To Hell with the Devil (1982)
Reviewed by: cpardo on 2006-04-29
Summary: More bizarre comedy by John Woo
A failed priest dies but God gives him another chance to redeem himself. Down below, the devil's assistant Flit is ordered to get more souls or else. Their target is a poor lad with bad luck named Bruce Lee, a starving musician trying to make it big and win the heart of his girl, only to fail time and time again. Flit tempts Bruce with any desire he wishes as long as he signs over his soul to him. He agrees, but doesn't work out as he hoped. The priest intervenes and hopes to save Bruce from his fate and to fight Flit for his soul.

I have to say if nothing else John Woo's early comedy films are interesting because they are just so weird. They take on a surreal and chaotic air off and on, with odd slapstick and sped up/slow-mo sequences. As a result, they don't provide laugh-riot moments. I do like the take on the Faust/Bedazzled tale and Paul Chun and Stanley Fong are watchable. It was kind of tedious to see Ricky fail again and again, but I'm glad Flit was able to take the annoying rock star Rocky (played by Nat Chan) down a few pegs. The best part of a movie is the great climatic battle between good and evil. THEN the battle turns into a video game for some reason, looking like Space Invaders with Donkey Kong sound effects! Looking at all of John Woo's comedies, his "everything but the kitchen sink" IS different than anything else I've seen. It just has trouble working more often than not.

The conclusion: a mixed review, but it has it's moments!
Reviewer Score: 5