Tiger Cage (1988) [Film Review]

Tiger Cage; or, Between a Rock and a Hard Place
     We bachelors really envy your true feelings. You're lucky, you're quitting tomorrow.
Tiger Cage is a trilogy of films made by Yuen Woo-ping between 1988 and 1991 which focus on the hard life of Hong Kong cops who solve criminal cases. The first movie in the series is a hard-edged thriller with an excellent cast and explosive action.

Release Info

Directed by: Yuen Woo-ping Starring: Jacky Cheung, Simon Yam, Donnie Yen, Carol Cheng

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 特警屠龍 Runtime: 92 min

Synopsis
Officer Hsiu (Leung Kar-Yan) together with his anti-narcotics team raid the smuggling den. The policeman is chasing a bad guy (Johnny Wang) during the raid. The mobster is presumably shot dead, but he actually survives and takes his revenge on Hsiu by killing him. Shirley (Carol Dodo Cheng) who was about to marry Hsiu finds it hard to get over the loss of her fiancé. She is consoled by Inspector Wong (Simon Yam). In the meantime, two officers, Fan Chun-yau (Jacky Cheung) and Terry (Donnie Yen) discover that their partner, Uncle Tat (Ng Man-Tat) actually cooperates with drug dealers. When they present the evidence to Inspector Wong, they unknowingly put themselves in danger…

Upholding the Law
Tiger Cage seems like a prelude to Yuen Woo-ping's other classic action film In the Line of Duty IV (1989). Indeed, action set pieces are exhilarating and Donnie Yen appears as the righteous cop. (Un)surprisingly his character is killed off early on in the picture, mostly due to the fact that Donnie was not then as popular as Jacky Cheung who is the real leading man.

Great cast and excellent fight sequences are indeed the main advantages of Tiger Cage. It is a pleasure to see Donnie Yen facing off against Michael Woods and Jacky Cheung battling the intimidating Simon Yam. Interestingly, Carol Cheng (during pre-Her Fatal Ways days) shines in the film, in spite of having small screen time. Also, Ng Man-Tat has a lot of stuff to do in the movie, contrary to being just a comic relief as in his many other roles from the 1990s.

The only disadvantage of Tiger Cage, I would say, is the film’s tendency to crank up that aspect of uncomfortability to the max in certain scenes. For instance, the death scene of the character played by the graceful Irene Wan is too harrowing and too out of the blue. In contrast, Uncle Tat is the story’s main punching bag, but he survives every ordeal.

A word of caution: if you expect to see traditional sequels, it is best to say out-front that Tiger Cage 2 and Tiger Cage 3 are completely unrelated to the original film, even though some of the cast members (Donnie Yen and Carol Cheng) return in new roles. The follow-ups present completely independent storylines.

Recommendations
That being said, I admit that Tiger Cage is a pleasant viewing. If you like the cops vs. bandits spectacles , then I recommend the film. In addition, the 1980s vibes and suave Simon Yam as well as Jacky Cheung on the edge are awesome bonuses. Gotta love classic Hong Kong productions.Overall score: 8/10

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All for the Winner (1990) [Film Review]

All for the Winner; or, Stephen Chow's Lucky Streak

     Be serious! Everyone by the gambling table has his own style. This is the armour for the Gambling Saint. That’s right! From now on, your nickname will be the Saint of Gamblers.

The year 1990 was huge for then relatively unknown Stephen Chow. Approximately 11 movies with him, starring in either the leading or supporting roles, were released (talk about market oversaturation!). These were mostly comedies, romance dramas, and action flicks. However, one particular movie really stood out from the bunch, and it is cited by many fans as Stephen Chow’s official breakthrough. I’m talking about All for the Winner, a comedy film directed by Corey Yuen and Jeff Lau.
Release Info

Directed by: Corey Yuen, Jeff Lau Starring: Stephen Chow, Ng Man-tat, Sharla Cheung, Sandra Ng

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 賭聖 Runtime: 100 min

 

Synopsis

Sing (Stephen Chow) is a young, happy-go-lucky mainlander from Guangzhou. He arrives in Hong Kong in order to visit his uncle, Blackie Tat (Ng Man-tat). Tat is a compulsive gambler, playing long rounds of mahjong together with his neighbours. All of a sudden, uncle Tat discovers that Sing has an unusual set of powers. He can see through objects and change the appearance of cards or receipts. Tat decides to use Sing’s skills at gambling. Not long after, the two men are recruited by a powerful businessman, Mr Chan (Jeff Lau), who desires to beat his opponent, cruel Mr Hung (Paul Chun) at the World’s Gambling Contest. Unfortunately, Sing falls in love with Mr Chan's bodyguard, Yee Mong (Sharla Cheung) and his powers go haywire.

 

Poker, Cards, and Ladies

The first thing that should be mentioned about All for the Winner is that this movie is actually a parody of Wong Jing’s God of Gamblers (1989) movie with Chow Yun-fat and Andy Lau in the leading roles. The directors Corey Yuen and Jeff Lau wanted to bring back those gambling vibes and play with the convention. However, All for the Winner became so successful in the box office that it was immediately incorporated into the franchise. Stephen Chow himself went on to reprise his role in three subsequent films: God of Gamblers II (1990), The Top Bet (1991), and God of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991).

 

“What is the secret of All of the Winner?” you may ask. Well, Stephen Chow himself, of course. He is just hilarious as the lovable idiot with ESP powers. There are lots of great situations where Chow showcases his talent for comedy (for example, confrontation with Mr. Hung or courting Yee Mong). Apart from God of Gamblers references, Chow seems to really like parodying Bruce Lee because he does two such sequences in the film.

 

However, some of the humour seems a bit off, like it was meant to fill up the hole in the storyline. This is especially evident when halfway through the picture, the uncle character tries to evoke Sing’s powers by making his neighbour, Ping (Sandra Ng), to pretend to be Yee Mong.

 

Still, even if some comedic pieces do not work, the movie makes it up with action. Surprisingly, there are a lot of fighting sequences, most of them involving actress Sharla Cheung taking down the bad guys. Evidently, she was replaced by a stunt doubled in some demanding shots, but it is still awesome to see her doing physical stuff. On top of that, her warm smile can melt ice caps.

 

Speaking about performances, Stephen Chow is at the top of his game in this picture. Ng Man-tat gives a very good interpretation of Chow’s comedic sidekick, a sloppy uncle. Sharla Cheung turns out well in the action stuff. In addition, I appreciated the small parts done by Paul Shun (hire him to play a villain in a Bond movie!), Angelina Lo, Sheila Chan, Sandra Ng, and the directors themselves, Corey Yuen and Jeff Lau.

 

Recommendations

I know nothing about gambling, but this movie got me pumped up for some poker showdowns. I recommend All for the Winner if you want to see for yourself Stephen Chow’s acting beginnings. You will certainly have a laugh and get entertained. Other Chow’s films from the God of Gamblers series are fun as well, but they never matched the level of All for the Winner.

Overall score: 8/10