Cast Member: Karl Maka

Unlike much of today’s canto-comedy, the humour in ‘Aces.’ translates very well and certainly doesn’t seem to have dated after nearly twenty-years.

The formula that made the original so successful has naturally remained untampered, but the scope of effects and stunts clearly expanded.

Alongside this familiar narrative is the constantly disarming duo of Samuel Hui and Karl Maka and they of course continue to show great comic timing and interplay in the familiar roles of Sam and Kodijack.

Unlike ‘Aces. III’ which failed to integrate the eastern and the western elements of the film, ‘Aces. IV’ succeeds in creating a globe-hopping adventure without losing its main Asian audience.

The film boasts a truly stellar cast and good production values, but sadly the saga had run out of steam.

It’s such a shame that one of Lam’s more appealing roles is hamstrung by unusually poor direction from Tsui Hark.

Hung and Wu Ma still manage to keep the film interesting with their charming on-screen personas and some noteworthy kung fu routines.

‘Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog’ doesn’t compare to Sammo’s classics, but it’s diverting enough to persuade genre fans to catch it.

This provides solid viewing for fans while the veterans will no doubt enjoy spotting the endless array of familiar faces in the background.

It entertains throughout its duration and despite the usual kung-fu comedy conventions turning up it is a breath of fresh air.

The action is simply electric, most notably the two-against-one finale that pits Sammo and Yuen against Liu Chia Yung.

Although certain aspects of the series have changed in this third part, ‘Lucky Stars Go Places’ still proves to be an entertaining and undemanding film that fits well into this popular film series.