Reviewed by: JohnR Date: 08/19/2007 Summary: Wild, non-stop fun. Big Dagger (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) and Little Dagger (Jimmy Lin) are bounty hunters who are relentlessly competed against by Big Bewitchment(Sharla Cheung Man) and Little Bewitchment (Gloria Yip). The Bewitchment girls use any means necessary, including taking advantage of the Daggers' attraction to them, to stay ahead of the Daggers as the two pairs race each other to capture the top dollar fugitives. This puts them onto the trail of the biggest wanted criminal of all, Nine Tail Fox (Jackie Cheung), who lives with his wife, Flying Cat (Maggie Cheung). There is loads of action (a lot of good wire work and quick-edit fighting), but comedy is the center of this movie and it never stops. It's quintessential Hong Kong screwball comedy with a heavy dose of sex jokes. In fact, the whole thing could have made a detour into overt Cat III Sex and Zen territory, but stays safely in the land of all-talk-no-action. Which is good because it makes for a better movie. Jackie and Maggie turn in wonderful performances. Jackie plays the trickster Nine Tail Fox perfectly, just the right combination of bravado, imcompetence, guile, and opportunism. Maggie enthusiastically does all that's asked of her and looks great in the process. Also showing their chops while having fun are Tony, Sharla, and Ng Man Tat, who turns up in the last third of the movie as an inn-keeper. Jimmy Lin and Gloria Yip are flower vases and mostly just look adorable and chaste for the benefit of the younger set, though Jimmy gets some wire work. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: dandan Date: 08/05/2006 Summary: carry on swordsmen... chu yen-ping directs a bawdy wong jing script to create a silly slice of nonsensical, wu xia, fantasy fun. tony leung (ka-fai) stars as the bounty hunter big dagger, ably assisted by little dagger (jimmy lin), although they're plagued by big and little bewitchment (sharla cheung and gloria yip), who keep stealing their bounties from under their noses. big and little dagger are charged with capturing nine tail fox (jackie cheung) and flying cat (maggie cheung), who are charged with killing the daughter of a local dignitary. big and little bewitchment set out to get a piece of the action, but all is not as it seems... this is a pretty silly, but quite funny and certainly fun comedy, with a dose of stylised swordplay (courtesy of ching sui-tung) thrown in. the action isn't great, but the film's focus lies on the humour, rather than the action which it parodies. a great cast, having a lot of fun with the material, makes this a very enjoyable watch.

Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 06/26/2006 Summary: wildly entertaining. If he's too busy directing or producing a film, prolific Wong Jing will give you a solid screenplay for a popular wuxia comedy. Planted firmly in the same cinematic world as Kung Fu Cult Master, Holy Weapon, and Last Hero in China, this wildly entertaining film is directed by Chu Yen-Ping, the man who gave us Fantasy Mission Force. Producer Jessica Hsu assembled a great cast that Mr. Chu uses to achieve a winning result. Exquisitely beautiful Sharla Cheung Man stars as a kung fu master named Lady Fung who competes with a rival bounty hunter named Flying Dagger, played by "Big" Tony Leung Ka-Fai. Frenetic martial arts choreography fills the screen as designed by the super-trio of action directors that is Tony Ching Siu-Tung, Ma Yuk-Sing, and Dion Lam Dik-On. These three worked together on four films in 1993 including The East is Red, Holy Weapon, and the sci-fi action film, Future Cops. Reviewer Score: 8

Reviewed by: ewaffle Date: 03/23/2006 By the time that “Flying Dagger” was made, Maggie Cheung had learned how to be cute and adorable in a movie without overdoing it. This is not an easy task and it isn’t something that one picks up quickly. But after appearing in 52 movies from 1988 to 1993 Maggie knew how to do just about everything there was to do in front of a camera and do it as well as any actress then working, whether in Hong Kong, Hollywood or Paris. Cute but not “cutsie”, if you will, was simply part of her repertory. I agree with those who wrote that it looked as if just about everyone was having a good time—it seemed particularly true of Maggie and Jacky Cheung. Much of this, of course, may be simply filed under the heading of “acting”—playing the part of an actor who is enjoying playing a particular part. This is so commonplace in film, especially in comedies, that it barely rates mentioning—it is almost expected by the audience and gives them a sense of belonging—they get the joke which sets them apart from those who don’t. It is, however, possible to enjoy what one is doing, especially in the company of other talented professionals and for the director to decide to print the takes in which the actors seemed to be having fun as actors as well as impersonating characters. “Flying Dagger” is a sex comedy stuffed into the structure of a swordplay movie. It begins with an attack on a platoon of heavily armed soldiers protecting a sedan chair containing, one assumes, a royal or at least very important individual. The convoy stops at exactly the wrong (or right, depending upon if you are an defender or attacker) time and place and the fun begins. It is very difficult to follow who is doing what to whom, which may have been the director’s intention, and serves to introduce most of the main characters. Big and Little Dagger is the male team of bounty hunters; Big and Little Bewitchment is the female team. Both of them are stalking Nine-Tails Fox and Flying Cat but being thrown together as often as they are while on the case means romantic sparks will fly as the sexual energy builds. Little Bewitchment and Little Dagger, winningly played by Gloria Yip and Jimmy Lin, are open about their mutual infatuation—they are two randy youngsters who, while not unmindful of the importance of the mission and the need to capture the prey, find it very difficult to keep their hands off each other. The more mature Big Bewitchment and Big Dagger are also attracted to each other although Big Dagger is a virgin, a shameful secret that he reveals very quickly. Jacky Cheung is just about perfect as the Fox who is the target of the pursuit. At one point most of his furry tails are cut in half—his reaction as he holds the truncated stubs is priceless. Fox has a very active libido and in Flying Cat a very understanding consort. This Cat is as different as different can be from Maggie the Cat played 35 years earlier by another raven-tressed actress, but both Elizabeth Taylor in 1958 and Maggie Cheung in 1993 have one thing in common, other than their beautiful black hair—both of them simply radiate star power. While it has some very decent action scenes “Flying Dagger” is not an action movie as such—it doesn’t take itself seriously enough. At no point in the proceedings does the audience worry about any of the characters—one simply knows that things will turn out for the best for everyone. Along the way will be a lot of laughs, some excellent sword fighting and flying and a plot that makes less and less sense as the movie unspools. Recommended. Reviewer Score: 7

