Reviewed by: j.crawford Date: 11/12/2006 Summary: a little more better.... Just when this film series seemed ready to be filed under "Beating a Dead Horse", Karl Maka goes back to the well another time. This time around he hires up and coming director Ringo Lam Ling-Tung to raise the bar a little bit. Lam infuses the film with some of the style he would later find international fame and success with making his "on Fire" trilogy. The screenplay by Maka moves some the action to New Zealand and continues the same goofy mix of sci-fi and comedy that blends the Hong Kong stars with several western actors. Lam gives the scenario a slightly harder edge than the previous entries. Sally Yeh is a nice addition to the cast. En español; En el momento en que esta serie de la película se parecía lista ser archivado bajo “batir un caballo muerto”, Karl Maka va de nuevo al pozo otra hora. Esta vez alrededor él emplea para arriba y director que viene, Sr. Ringo Lam, para levantar la barra un poco. Sr. Lam infunde la película con algo del estilo que él encontraría más adelante fama y éxito internacionales con la fabricación el suyo “en de la trilogía del fuego”. El guión de Maka mueve alguno la acción a Nueva Zelandia y continúa la misma mezcla goofy del sci-fi y de la comedia que mezcla las estrellas de Hong Kong con varios agentes occidentales. Sr. Lam da a panorama un borde levemente más duro que las entradas anteriores. Sally Yeh es una adición agradable al molde. Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: dandan Date: 03/08/2006 Summary: from tsang, to hark, to lam... ringo lam takes over the reins on the fourth installment of the series. well, this definately the slickest so far, and it's rivalling the third film as my favourite in the series, but the madness of the third probably edges it ahead. here a crystal prism is the main focus of the film; after an attempted theft, king kong ends up with a wife and the hapless baldy, baldy jnr and sylvia chang are kidnapped! king kong and wife, must now set off to save them and reclaim the prism. more silly action, but here the gadgets have been replaced by people with guns who actually kill people. the action sequences are probably the best of the series so far (technically) and the jokes are up to scratch, but the slickness pushes a little fun out of the film. it's still very good though. great stuff, i look forward to the final film (helmed by eric tsang once more), despite it's reputation as the weakest in the series...

Reviewed by: Inner Strength Date: 03/07/2002 Summary: Good Ringo Lam proved that a silly comedy action movie series like this can be improved. This is full of action with some nice camera work, thanks to Ringo. A lot has changed from when Eric Tsang and then Tsui Hark first directed these films. Lightly recommended. Rating [3/5] Reviewer Score: 6

Reviewed by: mrblue Date: 02/12/2002 This installment of the popular series has King Kong (Sam Hui) in New Zealand, where he is part of an experiment by a doctor (Roy Cheung) to give men superpowers when a group of Nazis (only in Hong Kong movies, I guess) breaks in to steal a gem which is vital to the experiment's success. Kong manages to save the gem, but the doctor dies and so, with the doctor's mousy daughter (Sally Yeh) in tow, he heads to Hong Kong to find his friends Kodojack and Nancy (Karl Maka and Sylvia Chang) to help protect the gem. The Aces Go Places series is best known for light comedy with a bit of James Bond-ish action thrown into the mix. However, this installment comes closer in tone to the violent "heroic bloodshed" films that would dominate Hong Kong cinema in the late 1980's (perhaps not coincidentally, Ringo Lam's next film was City on Fire, one of the prototypical movies of the genre). There is one scene that highlights this very well. A group of thugs attempt to kidnap Kodojack and Nancy's kid and beat up Nancy in the process. It's not overly violent -- there's not gushing blood or anything -- but there's a underlying sense of brutality throughout the scene. Not to say that Aces Go Places IV is devoid of comedy; there are several inspired bits in the film, such as a scene taking place at a charity ice hockey games where the coaches are played by Kwan Tak-Hing and Shek Kin. The two appeared in many Wong Fei-Hung films together and watching them play off each other is quite funny even if you don't know their off-screen history. Taken as part of the series, Aces Go Places IV's more violent turn may not appeal to fans of the previous movies, but on its' own, it stands up well. Ringo Lam has been one of Hong Kong's most consistent and solid directors, and this is another fine effort from him.

Reviewed by: leh Date: 12/09/1999 The international star this time is Ronald Lacey from Raiders ofthe Lost Ark. Ringo Lam's directorial style is pretty much lost in this OK action comedy. An outstanding scene when a little kid falls out of a window will have you gasping for breath, though.

Reviewed by: spinali Date: 12/08/1999 Summary: NULL In this silly sci-fi spectacular, Baldy (Karl Maka) and King Kong (Sam Hui) shuttle between New Zealand and HK to recover a hi-tech prism that can impart super human powers. Sylvia Chang and Sally Yip provide romantic interest, but in this heist comedy, three-year old Baldy Jr. ends up stealing all the big laffs. (2.5/4) [Reviewed by Steve Spinali] Reviewer Score: 6