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最佳福星 (1986)
Lucky Stars Go Places


Reviewed by: dandan
Date: 10/15/2008
Summary: reading. reading. you'll go blind...

in what is, seemingly, an attempt to merge the 'lucky stars' and 'aces go places' franchises into one, kidstuff (sammo hung) is asked by the police to assemble the lucky stars in order to foil a diamonds for guns exchange, between some terrorists and japanese criminals (led by matsui tetsuya). the other four lucky stars (eric tsang, richard ng, stanley fung and kirk miu) aren't interested in any more adventure, so kidstuff gets to choose five cops to step into their shoes.

and so the new lucky stars are chosen: top dog (alan tam), fat cat (kent cheng), long legs (anthony chan), lambo (andy lau) and libbogen (billy lau). this rag-tag bunch are placed in a house with yum yum (maria tung), a female, free-boxing expert, who is going to train them for their mission, whilst fending off their advances. meanwhile, kidstuff bumps into quinto (sylvia chang), an old flame who is now married to a chief inspector, baldy (karl maka); who, fearing being cuckolded, enters into a battle of wits with kidstuff...

well, i thought this looked like fun and i was right. having enjoyed the 'lucky stars' films in the past and being a fan of the 'aces go places' series; a loosely related, super silly, cameo-filled spin-off was always going to be fun. with eric tsang directing, andy lau in a role where he was still being touted as a new martial arts star, sammo choreographing the action, and a stellar cast you can't go too wrong. well, maybe you can...

the two narrative threads, the new luck stars and the kidstuff/quinto/baldy triage, are only very loosely connected, but this doesn't really matter. sammo and karl maka make a good on screen pair and fun to watch; especially when their feud finally escalates from petty abuse to a confrontation in a padded cell, which is great fun. as for the new lucky stars, there's plenty of fun and humour, even if there are a few too many of the usual jokes which relate to groping and molestation.

one thing we do get, which is rather good, is another role where andy lau shows that he is a pretty decent on screen fighter; sure he's probably doubled at times, there's a fair amount of wire work and under-cranking, but he still looks good. the scene where he is introduced and the final show down are particularly enjoyable, especially his scene with matsui tetsuya, where sammo arrives and takes over.

typically fun. if you like this sort of thing...


Reviewed by: Frank Lakatos
Date: 02/11/2006
Summary: Aces Go Places meets the Lucky Stars, in a way..

Aces Go Places meets the Lucky Stars, in a way. The script is awful as 80's comedies go, and the new lucky stars are more annoying then funny. There are a few funny scenes, usually done by Kent Cheng and Alan Tam. Apeaking of Alan Tam, he looks ematiated in this movie, as if he's having a major hang over in each scene, except for the final fight, and it's the final fight that brings the best out of everyone in the cast, with Sammo Hung and the Japanes efighter doing some full contact action scenes, using edgy and effective loud kickboxing sound effects that added to the greatness of Sammo Hung's action scenes. Beside sthat, Sammo Hung and Karl Maka have some midly funny cameos, along with the old lucky stars, who are in the movie for only 5 minutes. Sammo and Maka have many funny scenes, including a hilarious crazy house scene. For once, this is the perfect movie for Andy Lau, since this is a lightweight comedic movie, which matches with his weak lightweight presence. He can't do classy action, he can't do a classy drama, and he can't do a classy romance movie. But, he can do lucky stars movies and comedies! The old 80's English dubb, which is a rare find, is as witty as the English dubbs went in the 80's. Recommended. 4/5


Reviewed by: Inner Strength
Date: 01/12/2002
Summary: VERY GOOD

As comedies go, they are often not very funny, and certainly no story,..this is different. The 3rd in the Lucky Stars series it much better than the previous stories. Eric Tsang and Sammo Hung were the film makers, and they do a very good job. The cast include ALL the Lucky Stars (Sammo, Stanley, Richard, CHarlie and Eric), plus Alan Tam, Kent Cheng and of course Karl Maka. They are all hilarious. Andy Lau has the 'action man' image this time, as they finally got rid of Jackie Chan, who was not very good on the first one.

Rating: 5/5

(This rating is based on the year & genre, so don't think it's based as a comparison on new releases etc.)

