Dubbed

Aka - Two on the Road (HK Title)

As soon as you see the long blue socks, shorts, funny hat, bow tie, cane and bowl haircut, you can put up a warning sign; kung fu comedy ahead. Turn around and go back if you need to. My least favorite martial arts genre as I have said too often. But within the slapstick, goofy faces and pratfalls is often some astonishing martial arts. Don't think I would go that far for this one, but there is certainly some very enjoyable choreograhed action. And a plot that has nothing to do with revenge. The man in the socks is played by Phillip Ko-fei in an unusual starring role at this point in his career. And as a good guy! Ko-fei had been around for ten years usually as the henchman or thug #3. He didn't really come into his own till later in the decade in lots of low budget action and Girls with Guns films almost always as the bad guy. Directing some of them. Hell, he married one of them - the great Yukari Oshima. That must have been interesting when they went for the last chicken leg.


His co-star here is Beardy aka Leung Kar-yan, coming into his own after becoming a regular in Sammo Hung films; The Victim, Enter the Fat Dragon and Warriors II. He was becoming a legend for being able to quickly pick up any martial arts style for films. He and Ko give off a lot of energy and idiocy. Beardy is giving Ko-fei a rickshaw sort of ride when they come upon bandits trying to steal a shipment of gold for refugees. It is being sent by the kindly Master played by Johnny Wang Lung-wei, who is gray-haired and crippled with a crutch. Hmmm? Wang as a cripple? I don't think so after seeing him in dozens of Shaw films as a villain. Beardy and Ko-fei are blamed for the theft - which in fact they attempted but the chest was filled with rocks.


After first trying to turn the other in for the reward, they decide to work together to clear their names. There are some clever action routines as they go back and forth or against the cops (Chiang Tao) and even have to take on a giant Jaws like character (Siu Gam). The finale when Johnny finally throws away his crutch is terrific till it gets really silly. But not as silly as the two of them hiding under the bed of a just married couple and the very large woman on top. The comedy is decently balanced against the action, so it never totally overwhelms you. There is an HD version out there - unortunately it was not the one I saw!

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