Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon

Even though Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon features Sammo Hung in several superbly choreographed action sequences that effectively showcase his amazing fighting skills (and his excellent Bruce Lee impersonation), the film is still one of the less essential titles in the portly martial arts superstar's resume thanks to its incredibly flimsy plot and embarrassingly unsophisticated comedy.

Sammo plays kung fu cop Fatty who, along with his scurrilous, philandering partner Skinny (Karl Maka), attempts to take down an evil drugs syndicate; during the course of their investigation, the pair get to fondle women's breasts, spy on a female gang member as she prepares for a shower, trash a Mercedes belonging to senior gang member Prince Tak (Lung Ming Yan), battle Thai lady-boys, take a break in Singapore (where Sammo shows that he might be a fighter, but he's definitely not a dancer), and generally act like complete buffoons. It's not clever, and it certainly isn't funny!

Thank heavens, then, for the film's outstanding fight scenes which go quite a way to compensate for the puerile comedy: Sammo takes on a gang of gun toting jewel thieves wearing Sesame St. masks, has a quick fight on a construction site, trashes a restaurant in pursuit of a criminal, and in the breathtaking finale, displays his skill with nunchukus in a superb battle against the syndicate's head honcho (played by the film's director Lau Kar Wing) and assorted henchmen.

Far from classic Sammo fare, but still worth a go for his avid fans, I rate Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon a just-above-average 6/10.

'Shou Hu Fei Long' (a.k.a. 'Fatty Dragon Skinny Tiger') is pretty much the traditional Hong Kong buddy action comedy. The comic tracks work very well and the action sequences are brilliantly choreographed. Sammo Hung is a skilled fighter and has a gift for comedy and his Bruce Lee impression is hilarious. Karl Maka does a fine job matching wits and step with his on screen buddy. Lau Kar Wing too is terrific in the fight scenes and an amusing villain. It is really the on screen buddy-friendship and the action sequences that are the highlights of 'Shou Hu Fei Long'. Otherwise the film is not without its share of flaws. The story lacks structure and the cinematography is dull. The dialogues are funny and there's plenty of slapstick and situational humour to keep the viewer entertained. Some of the hilarious touches include the transvestite transporter, the holiday sequence (as out of place as it is) and the sequences with skinny and his tall girlfriend. For an action buddy comedy 'Shou Hu Fei Long' is amusing to watch as long as one does not expect more.

Another Sammo film that is a fitting tribute to Bruce Lee. Sammo's chemistry with Karl Maka is great and the action is top-notch.

A fun movie but not one of Sammo's best!

Fairly successful kung-fu action installment from director, actor etc. Sammo Hung. This film, (which is pretty much an action buddy-movie), has several problems, but *just* makes it over the line due to the excellent action-choreography and stunt work.

Sammo plays a cop with a Bruce Lee obsession. It's never really explained why he does, or demonstrated too clearly either - rather, he is only shown fighting in the style of Bruce Lee. This may be difficult to spot for beginners in the genre, but Sammo makes quite an excellent impersonation throughout the action sequences. The non-action scenes are played regularly, however.

I found most of the humour fairly broad and dated - Sammo's partner played by Karl Maka really is quite annoying. Lau Kar Wing however is particularly awesome as a villain. His fight sequences with Sammo are really worth the wait.

The main problem with the film is it's dramatic structure. I grew impatient with some of the plot devices used, not to mention some of the drawn-out and seemingly irrelevant ones. It is a fairly convoluted story, and Sammo's typical mix of drama, comedy and action is not as successful as say "Wheels on Meals" or "Dragons Forever".

I would have rated this higher as Sammo and Karl make a good team and the fighting is awesome but none of the other reviews note the high level of violence against women (and the two lady-boy's dressed as women) in this film which made me uneasy. For whatever reason, I have never seen it explained, Sammo does an excellent job of imitating Bruce Lee including use of Nunchaku's. There are several very funny, classic scenes such as gradually destroying Tak's Mercedes car and wrecking the Commissioner's wedding. Some of the other humour doesn't work so well. Sammo Hung and Karl Mak are obviously relaxed and comfortable in one anothers company and this comes through well. My Homg Kong Legends DVD copy has some good extras.