Fight Back to School

Stephen Chow is a gung ho SWAT member who always saves the captives.... although his team members don't always survive in the training exercise. Now, however, he has a chance for a big promotion: recover the retiring Police commissioner Barry Wong's gun from whichever high school student stole it by going undercover with the help of already undercover Man-Tat Ng; his cover is he's the janitor with Parkinson. There's also pretty teacher Man Cheung, who wants to help the new, wayward student, fellow pupil Gabriel Wong, who organizzes a gang around Chow, and a gun-smuggling operation for him to sort out.

There's a 22 Jump Street vibe her,e with Chow finding it rather difficult to fit in, and not just because he can't do trigonometry. While the story develops in an efficient fashion, there are plenty of comedy set-pieces, ending up in a burlesque of all those hall-of-mirror sequences that have infested the movies since Orson Welles first brought them to the movies' notice.

Another wacky film by Stephen Chow, had a great time watching this.

Stephen Chow gives slapstick a whole other meaning. Like many of his movies he provides a humor that is very visual and easy to understand. So very accessible for a large (international) audience. In "Fighting back to school" there are some jokes that require knowledge of the Cantonese language. But because these jokes are accompanied by some visual sketch you do get what it all is about. While "Fighting Back to School" is a pure comedy there is just enough action to keep those fans happy. It is well know fact that Stephen Chow is a huge fan of Bruce Lee. He also tries to show it in many of his movies. In "Fighting back..." there are some scenes which are a obvious tribute to the Master. I couldn't discover any direct parodies on certain movies. But it is my guess that "Fightin back..." is some sort of take on teen high school movies produced in Hollywood. But who cares ,it doesn't matter because Stephen Chow movies are fun. Just watch it!

One of the best Stephen Chow movies. Although it lacks the polish and CGI of his latest efforts, "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle," this movie is still hugely entertaining and essential viewing, especially if you like Chow's special brand of "moleitau" (nonsense humor).

Chow plays Star Chow, a cop who goes undercover as a student in order to find a missing gun. He is understandably annoyed, shouting at his senior, "I wanted to be a cop so I didn't have to go to school anymore!" He gets to display a huge range of hilarious, ticked-off expressions. Plot is thin, but who cares: after all, this movie is just a stage for Chow to show off his impeccable comic timing, slapstick, and nonsense humor. The familiar supporting cast is also strong.

Chow has to deal with a myriad of things as an undercover at school: professors that throw chalkboard erasers at him, student gangs and cliques, homework, tests, girls, etc. This is great comic material and Chow rises to the occasion admirably. There's a hilarious scene where he cheats on his Chinese history test by calling up the police station and asking the chief to give him the answers. Other hilarious scenes include him failing to turn in his homework and being subject to public humiliation, fitting in with his classmates, dealing with an absent-minded science professor, and developing a crush on one of his teachers.

Compared the "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Shaolin Soccer," this movie is less accessible to Western audiences because of the abundance of verbal comedy. It is still a very funny movie with tons of slapstick, but it's even funnier if you understand Cantonese because a lot of the comedy comes from Cantonese slang and Chow's intonation. However, I've shown this movie to friends who don't understand Cantonese at all and they have all loved it.

Bottom line: One of Chow's best. This movie is a good example of why audiences love Chow and why he was one of the biggest HK box-office draws in the 90s (he still is a big box office draw). He oozes winning charisma and charm. Laugh-out-loud funny. Highly recommended.

A successful comedy which spawned two sequels, essentially this story is about a Hong Kong policeman who poses as a student at Edinburgh College to find out who from that school stole the favorite gun of his boss. Star Chow (thats his name in the film) always hated school and he is taunted by other students and teachers, save for the pretty Miss Ho. It seems he spends a lot less time trying to find the gun and more time trying to save himself from getting in trouble at school. This film is a pretty good slapstick comedy with some action. Its not surprising that it was popular, it flows well, and Stephen Chow is good in the role. I don't know about the sequels (yet), but I think you'll enjoy this.