there's the added bonus of seeing some of the all time greats of Far East Cinema battle it out on screen! SEE THIS MOVIE NOW!

Perhaps one of the more absurd Hong Kong comedies I've seen, but still an amusing watch. The story is somewhat weak, but is still able to carry the movie's runtime, it doesn't feel overly padded or seem like it's stalling for time, except perhaps for the social commentary in the start that is mainly to introduce the female protagonist cast. Luckily it doesn't stray too much into awkward romance that some of these movies tend to lean on, and the amount of second-hand embarrassment is fairly low, although it does play on quite a few tropes regarding the cheating husband trying to constantly sneak out on his wife in every situation he can think of, but it's fairly humorously played by Richard Ng.

The fight scenes are some of the more intense I've seen, but only really gets to play out in a satisfying fashion towards the end. Funny slapstick and serious punching action blends quite elegantly, and the comedy is well executed.

The type of comedy is reminiscent of Mel Brooks, at times juvenile but not so childish that it turns unfunny, although there are some themes that would simply not fly in movie production today, such as a few jokes about being intellectually disabled. The fight scenes are punchy, although I personally am not a huge fan of the slow motion-shots, of which there's quite a few. If you're able to overlook some shortcomings and are looking for a simple comedy, it's a movie that'll entertain you.