Reviewed by: pjshimmer Date: 01/26/2003 Summary: HK cinema at its wackiest Surprisingly, this one doesn't generate very many laughs, UNTIL THE FREAKING FINALE. I've never seen a villain die so ridiculously! It's a blast, and probably better than anything that comes out of HK these days. Plus, Jimmy Lin's popular song is featured in the credits. Can it get any better? [8/10]

Reviewed by: Sydneyguy Date: 03/09/2002 Summary: Ummm........ I don't remember too much about this movie, but i do remember that it was packed full of stars, and that it was a waste of all there talents. The fighting had too much flying about, and the comedy wasn't that funny. What a shame!! 4/10

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 02/21/2002 Summary: Rubbish UPDATE: 20/02/02. Perhaps I was a little harsh with this one. I watched this again today for the only fact that I couldn't understand why everyone else liked it. However, after watching it again I still agree with what I wrote before, but some more funny scenes than I remember. Also, extra unintentional humour is from the subtitles on the DVD I watched with a friend. You will know what I mean if you have seen the DVD version. New Rating: [2/5] ________________________________________ Another movie I'm sure I had written up on. I watched this one about 5 years ago, and remember it being complete rubbish. It wasn't funny, and the story was boring and all over the place. The cast list is impressive, but that is the only positive thing I can say about it. Rating: 1/5

Reviewed by: danton Date: 02/21/2002 Long live the golden days of flying people, magical KungFu, flowing silk robes, bad subtitles, exploding body parts, and all the other wonderful and weird elements of early 90s wuxia films. And FLYING DAGGER is a great example of what made these films so exciting. It's a genre parody similar to Stephen Chow's Royal Tramp films, or Eagle Shooting Heroes with a great cast and beautiful cinematography. Nine Tail Fox (Jacky Cheung) and Flying Cat (Maggie Cheung) are a husband/wife team of thieves being pursued by two teams of bounty hunters led by Tony Leung Ka-Fai and Cheung Man. What follows is madcap hilarity of the best kind. Limbs get chopped, everyone's leaping, flying, and having a great time. Maggie's cat-style kung fu is a riot. I had a blast watching this movie, wishing they'd still make these types of films... Highly recommended. The Mai Ah DVD is good quality with removable subtitles.

