Passionately acknowledged for his traditional kung fu flicks, this was Lau Kar Leung's Hong Kong's version of the popular Hollywood buddy-cop action comedy genre of the 80s which borrowed heavily from Peter Hyams's “Running Scared” (1986) to Richard Donner's “Lethal Weapon” from 1987. Due to its success, a sequel soon followed in 1990 starring Danny Lee but only Conan Lee reprised his role. It was nominated for the Best Action Choreography at the Hong Kong Film Awards in 1989 but “Police Story 2” was the winner.
In a total contrast to his heroic character in “A Better Tomorrow” (1986), Chow Yun Fat portrays the womanizing and cowardly police Sergeant Francis Li mostly for laughs. Incidentally, this is the kind of clowning role his Asian audiences preferred and were fond of instead of the tough action hero type favored by the West. Spotting loud colorful shirts and being incompetent at his job, he even wets his pants when a thug puts a gun to his face during a robbery.
Meanwhile, with the intention of getting him promoted, Chief Inspector, also Li's uncle, partners him up with a headstrong and tough rookie Michael Tso (Conan Lee) who takes his job seriously, to investigate a cocaine smuggling outfit. This pair of mismatched cops soon finds themselves tailing Marydonna (Nina Li Chi), the sister of drug dealer Poison Snake Ping (Philip Ko). Eventually they learn that his boss, Johnny Low (Norman Chu) and a Westerner are reasonable for the importing of the cocaine.
They manage to capture Low during a drug deal but his right hand man Fai (Gordon Liu) escapes after a shootout. While celebrating their promotion, Fai and the rest of the gang kidnap Li's sister, Mimi (Shirley Ng) who Tso takes a shine to and demands an exchange. Not wanting to lose Mimi, the cops have no choice but to agree. With Low strapped to the front of the car, Li, armed with his trusted shotgun and Tso, set out to make the switch.
The concluding showdown plays pretty much like a wuxia flick in disguise. take the duel between Conan Lee and Gordon Liu for example: they replaced the swords with chainsaws but it is still refreshingly exciting. Even though Chow Yun Fat is not a martial arts practitioner, his display of the shotgun tied to a rope is both effective and amazingly creative. Furthermore, besides being his charismatic self with wonderful screen presence, he particularly excels in doing comedies and romantic roles his Hong Kong fans can't get enough of.
At times looking like a more buff up Jackie Chan, Conan Lee starred in Corey Yuen's “Ninja in the Dragon's Dan” (1982) which put him on the map but unfortunately he became too egotistic for filmmakers to handle, otherwise he could have become the next Jackie Chan if he had played his cards right. Anyway, he puts on a great show here doing lots of dangerous stunts and displaying his martial arts skills to the full. In fact, his action sequences are almost a copy of what Jackie Chan did in “Police Story”.
The supporting cast is an amazing parade of Shaw Brothers talent starting with Ti Lung who plays a bar owner while David Chiang turns up briefly as the Police Commissioner. Elsewhere, Philip Ko appears as Poison Snake Ping, a drug dealer who tries to steal from the cool looking Norman Chu who plays the cocaine Boss Johnny Low. Then we have Gordon Liu who provides the movie's best action sequences as Fai, the tough as nails henchman. The physically well-equipped Nina Li Chi (Jet Li's wife) turns up as Marydonna, the aerobics instructor and sister to Poison Snake who takes a lot of punishment and abuse from Sergeant Li. Shirley Ng plays the love interest of rookie Tso and Li's sister.
The comedy interplay in this production is a mixed bag, goofy and offensive at times and the rough ordeal in which the main female character has to go through might put some viewers off. Then again, the top notch breakneck action is equally raw and brutal especially the chainsaw duel. But hey, this is the style of Hong Kong films of the 80s, wacky but entertaining nonetheless.
