Do you remember sitting down in the holidays and watching on television one of those all start cast epics such as “Around the World in 80 Days” that frequented Hollywood in the 1960's. Well now imagine that with a cast of Hong Kong's finest from the 1980's and throw in a lot of martial arts amidst the comedy. Now imagine it in the style of a western-only set in the Orient. Sammo Hung certainly liked variety in his directorial career and at his creative peak in the late 1980's, came up with this polar opposite to the more vicious war epic “Eastern Condors”. A more family friendly, action filled entertainer that throws everything into the mix and finds most of it sticking.
Buy This Title
Ching Fong Tin (Sammo Hung) returns to his hometown after attempting to steal goods from Russian soldiers and nearly being captured by bounty hunter Fook Loi (Kenny Bee). He intents to cause a train to come to a halt so that the passengers are forced to spend time in the town which will help them make money whilst it is repaired. The head fireman Tsao Cheuk Kin (Yuen Biao) and Ching Fong Tin do not get off to a great start when they first meet and ultimately, the latter ends up in jail after Fook Loi arrives in town too. A gang of bandits however storm the town, taking many of the passengers and townsfolk hostage. Ching Fong Tin is able to escape but ultimately returns, as the unlikely band of misfits take on the bandits in an epic confrontation.
Hong Kong comedy can be very broad, sexist and quite frequently, toilet-humour based. Which anyone who watched the bawdy British comedies in the 1970's will instantly develop a kinship for. Personally, I struggle with some of these elements (though being English, good toilet humour always gets a pass) and mercifully, there are less contentious elements here and some of the humour is genuinely laugh out loud funny. Richard Ng gets one particularly outstanding sight gag as he tries to explain how he came to be caught in the bedroom with his mistress. His double take alone is worth the price of admission as his story is unexpectedly validated.
This really is one of the best assembled casts in Hong Kong cinema. The only big star of the era missing is Jackie Chan and by all accounts, Kenny Bee plays the role that was created just for him. This works to the overall benefit as Sammo was always very generous at sharing out the high spots and someone of Jackie Chan's calibre would likely have overshadowed this.
As the three Japanese warriors, we get Yusuaki Kurata, Hwang Jang Lee and Yukari Oshima. The former gets to be the recipient of Richard Norton's “Painful” catchphrase. The latter in a brief flurry of action gets to look fluid in movement and on a par with any of her peers, whilst Hwang Jang Lee shows off his incredible boot work during the chaotic finale. Speaking of Richard Norton, we never find why he and Cynthia Rothrock are dressed as U.S. Cavalry and ended up in the Far East, but who's really focusing on the fine details! Both look smooth in their fight scenes and Cynthia Rothrock has a short but entertaining duel with Sammo Hung that requires him to brush off his Bruce Lee impression to be victorious. The Dick Wei style role of awesome fighter that always loses to the good guy in the 80's is unsurprisingly played by Dick Wei. His duel with Yuen Biao demonstrates that you do indeed need two to tango to make a great screen fight.
As mentioned, this is a who's who of talent and you can just spend the whole feature talent spotting. Yuen Wah, Eric Tsang, Meng Hoi, Rosamund Kwan, Jimmy Wang Yu, all of which get a moment to star. Richard Ng carries most of the comedy as the most unlikely of philanderers, but it would be remiss to not talk about the two central stars. Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.
Yuen Biao is one of the most athletic talents to ever grace the screen and here he gets a proper showcase. His leap of the burning building is just jaw dropping and it's interesting to see him shown here as being on a par with Sammo Hung when they clash. Often the third wheel in the famous productions with Sammo and Jackie Chan, when with just Sammo, he gets to be more front and centre. He even gets to get the girl(s) at the conclusion. Sammo Hung as always has power to go with his skill. From fighting with the metal rods whilst escaping jail, to the Bruce Lee inspired duel, we see the whole range of his capability. For both of them “Millionaire's Express” remains a brilliant demonstration of their combined ability.
This is also true of Sammo Hung the director. One of the best at choreographing and shooting action, he also allows the comical aspects room to breathe. Action\comedy is a tricky balance like so many hybrids as ever so easy to veer towards one more than the other. In particular look at how Sammo Hung positions himself. Frequently he will step back and play to the perceptions that his girth brings, by accentuating the comedic aspects. Whilst he is subject to several moments like this, for the most part he plays it straight and leaves the broader comedy to the others.
Often in films we look for subtext, for depth or some deeper meaning. Sometimes it's good to just enjoy a feature simply because it's fun. This is almost two hours of sheer joy. A troupe of talented performers given free rein to show off their talents in the best way possible. Genuinely funny gags, terrific fight choreography and a Hwang Jang Lee triple kick. What more do you need?
