Shanghaï Express

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!

The Millionaires Express is a big budget Sammo Hung Hong Kong production with a all star international cast. This is a martial arts comedy that if you seen a few movies from Sammo Hung that you will be familiar with the style. However, this is a western styled film taking place in China. The costumes and sets pay homage to The American West and the sets look amazing with awesome camerawork. The stunts and the fight choreography are master class with Sammo on top of his game as director, actor and fight choreography. His brother from The Chinese Opera Yuen Biao is also here as well as Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton, Eric Tsang, Rosamond Kwan as well as lots of other familiar faces if you are familiar with HK films of this period. Millionaire's Express is action excellence and blows away much of what passes as action today. This is a fine example of how action should be done.

This film would sit comfortably next to A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, The Great Train Robbery, every other Jackie Chan/Sammo flick, and then some. It's not as funny as it could be (the dubbed version, that is), but aside from that I have no complaints.

There is no time to develop character traits (aside from a few cliches), but this is a slapstick so that shouldn't really be expected. If you are familiar with the slapstick-martial arts genre, or if you simply love bizarre, zany movies, then I recommend it. If you're looking for a substantial plot with lots of characterization, find something else to curl up on the couch to.

It is exactly what it proclaims to be, a madcap Kung Fu western. But I doubt if you'll ever see a man jump without safety mats from a 4-story building (on fire, I might add) in any other film. Wow.

The Millionaires' Express is something you don't see everyday. In hindsight I would say it's a parody and tribute to the Western genre and old school Kung fu films. It's subtle and over the top at the same time. Like for example the misunderstood hero (Sammo as Chin Fong Tin). He wants nothing more to be with his girlfriend but for some unknown reason can't be with here. It's one of the running gags. Very effective and hilarious when you give it some thought.

From start till end you will be entertained. Everything what is happening concerning the Millionaires' Express is a setup for the grand finale in the last twenty minutes! Somehow Sammo Hung managed to create a western in Chinese setting. Even one character in particular seems to be a parody of Clint Eastwood. A lot is going on in the movie but the real action picks up at the final. If you come in expecting this to be a non stop action film then you might be slightly disappointed. The approach is different. It's more a farce where you get introduced to quite a lot of characters. If you are familiar with Hong Kong films then you will recognize a high number of actors. It's one of those extra elements that increases the viewing experience.

If subtle comedy isn't your thing then fear not. There are a lot of jokes that are easy to understand for everyone because they are very visual. One example is a man who seems to be cheating on his wife. While on the train he visits his mistress by climbing on top of the train and without any problems he walks to the wagon where his mistress is residing. Meanwhile a hoodlum has a lot of difficulties maintaining his balance while he is on top of the train. When the two encounter the adulterer greets him like he is taking a stroll while the hoodlum almost falls off the train. This is just so hilarious especially when you consider how many more excuses this guy has come up with to go from woman to woman.

I also recognized a parody on Wong Fei Hung (a famous Chinese hero). It was easily one of the funniest scenes in the film. Anyhow all the different characters have their objectives and will be put in very funny scenes which will come to a climax in the last twenty minutes. The action is more than wonderful. Yuen Baio and Jang Lee Hwang (Korean martial artist famous for being the villain in "Drunken Master") steal the show! Not to say that all the others weren't great but Yuen Baio and Jang Lee Hwang (one of the samurai) simply stand out. As they show some excellent moves and skill. There are some small sequences with Cynthia Rothrock and Richard Norton but they were too short for my taste. Yukari Oshima plays one of the samurai and does enough to make an impact. Sammo Hung himself also shows off his talent and skills with a lot of finesse.

Millionaires' Express delivers on humor and action. What more do you want? One of the best films Sammo Hung as ever made!

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).