Reviewer Score: 10

Reviewed by: MrBooth
Date: 09/15/2001
Summary: Another lucky stars movie that would have been much better without the (new) lucky stars

LUCKY STARS GO PLACES (1986) - This film was intended to capitalise on the success of both the LUCKY STARS series of films and the ACES GO PLACES series, though in practise the connection to each is tangential. The original lucky stars appear for only one scene, lasting 5 or 10 minutes, in which thankfully nobody gets groped. Sammo has been recruited by the police for another 'off the books' mission, and his old team refuse to do it. He therefore has to recruit a new set of Lucky Stars, who include Andy Lau as the hard boiled kung fu super-cop, Alan Tam as a cop with the ability to speak to dogs and a great sense of smell (don't ask me why), and a couple of other odd-balls. They go to a remote cottage for 3 days of intense training, all of which they spend... ho ho ho... plotting to grope or rape the female instructor. Sigh :-(

But this section is thankfully much shorter than in TWINKLE TWINKLE, though at least as offensive. After it's over they go on their mission to steal some diamonds from the fortress of some Japanese mafia types. Why they were sent along I don't know, as the whole operation would have been infinitely smoother if they'd just sent Andy Lau & the female instructor. After some 'comedy' we get a reasonable set of action scenes where first Andy Lau and later Sammo take on the main villain, an actor I didn't recognise, who has some great moves (good kicker).

The connection with ACES GO PLACES is even more tenuous - Karl Maka reprises his role of Baldy in a couple of scenes, utterly unrelated to the main plot but featuring some amusing bickering with Sammo. These are the funnier moments of the film. Also, having Eric Tsang in the directors chair is a kind of bridge between both series.

Overall, this film shifts the focus more towards the action from the comedy again, which is a good thing, but they could still have made a much better film by dropping the grope & rape "gags" altogether and making a decent little action film with Sammo, Andy Lau and Lady trainer (I don't know the actress) taking on the criminals themselves, and actually tying the Karl Maka / Sylvia Chang scenes into the rest of the plot. More of the film is worth watching than with MY or TWINKLE TWINKLE, especially the final fight where the villain and Andy Lau both kick some decent ass, and Andy's first scene with a similar action quotient. I presume he was doubled by one of the Chin brothers (Siu Ho or Kar Lok) for the more impressive moves, but he still looked good. It's funny to think now that he was originally being pushed as a martial arts star.

Nothing about the film is unforgettable, but the action scenes are worth catching if you fancy a bit of eighties HK choreography from Sammo Hung :-)


Reviewed by: Kncklz2000
Date: 06/26/2001
Summary: Everything here is worth mentioning

The Lucky Star series is back, only this time with a new casts. You would think that no actors could uphold the original lucky star’s style, but the new generation of actors did a wonderful job.

The movie starts out with the villain buying weaponry from some white guy. Throughout the exchange we do get to see some action - great exchange of punches and kicks from the fighters.(but it was a bit short)

So now the cops need someone to go and clear things up. They call upon Sammo to do it. He tries to get his old orphanage gang together again, but they refuse. VERY LITTLE comedy here- it was a bit boring, I have to admit. So Sammo begins to find new people for the job. Every one of the recruits was set up, and therefore, had no choice but to go along with the mission. Oh, when Andy Lau is introduced, we get to see some action. Pretty interesting stuff here (there is an awesome fight with Andy against a bunch of guys who were hiding under big Japanese umbrellas).

Also, there are comedic parts before Sammo starts recruiting- he and Maka constantly fight (humor wise) over Maka’s wife (played by Sylvia Chang).

The perverted jokes are more hilarious than those from My Lucky Stars. The tubby guy (played in Crime Story and Once Upon A Time In China) screws a 68-year-old woman, except he thinks that it’s the young female trainer in disguise. There is also a scene where the boys are being taught self defense- some REALLY funny stuff here.

Although the boys aren’t ready for their mission, they must go anyways. They dress up us Arabs. Some funny stuff. Later on they get caught in a vault where the diamonds are hidden, but Alan Tam is the only one that didn’t go inside the vault. So now it’s up to him to go find Sammo and get the police. Alan goes into a movie theater, and he’s supposed to laugh during the movie so Sammo knows whom it is. The movie that is playing at teh time is “Heart of Dragon”- and it’s on the most dramatic part. So Alan starts laughing, and behind him are 3 big guys that are crying (one of them being Bolo Yeung- last guy from Bloodsport).

So Sammo goes to the superintendent and tells him to help the gang in the vault. Instead, the superintendent sends Sammo into a Mental Hospital. Alan must rescue the guys on his own. While Sammo is there, Karl Maka finds out, and goes to visit Sammo. There is a real funny fight here, with some unique choreography from Sammo. Also, Maka runs on the corner of the wall (4 steps –CRAZY). I say it was a wonderful job done by Maka’s stuntman.

