a new arrival in hong kong, jackie comes to the aid of an old gang boss, who subsequently dies in his arms, but professes that he is to be his successor. luckily chan has the fighting skills to secure the job, but he wants the gang to go straight and not make money by foul means. as it happens anita mui arrives on the scene looking to pay off her father's debts to the gang by with a bit of a song and a dance. things seem to be going well, until jackie comes to the aid of the the old woman who sells him roses for luck...

in an attempt to answer criticisms of his directorial talent, chan has created a very accomplished film; his homage to 'a pocketful of miracles', amongst others, looks pretty amazing, but it just falls a little short: there's some fantastic action, some humour and little drama thrown in; there's even a musical number. still, the narrative is just a little too clunky, the action leaves you wanting more and the humour doesn't hit quite as often as it should; all of which mean that it never quite reaches the status of a classic, but it's a bloody good attempt.

jackie is likable as ever, wu ma is great as hoi, anita mui adds a touch of glam and richard ng is always welcome. amongst the many cameos, i managed to spot yuen biao and john shum, but missed jacky cheung and a host of others; i didn't even realise that 'belle' was gloria yip - she looks so different when she's not in league with the devil (ala 'saga of the phoenix').

good stuff...