Reviewed by: Trigger Date: 11/20/2001 Summary: 9/10 Flying Dagger is a riot! The plot is somewhere between Chinese Odyssey and Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain. Substitute Stephen Chow for Tony Leung and you have a classic Stephen Chow film. However, Tony Leung was so funny I don't think that's necessary. It's about some bounty hunters who try to capture the #1 bandit and they all end up fighting together against a common evil enemy. I think this film was intended to be mostly serious and ambitious, but quickly fell apart. It starts out fairly serious with some decent flying swordplay circa '93 and as the film progresses, silly jokes start to come out. It seems like the cast was just having a blast making the film. I picture them setting out to make yet another flying swords film and then elements of the plot and characters began to strike them as being funny, so they started to joke about things off screen - and with Wong Jing there, I'm sure it didn't take long before they started to change the dialogue and improvise some funny bits and degenerate the film into some Zucker brothers comedy where the jokes reach the maturity level of those found in Airplane or Naked Gun or even Dude, Where's My Car. This film has lots of pee jokes and sex jokes and contemporary references even some inside jokes about the actors in the film (not just the characters they play) - it just looks like one of those films that was a blast to make. I laughed alot throughout the film. It seemed to be shot without a script - only a basic outline to follow. This one is a classic as I'm sure many of you have already seen it - having just seen it myself for the first time, I can tell you that this one's a keeper and I'm going to be watching it alot. With Ng Man Tat in it, I kept expecting to see Stephen Chow pop up somewhere and do something funny, but he never did. It doesn't matter cuz this one is right up there with Stephen Chow's funniest films. Apart from being hilarious, this film still managed to maintain a high production value (for the time) and had some great fighting sequences. Some would argue that the swordfighting was weak, but I found it to be just as good as other films from the time period. There were some decent effects in the film as well. I thought the wire work was top notch and I'm surprised some people thought it fell way below the standards. The acting isn't something to measure because I think most of the film they were goofing off, but this is an all-star cast of some of the bigger names in HK and I think they all did a fine job at the times they were taking their roles seriously. The DVD is acceptable for the type of film it is - It's among the better of Mei Ah releases given that they aren't known for high quality or options. Mei Ah being a no-frills DVD publisher, they seemed to treat this film with a little bit of respect compared to some other titles they've put out as there are subtitle and sound options. I give this one two thumbs up and say it's Highly Recommended... just don't expect a serious wire-fu flying swordsman film - just watch it expecting to laugh and be entertained for an hour and a half. Reviewer Score: 9

Reviewed by: RLM Date: 04/29/2001 Summary: Move over Thing! This movie is pure madcap HK fun from start to finish. A definite must see. The female characters are easy on the eyes and there is a running gag involving a severed hand (ala The Adams Family) that's a riot. Nine Tails Fox is accused of rape and theft and an assortment of bounty hunters and bizarre jinxs' attempt to bring him to justice or a speedy death-which ever comes first; a story line embedded in a martial arts power play. It all culminates in an over-the-top battle royal. 10/10

Reviewed by: future113 Date: 04/23/2001 Summary: Get this one! Holy Cow! Oh Boy, FFF HO HUM HEE. This movie rocks like CHU CHU ROCKET!! The fighting scenes are cra cra cra cra cRazY insane and funny. You'll need a slapping after this one.

Reviewed by: grimes Date: 04/09/2000 This is what Hong Kong movies are all about. Crazy action scenes on wires, random jokes, people in funny costumes, wacky bad guys! Who could ask for anything more? Big Dagger (Tony Leung Ka-Fai) and Little Dagger (Jimmy Lin) are a bounty hunting team, as are Big and Little Bewitchment (Cheung Man and Gloria Yip), both of them pursuing Nine Tails Fox (Jacky Cheung) for the alleged rape and murder of an official's daughter. They compete but there is also attraction between the two teams. Fox is married to Number One Thief Flying Cat (Maggie Cheung). The acting is as outrageous as their names, but its all in good fun. The six main characters all end up at an inn run by Ng Man-Tat, where more comedy and action ensues. This is not a high class film by any means. However, it is amazingly fun to watch. The lead actors seem to be having a good time acting like goofballs and it's fun to watch Maggie Cheung act like a cat. The subtitles have their own moments in the spotlight, as when a character is introduced as 'Erotomania Man'. One can only wonder what the original Chinese really means!

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 In this quintessential "makes no sense" comedy Jackie Cheung plays afarting forest bandit Maggie Cheung is a flying catwoman and Tony Leung turns green from a magic potion. [Reviewed by Tai Seng Catalog]

Reviewed by: hkcinema Date: 12/21/1999 A model example of a high-energy mo-lei-tau kung-fu comedy, this breezy film is really fun to watch. All actors seem to have a field day, especially Jacky Cheung who plays a master of "martial farts(!)". Best of all is a scene in which Cheung Man-Yuk uses a so-called "replay machine" to watch the events just passed in the form of classical Chinese drawings. She then proceeds to reprimand the man "inside the machine" for not having taken part in the action and saving her husband! While the film never reaches the same inspired heights of lunacy as DONG CHENG XI JU (THE EAGLE-SHOOTING HEROES), you will sit back and enjoy all these well-known actors making fools of themselves (and apparently having fun!). And Gloria Yip is just so cute and sweet here, you'll adore her. The subtitles are funny too, if unintentionally so. [Reviewed by Thomas Muething]

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL Bounty hunters Fung Ling (Leung Ka Fai) and his young pal (Jimmy Lin) partake in a whirlwind of swordfights and fu as they go hunting for Nine Tails Fox (Jackie Cheung), who grows long fox tails to bind his opponents; sly Big and Little Bewitchment (Cheung Man and her assistant) are also in the chase. But Fox is saved from certain capture by his screeching wife Number One Thief Flying Cat (Maggie Cheung, who really gets into her role) and her three martial arts maids. As the static electricity in the air from all the fighting dissipates, everybody discovers it's all a conspiracy by Dicky Lui. Frenetic wackiness. (2.5/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 6