Zui jia pai dang 2: Da xian shen tong

This was the first Aces Go Places movie I had seen - bought as Mad Mission 2 on VHS. Director Eric Tsang gives a more polished with more structured scenes, bigger stunts, funnier comedy, and nicer cinematography which helps makes part 2 one of my overall favourites.

The opening 20 minutes alone is worth the ticket price...

King Kong (Sam Hui) arrives home to find an 8 foot tall robot - who has built itself Power Rangers style from several separate flying pieces - in his apartment, and trying to kill him. And I mean with rockets, ejecting fists, guns and more!

Once he beats it, King Kong gets into a bit of drawing as if nothing happened - a regular occurrence in his daily life. A knock at the door reveals a woman who is getting chased by some thugs and, after a quick scuffle, she soon tricks Kong into doing a bank robbery with her, then leaves him hanging - a recurring theme with her...

Of course, the police give chase leading to Kong stealing a BMX from a kid and pulling of some pretty cool trick-moves during his getaway. With the cops hot on his heels, his last attempt to ditch them involves jumping from around the 15th story balcony into a passing truck filled with water - before cursing the driver for ruining his attempt at suicide!

And all of that before he goes charging - soaking wet - into the wedding of Karl Maka and Sylvia Chang...

As nutty as that sounds, as I said, this sequel is a lot more polished. It probably took a few tips from the overly successful Sammo Hung film, Winners And Sinners, to ensure for a bigger follow-up. This is strengthened by addition of returning cast members and bit-players, and a villain in the shape of the great Yasuaki Kurata (Shanghai Express; Fist Of Legend). Add to that some nifty action choreography courtesy of the wonderful Lau Kar Wing (The Odd Couple; Legendary Weapons Of Kung Fu), and you're on to a winner.

And then we can't forget the hilarious cameo from prolific director Tsui Hark as a crazy patient posing as an FBI agent. Hark of course, would go on to direct the next chapter of the series. Then there is Filthy Harry - a fantastic Clint Eastwood look-a-like (Black Gloves) out to kill King Kong and Baldy for killing his brother White Gloves in part one. It may not seem logical, but Aces Go Places 2 isn't supposed to be!

With an ending that most certainly confirms its international name of Mad Mission, the two face off against another killer robot - with their own horde of mini-bots, before challenging Filthy Harry in a game of chicken in their James Bond-esque cars, filled with rockets and other weapons, along with 2 mini-motorbikes and a huge jet-pack...

It is so mental and over-the-top, you can't help but enjoy the ride! Overall: A lot of fun and one of the best in the series!!

Take the three best things about the original "Mad Mission" / "Aces Go Places" (the catchy music score, the breathtaking, risky stunts, and Sylvia Chang's magnificent legs), add some innovative car chases (including one where a car gets literally sliced in half but keeps on running), some cool transformer robot battles, a brief dose of martial arts (including two female fighters who appear out of nowhere and disappear into the same place), a character called "Filthy Harry" played by an actor who does a very funny and very accurate Clint Eastwood imitation ("Have I seen you before?"...."Yeah, in HELL!"), and a recurring cameo by Tsui Hark as a mental hospital escapee, and you get "Mad Mission 2". This movie plays as if it was made by 10-year-old boys: the story is sloppy and empty of content (in fact, neither the opening credits nor IMDb even list a screenwriter!), but you can't deny the wild, wacky imagination on display. (**1/2)

King Kong and Albert "Baldie" Au gets in trouble again, this time the mafia wants to avenge the death of White Glove. To do so they hire an assassin who has seen a couple of Clint Eastwood movies to many.

The movie is filled with great action sequences and lots and lots of humor. As usual in the aces series there are plenty of crazy stunts and weird stuff.

Much better than the first one.

April 2021

Aces go places 2, just slightly better than the 1st film for me, Karl Maka, Sam Hui and Sylvia Chang, return along with more comedy and more gadgets and plenty of car stunts too.

Throw in more comedy and even more gadgets, more great stuff to be had here.

Watch, enjoy and now go and watch number 3.

10 out of 10.

The first sequel to Hong Kong's Aces Go Places, it is a story about European assassin Black Gloves (Joe Dimmick), who is seeking to avenge his brother White Gloves' death against reformed criminal King Kong (Samuel Hui) and Detective Albert "Baldy" Au (Karl Maka). While trying to evade Black Gloves, the duo are framed for robberies by the Hong Kong Mafia, who have their own plans against King Kong and Baldy.

Like the previous movie, the plot is fast-paced and full of adventure. However, the story has more corny jokes and silly action in it, from King Kong suffering the consequences from inadvertently crashing Baldy and Supt. Ho's (Sylvia Chang) wedding to the random appearances of the mental impatient who thinks he is an FBI agent (Hark Tsui). The romantic subplot between King Kong and Juju (Ting-Huan Wang) was also silly; there is virtually no chemistry between the two.

Though the silly and wild action is in abundance, the highlight of the movie is probably the duel of the robots (between the bad guy's towering machine hunk and King Kong's group of miniature flying toy robots). They make you feel you are watching a Transformer's movie, but the special effects were actually pretty good as they used real machinery versus CGI and, while the action is over-the-top, the robot sequences are pretty fun to watch.

Sam Hui and Karl Maka (in his thick Taishan-ese accent) continue to make a hilarious duo and had great on-screen chemistry. And, Sylvia Chang continues to add on the humor with her fiery portrayal of Supt. Ho.

Overall, the movie does not surpass the original but it's worth a watch at least once.

Grade C+