Alan goes and tries to rescue the gang, and here we have a great performance from Andy Lau. He really is awesome in his fighting performance. I would also like to give props to Andy’s stunt double. Oh, and of course you have your goofy fighting from the other members against some black guy (the on Van Damme knocked out in a few seconds in the movie “Bloodsport”) So then Andy fights the boss (the Japanese guy). The fight goes into a duel between the Japanese Katana and the Chinese (I forgot the name- it’s very flexible) sword. SO Andy gets his ass kicked a LITTLE and Sammo comes in to save the day. When I saw Sammo, I was so glad. He does an AWESOME job here. Although the fight is only 1 minute and something long, it’s just awesome- one of the few fights you'll see with Sammo where it's mostly leg work as oppsed to Sammo's hand to hand combat.

Maka comes in with the cops and clears the place of everyone except for Sammo. They play Russian Roulette- funniest shit I’ve seen. With this in mind, you wonder who gets Sylvia Chang. And the movie ends.


Reviewed by: runo_jp
Date: 06/12/2001
Summary: Lucky stars go places

I saw this one recently, and although there is nothing new to add about it (once you have seen a lucky stars movie, you have seen them all!), I would recommend this one for only one scene : Karl Maka vs Sammo Han in the asylum, where Karl Maka is parodying Trinity (the Matrix) when she walks on the walls, 12 years in advance.
If I didn’t like the Matrix so much, I would say this is pure recycling.

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: GlennS
Date: 04/08/2001
Summary: Better Than I Expected

Combining the LUCKY STARS and ACES GO PLACES franchises sounded like a good idea, so I checked this film out. And I'm glad I did.

A Japanese arms dealer is selling his hardware and the transaction is happening in Hong Kong. The Royal HK police don't want to get involved so Superintendant Walter Cho calls up his old friend Kidstuff (Sammo Hung) to re-form the Lucky Stars to break the case.

Unfortunately, the Fuk Sing aren't interested and decide to rob a bank instead (they get caught of course). So Kidstuff forms a so-called "Lucky Stars: Next Generation" with Top Dog (Alan Tam), Lambo (Andy Lau), Fat Cat (Kent Cheng), Long Legs (Anthony Chan) and Lobiggen (Billy Lau). This being a LUCKY STARS spinoff, there's a requisite cute babe (Maria Tung) that the boys try to cop a feel off of.

The ACES GO PLACES part of the equation comes in when Kidstuff chances upon his childhood sweetheart, Quito (Sylvia Chang). But her hubby Baldy (Karl Maka)doesn't take too kindly to this and feuds with Kidstuff in a few hilarious encounters (which includes an insane asylum!)

Of course our heroes' cross paths with the baddies and the action kicks into high gear.

Great mix of comedy and action and the pseudo Lucky Stars' antics are hilarious and they deserved a film of their own. If your a fan of the two film series, definitely pick this one up.

7.5/10



Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: Darryl
Date: 12/21/1999

Hilarious attempt at reviviing the Fuk Sing with a new cast. It works, but one cannot get over the promising title that implies a teaming of the ACES GO PLACES and LUCKY STAR series, but only feature the original Fuk Sing in a cameo and Karl Maka and Sylvia Chang (as well as Hung) are predominately featured in side bits. This time out Inspector Tso (Cho Tat Hwa) calls upon Kidstuff Choi (Hung) to get the gang back together to bust a Japanese arms dealer. Never one to fail, Choi asks the boys but they're too busy preparing to rob a bank! Hung ends up recruiting the RHKP's finest clods and assigns them a cute Eurasian trainer (with whom the new stars, in tradition with the old, try to score with). Most of the bits with Hung and off-screen pal Maka are brutal but hilarious, with Hung turning out to be an old flame of Chang's and Maka (as "Albert") does his jealous best to keep the two apart, going as far as forcing Samo to play Russian roulette! Energetic and quite good, the HK audience had moved on and the series was dropped by Golden Harvest. Too bad, the new crew were quite good, but had shoes to fill that were too big...

Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: hkcinema
Date: 12/08/1999

Those "Lucky Stars" are at it again. This time there aresome new faces in the team of crazy undercover cops as once more they are mixed up in diamonds-for-guns trafficking between the notorious Japanese Yakusa and mysterious international terrorists. Needless to say, the boys from Hong Kong win out in the end. Don't ask how -- just take our word for it.

[Reviewed by Rim Films Catalog]