Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon

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.

This movie is great! In this one Sammo,once again, does his best Bruce Lee impression. You may laugh reading this but I'm serious:this guy is the best Bruce Lee impersonator ever!There are maybe four great action scenes that involve Sammo(who cares about Karl Maka???).He does his Wing Chun to perfection!!He truly is one of the best screen fighters in history: that guy doesn't care about his size: he just goes at it and this has to be seen to be believed!! He goes against Lau Kar-Wing in the finale: I was breathless! And once, he falls on the floor so violently that he literally bounces on the floor TWICE, it is so funny!! Anyways, you have to see this one to fully understand what Sammo Hung can do(you can also watch Magnificent Butcher, Pedicab Driver and Odd Couple to capture this legend at his top! Sammo's the man!!Overall this movie deserves................................................9/10

Sammo Hung plays 'Fatty Dragon' a thrill seeking, crime fighting martial arts expert who is partners with the conniving and fast talking 'Skinny Tiger'(Karl Maka), together they take down criminals in their own compromising style.

One day they are assigned to one of the biggest cases in their careers, they must take down an known drug baron(played by the wonderful Lau Kar-Wing) and bring him to justice.

The Plot is very basic, with a rather pointless sub-plot in Singapore involving the two main characters and two local girls wanting to open a karaoke bar, but apart from that the rest of the movie is an extremely enjoyable action romp.

Sammo displays his skills proving once again why he's the best in the business, adding this time a little Bruce Lee flavour into the mix, with each fight scene having Sammo performing signature moves from all of Buce's films, it's also worth noting he's one of the best Bruce Lee imitators despite his large physique .

Karl Maka however provides most of the movies comedy, as he talks his way through out the film in a rather manic manner.

All in all this film really should be viewed for the action, not the story or acting. Also watch out for a fast and furious confrontation between a lightening paced Sammo Hung, and a knife wielding Lar-Kar Wing.

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.