Producer: 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.

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.

Anyone searching for a traditional kung-fu flick that is filled with sublime choreography need look no further than this.

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

The strength of Karl Maka’s slice of entertainment is its wilful exuberance and obvious intention of creating a fun atmosphere.

‘The Victim’ is a fine mixture of action comedy and even drama – three elements that director Sammo Hung juggles with masterful dexterity.

‘Tiger On The Beat’ is a surprisingly successful outing that proves Liu Chia-Liang was just as capable of handling modern day actioners.