Movie	Extras
Audio	Video

I’m reviewing the DVD that’s part of the IVL box set.  It has the entire series, except the last one, ’97 Aces Go Places’ (here).  It’s regionless and better than the Universe Laser release.  In the US, Anchor Bay released the series but dubbed and renamed ‘Mad Mission’.

Movie
If you think these guys are in any sort of danger, you’re in for a surprise; just remember there are 6 movies in the series.  This series boasts an incredible amount of talent.  Not only in front of the camera, but behind the camera as well.  The movies in the series were directed by the likes of Chin Kar-Lok, Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark and Lau Kar-Leung.  Eric Tsang took the responsibilities of directing the first two in the series.

It’s amazing how much is taken from a popular movie.  I’m wondering if it’s any coincidence that this movie was popular, and that the first Lucky Stars movie came out the year after.  I also wonder if it’s any coincidence that the last Lucky Stars movie, ‘Dragon Forever’, also contains the same basic plot structure: goofing off with some convicts and cops, with some bits of action, introduction of, not one but two, love interests – complete with the eventual ‘bonding’ montage – then a burst of action near the end.  Obviously, the characters and focus changed, ‘Dragon Forever’ (here) had a focus on the love story, this one concentrates on the intrigue.  Just remember, though, that when I say ‘concentrate’, there’s about 20 minutes devoted to actual plot advancement, with about an hour taken up by tangential events.

The movie stars, in my mind, the pre-Stephen Chow Stephen Chow, Karl Maka (‘Knockabout’, ‘Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog’, ‘Skinny Tiger and Fatty Dragon’), and part of the legendary Hui comic family, Sam Hui (‘The Dragon from Russia’, ‘Swordsman’).  Given those two guys are in the movie, the comedy is funny.  The ‘small’ elevator gag just had me laughing so hard.  The dual hanging device had a really nice one-note joke as well.  Luckily it wasn’t worn thing.  This is a comedy, and with the talent involved, it’ll have you laughing all the way through.  Add to that cameos by the likes of Tsui Hark, George Lam, Dean Shek and Raymond Wong (Wong Pak-Ming, the writer and producer, not Wong Ho-Yin, the actor), and you’ve got something great starting to brew.

Then you have Sylvia Chang (‘Eat Drink Man Woman’, ‘20:30:40’), a girl-with-a-gun a whole 3 years before Michelle Yeoh!  The action starts out soon, with 2 car chases within the first half-hour.  I do have to say, though, that the second one seemed to have been put there just to put a car chase in there.  Crashes are fun, but a crash just for the sake of a crash is just more tedious than exciting.  Gladly, things move along and a quick pace and the gags outweigh the car chases.  There’s a lot of action, though, and sometimes it combines really nicely with the comedy.

I’ve never seen a movie that takes deaths with such levity.  Many people die in this movie, but their demises are always taken with a grain of salt.  That’s okay, though, because the deaths are funny.  Well, either Eric Tsang has a really strange sense of humour or he’s totally oblivious to the concept of life and death.  The movie takes on an almost-cartoony view to some deaths.  (Take a look at the bomb gags to see what I mean.)

I never thought I’d ever hear a score with a vocoder in it, even if the movie was made in the 1980s.  Luckily it’s not an integral part of the music.  The rest of the movie about as dated, with hair, clothes and everything else you can imagine trying to by modern and hip.  Well, modern and hip now means 1982.  Another reason I love Hong Kong movies so much is that Karl Maka actually won Best Actor at the Hong Kong Film Awards.  That would be the same as Eddie Murphy winning the Oscar for ‘Beverly Hills Cop’.  It’s fun to watch.  The entire movie is a joy and a ride.  It’s quite light, but if you’re in mood to be entertained, pop this in.

Special Features
This DVD doesn’t have any interviews, like some of the others have, and unfortunately the trailers aren’t subtitled, like the Shaw Brothers DVDs are.  The small selection, though, is nice.

You have the original trailer (4:27) and the new trailer (2:10).  The original one, to be expected, shows you about half the movie, and there’s plenty to suggest what the plot is like.  You basically see the ending without seeing the climax.  There’s also plenty of funnier moments as well.  The new trailer, as is usually the case, rather forgets the comedy and prefers to squish as much action as humanly possible into itself.  That’s kind of funny because the movie is a comedy more than an action movie.

The two other extras you have are a photo gallery, and a slideshow of the same pictures.  As is the case with every other Fortune Star/IVL release, the slideshow is a minute long.  The gallery has some very nice pictures, and even has a couple of behind-the-scenes shots, which aren’t usually present in other galleries.

Trailers
The last thing you’ll find are the trailers to the rest of the ‘Aces Go Places’ movies in the box set.  Part 2 is 105 seconds long.  Part 3 is 131 seconds long.  Part 4 is 103 long.  Part 5 is 115 long.  The music in the second part’s trailer, you’ll recognize, is the same sa the music as on the Bruce Lee Set.  It’s really fascinating to see the different director’s styles coming through in the trailers.  Naturally, ’97 Aces Go Places’, not starring Sam Hui or Karl Maka, isn’t here.

Audio
This comes in the original Cantonese Dolby 2.0 (I’m guessing mono), but you also have the choice of a Cantonese Dolby 5.1, Cantonese DTS, and Mandarin Dolby 5.1 track.  The movie doesn’t really benefit from a DTS track, but it’s still a very nice inclusion.  The rear speakers are pretty much forgotten, but it’s not so bad, as much of the movie is talking and running around anyway.  You do get accurate positions and directions, though.  Remixing a mono track to 5.1, you won’t get much interference from anything.  All the elements are well balanced, and everything is heard clearly.

Video
2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen.  Wow.  This is another fine piece of work by the guys at Fortune Star.  Like their other box sets, there’s absolutely no print damange visible.  The colours are great, and they stay the same throughout the movie.  There’s no grain to be seen.  The picture looks bright and cheery, probably better than what it looked like in theatres.  All through that work, though, I didn’t see a murky space or enhanced edge.  I saw no digital flaws.  This is a great picture.

18/4/2005