Prime Time: Wheels On Meals (1984)

I suspect it may have changed nowadays, considering some of his mainstream hits, but there was definitely a standard journey when it came to discovering Jackie Chan movies when I was young. You would hear about him, perhaps seeing some clips of his major stunts and set-pieces in a video or TV special (hosted by someone like Chuck Norris). Then you'd probably see the likes of Police Story and/or Project A, maybe even an Operation Condor film. You would think that you'd never seen this action movie star before, not necessarily realising that he had joined in with the self-satisfied fun of The Cannonball Run movies. Then you'd somehow find out about how well he worked with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. Which would lead you to the likes of this.

Wheels On Meals isn't a great movie, but it has enough great moments to make up for the many problems with the material. Chan and Biao play two friends who operate a food truck. Hung, who also directed the film, plays a private detective hired to find a beautiful young woman. That woman, Sylvia (Lola Forner), ends up staying with our two leads, at least until she can steal some money and a car to help get her somewhere safer. Meanwhile, some tough henchmen start to throw their weight around, leading to a third act that features the martial arts skills of our heroes, as well as some impressive movies from Benny Urquidez and Keith Vitali.

The comedy here isn't great, and nor are some of the attitudes on display. BUT, and this is all relative (of course, I think Wheels On Meals generally holds up better than a number of other martial arts films from this era. The comedy tends to focus on the friendship, and friendly competition, between the leading men, the treatment of female characters is done in a way that allows Biao and Chan, but particularly the former, to constantly aim for "white knight" status, and a couple of moments allowing Richard Ng and John Sham to cameo feel as if they could have been much worse. And saying "things could have been much worse" isn't necessarily the best thing to say about art, but it's also worth saying when you've sat through Jackie Chan movies littered with homophobia, including "jokes" about AIDS, and horrendous treatment of female characters.

Hung knows what he's doing when it comes to the direction, although I wish that he'd been allowed to throw a lot more action in here. The screenplay, written by Edward Tang and Gwing-Gai Lee, seems content to let Chan, Biao, and Hung play around onscreen while fans get to enjoy spending some more time in their company, but forgets how to make the most of them. As a fan though, I should say that I am one of those kept happy enough by the interplay and tom-foolery of the leads.

Whether skateboarding around to take food orders or struggling to fight back against Urquidez, Chan is on very good form here. Biao is slightly underserved, on the one hand, considering how I have seen him treated by other movies showcasing his acrobatic abilities, but it's good to see him sharing the screen while also being allowed to step forward as the main hero. Hung is aiming to be more comic relief than a proper third fighter, but he at least gets involved in the busy and impressive final round of fights. Both Urquidez and Vitali handle themselves capably, and Forner carries herself well through moments overstuffed with testosterone and lust.

If you want to enjoy these stars in a film with much better fight sequences then Dragons Forever is the film for you. This is a solid mix of action and fun though. It just doesn't hit the high bars set by these performers in many of their other respective star vehicles.

7/10

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The Iceman Cometh (1989)

AKA Time Warriors.

While it may seem tricky to discuss and review films like this one, a Hong Kong martial arts movie from the late 1980s that has the mix of impressive action and cringe-inducing humour you might expect, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be attempted. So brace yourself as I attempt it. And then head off to find more informed writing on the film by those who are much more well-versed in Hong Kong cinema than I am.

Yuen Biao stars as a royal guard in the Ming Dynasty who is tasked with hunting down a murderous rapist (Yuen Wah) he used to be close to. The two soon meet, and a fight ensues, ending with both of them falling off a cliff and landing on snowy ground that will leave them frozen for centuries. Skip forward a few hundred years, both fighters are discovered by scientists, and it's not long until they are thawed out and wandering around in the modern world. The environment may be hugely different, but the fighting will go one . . . whenever the two meet again. Meanwhile, Biao meets Maggie Cheung (playing a character named Polla) and ends up helping her out of a sticky situation. He begins helping her in her work life, unaware that she's a prostitute using him to scare men who have paid her for her services. It all leads to some inevitably insane stuntwork, and you just know that Cheung will be in grave danger, at least once.

Director Clarence Fok may not have a filmography crammed full of modern classics, although he's been involved, in one way or another, with some absolutely superb action movies, but that doesn't really matter when you're helming a film that can showcase the talents of people like Biao and Wah (Cheung, sadly, is there to be set up as a potential damsel in distress). The same goes for writers Johnny Mak and Stephen Shiu, who try to balance a few impressive set-pieces with the standard "fish out of water" aspect of the premise. 

