L'Expert de Hong Kong

Latest Jackie Chan film is a wildly overly long (well over 2 hours) comedy action film about a trio of safe crackers who use the loot to fuel their addictions. When things take a turn for the worst the trio kidnaps a baby, the same one that they had saved earlier in the film. When one of the trio is hurt and thrown in jail after the getaway, the remaining two, Jackie Chan and Louis Koo must care for the kid. Of course they bond with the kid and of course circumstance provides for some death defying action sequences.

I really didn't care for this film. Sure its nice to see Jackie playing a semi-not so nice guy, but on the whole this is the sort of thing we've seen a dozen or so times before, and I'm not talking action. For me much of the film was past formulaic and into the cliché rut. How many films have their been about grown men with no baby experience taking care of infants? How many of them have gags stolen by this film? As for the action sequences they take a bit of a back seat to the comedy and the baby. Sure there are some nice bits, Jackie walking down the air conditioners and the car chase/crash are good little sequences but they too ring of things that have gone before. It could be argued that Jackie is getting up there, he's 52, but its not that what he's doing is bad its just that its a bit lifeless and repetitive when compared to his earlier films.

It also doesn't help that the film is paced so,leisurely that we feel every one of its 130 plus minutes. This is a movie in need of some real trimming.

A miss. Wait for cable.

4.5 out of 10, 5 out of 10 for IMDb purposes

I first wanted to say its not nearly as bad as some of the other idiots who reviewed this film said it was. This movie does have some scenes that miss the mark and weren't really needed, but all in all I was satisfied. After watching New Police Story I needed to see Jackie in a film that's more fun, and Rob-B-Hood certainly delivers! Even though this movie's main element isn'the fighting there are some really nice fight sequences, the best of which is towards the end (as always!). The entire finale takes place in an amusement park over rides, ATVs, and speeding roller coasters! I felt that some of the danger the baby was put in was unnecessary but definitely gave Jackie chances to use death defying stunts. If you can get over the fact that the obviously fake baby is visible from time to time you will enjoy this. TWO THUMBS UP!

I also thought I should add that this film ended up outgrossing X-Men: the Last Stand AND Mission Impossible III at the 2006 Chinese box office!

This action comedy flick starring Jackie Chan and Louis Koo as burglars Thongs and Octopus, whose job is to kidnap a baby. Later on, the baby develops strong paternal feelings to the two crooks, leading them to play the role of father.

There are plenty of good-old-fashion Jackie Chan action and slapstick humor. While the story has an intriguing concept, it is overloaded with multiple subplots, which dragged the film at times. The "protecting the baby from the triads" storyline is quite appealing, however, and it does create some suspense. There is also a little good mixture of drama, especially the touching scenes involving Thongs' father (Feng Ku). The acting was also OK, but I thought Chan and Koo playing the two father figures together was a bit odd.

There is a large cast of characters in the movie, but it was especially nice to see comic veteran Michael Hui return to film, as well as martial artist Yuen Biao.

Overall, it is an average action comedy flick - not too bad.

Grade C+

just saw the rating of 6.7 and thought it was a little bit high, but i would rate this a solid 6. this is one of Jackies better movies in a while and he tries to go back to his roots, like his movies from the 80's and early 90's.

i enjoyed his old movies cause they were silly and the action was fantastic and crazy and also full of cameos by famous actors and actresses from hong kong. this movie has all that except for the fisticuffs which are a little lacking in this movie and weak in my opinion compared to his prime.

the movie was a little bit sappy in my opinion also, but the baby was really really cute. the story involves Jackie who plays a lowlife gambler who is shunned by his family and his two partners. Louis Koo plays partner #1, who is a handsome womanizer who is actually married and partner #2 is none other then Michael Hui, the eldest of the Hui brothers. it has been a while since i saw him in a movie, and he plays the leader of the 3 man ring.

they somehow get roped into kidnapping a baby and the shenanigans and hi-jinx start from there. along the way there is mobsters, triad debt collectors and of course the police, including yuen baio who plays a police detective who has known Jackie's character for a long time.

for some reason the fighting doesn't appeal to me anymore, there were enough fight scenes but they are nothing compared to the old days. there were plenty of stunts in the movie and one incredible jaw-dropping stunt by Jackie about a 1/3 of the way thru the movie. you have to see how he gets away from the debt collectors while on top of a 10 story building and he really did the stunt himself. INCREDIBLE!

another reason to watch his movies back in the day was for the cameos and this one doesn't disappoint. check out Daniel Wu and Nicky tse as 2 homosexual and inept armor truck guards, it was hilarious. besides that one there were at least 5 other cameos by famous hong kong personalities.

all in all, a very high class production, you could tell a lot of money went into the making of this movie. not one of his greats but a very good watch, makes you long for the good old days though.

"Robin-B-Hood" is one of the better recent Jackie Chan movies I have seen. Why? Well, obviously because of the trademark Jackie Chan action sequences, but also because of the story in the movie.

Jackie Chan (playing Fong Ka Ho) and Louis Koo (playing Octopus) are two professional burglars that live extravagant lives that require a lot of spending money, and get hired for job that promises million of Hong Kong dollars, though Michael Hui (playing Landlord) fails to inform his burglar associates that the job is to kidnap a baby. Fong Ka Ho and Octopus get attached to the baby, and then things start to escalate to a wild thrill-ride.

Jackie Chan puts on a great performance in this movie, as expected, and he is doing all of his trademark action and stunts, lots of action and comedy here. And he is well accompanied by Louis Koo who also puts on a good performance. I am a huge fan of Asian cinema and used to live in Hong Kong so I am no strangers to the Hong Kong cinema, and I must say that Charlene Choi (playing Pak Yin), despite her small role, actually put on one of her best performances ever. It is nice to see that she is finally growing into a good actor and is over that sugar-coated silly comedy that she made when she was younger.

The story in the movie have several aspects and depths and all work out quite nicely coming together full circle at the end. "Robin-B-Hood", despite the somewhat stupid title, is a really great action and family movie. Very suitable for fans of Jackie Chan or people in for an evening with the family. And I must underline that "Robin-B-Hood" is a MUST for all Jackie Chan fans. Sure he is getting older, but the man is still performing amazing stunts and spreading his good humor.

I was thoroughly entertained from the start of the movie until the very end. And I purchased the 2-disc Ultimate Edition from Amazon, and will definitely be giving the extra materials on disc 2 a go later on today.