Cast Member: Stephen Chow

‘My Hero’ is unlikely to blow you away, but it’s still a decent 90’s gangster flick that benefits from Chow’s inclusion.

Added to the humour is the furious action orchestrated by Ching Siu-Tung that makes this much more than the average comedy film.

Part two is lavish and colourful, but simply not as absorbing as it needed to be. A steadier hand at the helm may have rectified this.

As is often the case with Chow’s movies, what really sets it apart from other outings in the genre is the inclusion of a heartfelt story.

‘Sixty Million Dollar Man’ is a lazy and disappointingly unfunny outing for all concerned.

Not only does it contain some of Stephen Chow’s most finely honed comedy, but it also sees him giving one of his more heartfelt and dramatic performances.

There’s little room for Chow’s trademark “fast speak” here, and it’s definitely more ‘Three Stooges’ than ‘Monty Python’.

‘The Top Bet’ is that very parochial fusion of gambling and ‘nonsense comedy’ (mo lei tau) that many of us are still baffled by after all of these years.

‘The Unmatchable Match’ is a good example of an unremarkable synopsis getting better as the film takes hold. For a pre-comedy Chow vehicle, this is nothing for the Cantonese superstar to be ashamed of.

Admittedly some of the action is passable but the rest of the movie is generally so damn depressing and sloppy that I wouldn’t personally want to sit through it again.

Of course this wouldn’t be a Wong Jing film if some of the jokes weren’t bordering on tasteless and there are a couple that stretch the imagination, but thankfully they do little to deviate from the film’s general fun and frivolity.

Although this film is not his very best, it is still worth watching for Hong Kong newcomers and is a definite recommendation for Chow completists.