Biao and Wah though, wow, this is a film that allows both of them to spend some time showing their skills (in impressive stunt sequences that they also helped to choreograph). If you are a fan of either - and anyone who loves action movies should love Biao - then there is enough here to keep you happy and entertained. I would like to see everything that Biao has ever done, one day, but I appear to have already seen quite a few movies that Wah appeared in, despite not necessarily being able to recall any of his other performances. That won’t be the case with this film, thanks largely to an amazing moment at the halfway point that has his character fleeing a robbery by jumping across a couple of moving car roofs. It is a shame that Cheung is mistreated by the script, but she at least gets plenty of screentime, and the way her character grows closer to our hero isn’t as bad as it could have been.

Helped by good pacing for most of the runtime (you’re never too far away from either a fight or a decent comedy beat, but there are one or two extra endings), The Iceman Cometh is an enjoyable martial arts movie that provides some fantastical spectacle alongside entertaining silliness. It isn’t quite there with the best of Hong Kong action cinema from this time, but it’s unlikely to disappoint anyone who deliberately seeks it out.

7/10

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Dreadnaught (1981)

For people who don't yet know about the martial arts prowess of Yuen Biao, a man who was occasionally a very worth "third musketeer" alongside Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, I highly recommend diving into his filmography. And, for all I know, there may be better places to start, but Dreadnaught is a hell of a good time.

Biao plays Mousy, a cowardly young man who is rarely able to collect the laundry money that he is sent out to collect on behalf of his sister (played by Lily Li). That makes his fate seem inevitable when he becomes the target of a crazed killer known as White Tiger (Yuen Shun-yee). Or maybe not, considering that Mousy has the chance to learn from both Leung Foon (Bryan Leung) and the legendary Wong Fei-hung (Kwan Tak-hing).

Directed by Yuen Woo-ping (arguably best-known to modern movie viewers for his work on THAT big sci-fi action movie from 1999), Dreadnaught is a hugely entertaining mix of thrills, slight chills, and the expected underdog-to-top dog character arc. Writer Wong Jing has time for supporting characters, and some humour that doesn't work, but never takes too long to move the focus back to our hero, who still shows his athleticism even when trying to avoid a fight.

The cast work well, overall, with Biao easily proving himself as a likeable leading man. He has presence, he can play up his inability to fight for comedic effect, and he's definitely got the moves when the time comes for him to show what he can actually do. Shun-yee, on the other hand, is made to look memorable most of the time, thanks to the facial make up used, but his performance is just a constant stream of bared teeth and gurning expressions. The other good guys, however, more than make up for the overworking villain, with Leung doing good work and Tak-hing almost stealing the entire movie with his portrayal of Fei-hung (especially great in a couple of fight sequences that have people pretending that they’re not fighting).

Highlights include a frankly amazing dragon dance/ritual sequence, a tailor attacking his customer while the customer deftly defends himself, and a finale that features some surprisingly eerie imagery in just before the expected face off between the lead and the rage-filled villain.

It may not be the absolute best film with Biao in a starring role (almost everyone who knows the man tells me that The Prodigal Son is THE one to watch), but this is a great introduction to his work, and an easy one to recommend to fans of martial arts cinema . . . or anyone who enjoyed the laundry scene in Batman Forever (which was lifted from this).

8/10

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Project A (1983)

Jackie Chan stars as a member of the Hong Kong Marine Police in a coastal town that has been trying to deal with a looming pirate problem, with the villains led by San-Po (Dick Wei). Unfortunately, the Marine Police seems to spend most of its time fighting with the standard Police Force, pitting our hero against the great Yuen Biao during the early moments of the film. It's not long, however, until Chan and Biao end up teaming up in their attempt to defeat the pirates, joined by Sammo Hung (playing a good-hearted thief who wants to help out while not getting himself killed).

Project A is one of those Jackie Chan movies that his fans love, mainly because it allows him to do what he does best - demonstrate some amazing moves in a number of action sequences that showcase just what a brilliant physical performer he is. Add in Sammo and Yuen and you have the dream team (Yuen Biao has been a favourite of mine since he blew me away in the finale of Dragons Forever).

It's pretty great, I can't deny that. It's just personal preference that leads to me rating this slightly lower than most people might, because I have other Jackie Chan movies that I prefer to this one (including the aforementioned Dragons Forever).

With moments that pay homage to Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, set-pieces that will make you wince while keeping a smile on your face, a riveting grand finale, and the presence of the lovely Isabella Wong turning the heads of the male leads, Project A has plenty to recommend it. If you've seen any documentaries or TV shows that used clips from Jackie Chan movies then the chances are that you've seen some excerpts from this one, be it the wonderful bicycle chase sequence or that daredevil clock tower stunt.

Chan also wrote and directed this movie, allowing him to create the best, and most creative, sequences for himself and his co-stars. While I like some of his other movies more than this, there's no denying that Project A deserves a place on the movie shelf of any self-respecting action movie fan.

8/10

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