Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: Sammo Hung
Starring: Jackie Chan, Biao Yuen, Sammo Hung, Lola Forner, Benny "The Jet" Urquidez
From: Golden Harvest
Really, it has been too long since I've watched any Jackie Chan:
You know, Jackie Chan and Biao Yuen were ahead of the curve with the whole food truck phenomenon.
It came a few weeks later but I am finally tipping my cap to the late Raymond Chow by watching something from the Golden Harvest studio. They proved to be a viable competitor to Shaw Brothers and launched the careers of legends like Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung... not to mention being involved with the Cannonball Run movies and the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film. This is one of the more famous efforts involving both Chan and Hung... and has a fight that is still legendary today.
The setting of Spain is different for one of these movies and provides a unique flavor. Chan and Yuen are cousins who operate a food truck, proving they were years ahead of their time; plus, it was a sweet yellow Mitsubishi van. They run into a pickpocket named Sylvia and are smitten with her... understandable to me as she was former Miss Spain Lola Forner and is a very attractive woman. People are after her and not just because she's a pickpocket. Meanwhile, Sammo Hung is a sleuth (hilariously named MOBY) who is hired by a mysterious Englishman to look for someone. Needless to say, these plots intersect.
At times this is goofy and this does not have the most accurate portrayal of mental illness you'll ever see... that said, this is a very good martial arts movie. There are plenty of laughs along the way (including some bits straight out of The Three Stooges) and the first half of the film only has a little action-instead the story and characters are set up. The second half has plenty of memorable action beats, and the finale in the castle is tremendous, even if it ends abruptly. Chan's fight with pro karate fighter Benny “The Jet” Urquidez is still cited among the best martial arts battles ever captured in a film, and for good reason. Yuen also has a memorable fight with Keith Vitali and even Hung has a cool fencing duel.
The version that is for free on Prime is dubbed and I laughed at how the voices used sound nothing like the actual actors; I was at least charmed by it and this is a must-see for all martial arts fans.
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