This Martial arts comedy is set in 1920s Hong Kong; protagonist Yu Shu attends a prestigious private school but he spends his time drawing martial arts comics and dreaming of being a hero... much to the annoyance of his teacher and his father. When a friend is bullied he tries to help even though the bullies are stronger. Later he helps rescue Mei, a girl he rather fancies who has been sold into servitude who is about to be resold into prostitution. This act leads to him being expelled from school. He and Mei start working at his uncle's noodle restaurant. He also starts attending a local Kung Fu school... although he might just be learning more in the restaurant. Eventually Mei is found by the man intending to sell her so Yu Shu, with some help, must rescue her and others; this will mean fighting the son of the crime boss... a man known as The Scorpion King due to his unique fighting style.
This film provides lots of exciting martial arts action combined with quite a few laughs. The fights are all brilliantly choreographed; they feel very physical despite some obvious wire work. The story is effective even if it doesn't provide any real surprises. The training scenes to slow the action somewhat and the fact that he is actually learning more working in the kitchen won't be a surprise to anybody who has seen 'The Karate Kid'. The cast does a fine job; most notably Kar Lok Chin and Chia-Liang Liu as Yu Shu and his uncle. Jung Yuen was solid as The Scorpion King despite a rather ridiculous hair style! May Mei-Mei Lo was likeable as Mei. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to those looking for martial arts and a few laughs but nothing too intense.
These comments are based on watching he film in Cantonese with English subtitles. I have used the character names listed on the IMDb rather those on the DVD box.
