Winners and Sinners (1983) [Film Review]

Winners and Sinners; or, Here Come the Lucky Stars

     From now on, we must stick together.

Winners and Sinners (1983) marks the first instalment in Sammo Hung’s successful Lucky Stars franchise. Hung conceived the idea of a light-hearted comedy with an ensemble cast after watching a TV programme about police officers using specific skills to crack down a case. The end result is an entertaining flick harking back to such classics as The Marx Brothers or The Three Stooges films.
Release Info

Directed by: Sammo Hung Starring: Sammo Hung, Stanley Fung, John Shum, Charlie Chin, Richard Ng,
Jackie Chan, Cherie Chung

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 奇謀妙計五福星 Runtime: 101 min

 

Synopsis

The movie tells the story of five petty criminals who end up together in a jail cell. Teapot (Sammo Hung) is a chubby and clumsy burglar, Curly (John Shum) is a workers’ rights activist, Wind Pipe (Richard Ng) steals car parts, Vaseline (Charlie Chin) specialises in stealing jewellery, Ranks (Stanley Fung) is the eldest member with an unknown past. The cellmates befriend each other and, after their release, they decide to set up Five Stars Cleaning Company. They are joined in their endeavour by Curly’s attractive sister, Shirley (Cherie Chung). Everything goes smoothly until one day someone accidentally throws a suitcase into their van. The Lucky Stars have found themselves in the middle of a financial trade between gangsters. They have to use their wits and fists in order to clean their names. 

 

Five Lucky Stars

Winners and Sinners may be nearly 40 years old, but it is still an enjoyable comedy. I was actually surprised at how much I liked it. Sammo Hung can really make a feel-good actioner and elicit some strong laughs at the same time. I particularly liked the scenes in which Richard Ng’s character tries to learn invisibility or when the team members fumblingly try to seduce Shirley.

 

Apart from recognisable stars in the leading roles, the film is filled with great supporting parts. For instance, Jackie Chan plays a hot-headed cop who always ends up causing trouble for himself. He has an awesome chase sequence halfway through the film and it is a shame that it is not mentioned very often whenever Jackie’s amazing stunts are recapped. Interestingly, Yuen Biao choreographed action for this movie and he has a funny cameo in one of the scenes. Perceptive viewers can also spot cameos from Moon Lee, Mars, and Wu Ma.

The success of Winners and Sinners led to the creation of whopping six(!) sequels. Please refer here for the full list. Unfortunately, Sammo Hung did participate in the making of every film, but he often served either as a director, producer, or actor on the sets. In fact, the only actors from the original cast who appeared in all seven Lucky Stars films were Richard Ng and Stanley Fung. I hope that I will be able to review every entry in the series.

 

Recommendations

If you are in the mood for a light, kung-fu oriented comedy that does not rely on swearing or clichés, then Winners and Sinners is the choice for you. It is a great action comedy flick that will not disappoint you. I wish that Sammo Hung could keep making these even today.

Overall score: 7/10