Rarely do films manage to find humor in tension anymore, as the action comedy genre seems to only be carried on through Edgar Wright. There is a lot of dumb slapstick out there, but the legitimately inventive and death defying stunts that could be traced all the way back to Buster Keaton. Jackie Chan is one of the rare actors that seemed to have endless stamina and complete physical commitment to his visual gags and fast paced action scenes.Fei Hung is a well intentioned but arrogant fighter who learned his technique from his father, a master of drunken boxing. Yes, you read that correctly. Jackie Chan wobbles around, moving as if he is about to fall over at every second during his fighting, while simultaneously performing completely ridiculous moves such as the "flirting woman" and the "wheelbarrow", making a fool out of his enemies, and occasionally himself in the process. Due to its comedic tone, a lot of sound effects that I would regularly find exaggerated blend right in, because the movie is just that. His father, the master, encourages passivity and restraint in fighting, while his mother, who also happens to be quite skilled, encourages him to fight every fight with all he's got. However, when his type of fighting is fueled by drinking loads of alcohol, this is a recipe for disaster, and despite always trying to help others, he is torn between the encouragement of his mother and the restrictions of his father.Credit is certainly due to Jackie Chan for his physical performance, but much of the effect of the action scenes is due to the director, Chia Liang Liu. He knew that the way to direct Jackie Chan was with wide angle shots that only cut when necessary, to see the full view of his stunts and choreography. Also, our hero doesn't always win. We see him disowned by his father and beaten down by his enemies again and again. This allows us to feel that our hero is imperfect and it's possible that he could lose with each set piece. It also shows that what really makes him a hero is his perseverance and eagerness to get back up and try to improve despite being knocked down so often. This is what allowed for such creative, intense, and hilarious action set pieces as the fight against the crowds of men with axes, in which he ducks and dodges and uses wooden benches and tables and anything in his environment as weapons to defend himself, narrowly avoiding defeat each time. Or the fight in which he takes on several men at once, while simultaneously being thrown bottle after bottle of liquor and proceeding to pour each one down his throat. With Jackie Chan constantly pulling off this perfect balancing act, it's easy to ignore that the reason the English ambassador fires all his workers is never really explained, and his motivation for letting Jackie Chan and his friend go doesn't quite make sense, because those really are small complaints in what is really one of the rare movies that continues to genuinely surprise, impress, and entertain for its entire runtime.

Wong Fei Hung (Jackie Chan), his father Dr. Wong Kei Ying, and their servant Tso are taking the train. Fei Hung hides the ginseng in British consul's suitcase to avoid paying tax. On the train, he goes to take back the ginseng and encounters someone stealing a similar box from the suitcase. The boxes are switched after a fight and Fei Hung mistakenly takes the Jade Seal of the Emperor. The British starts searching the train. Government official Cheung Hok Leung (Andy Lau) is able to save them from the search. It's a screwball attempt to cover up the missing ginseng with the help of stepmom Ling (Anita Mui) when they get back home.Jackie Chan is at his most fun. He is Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton combined. It's got kung fu action which he always adds his special brand of easy charm. It's got some great actors like the hilarious Anita Mui. The production level is quite good. The camera work looks sharp. This is a kung fu movie with a fun comedic sense and compelling story.

This is a Jackie Chan movie made by his Hong Kong producers. Jackie Chan directed this movie himself (as he seems to do a lot) so all the bizarre stunts that he does, he does because he chooses to do them. This movie is not a movie sponsored by American money, as was Rumble in the Bronx, and thus has all of the typical quirks of Hong Kong Cinema.Jackie Chan, his brother, and his father go into China to get hold of some ginseng. As they come to the border post they realise they must declare the goods so they smuggle it on board through a British ambassador. They then must get it back so they sneak into first class and take the package. Unfortunately there are two similar packages and they take the wrong one. They also confront another martial artist who wants the other package. Through this they uncover a plot by the British to overthrow the Chinese Emperor (or so it seems).As with typical movies of this sort, there is little in the way of deep, in-depth thought. Jackie Chan is about stuns and martial arts, and you get plenty of that here. The interesting thing in this movie is the portrayal of the British. They have their guns while the Chinese have their martial arts. Even with their skill, they are under the yoke of the gun. But when the Chinese get the guns, they discard them in favour of the martial arts.The specific martial art that Jackie Chan uses here is what is called Drunken Boxing. He is reasonable, but very beatable sober, but when he gets drunk he becomes invincible. Thus, when he finds that he is fighting a fight that he probably will not win, he seeks as much alcohol as possible and becomes blind drunk.This is a reasonably good movie, and as typical for Jackie Chan, quite funny as well. When you watch it though, make sure that the version you have has reasonable subtitles, because it is really annoying watching a movie when you don't know what is going on because you cannot understand the dialogue.

Unmissable for any martial arts fan, this film contains what many regard as the best fight scene of all time, and I am inclined to agree, making this film unmissable for MA fans.The other fight scenes in the movie are almost just as good, the film features Jackie getting drunk and fighting his enemies using Drunken Fist which makes for hugely entertaining bouts.Unlike most of Jackie Chans movies, this doesn't have any stunts or any strictly comedy related antics, and instead is held up by the sheer quality of the fight scenes.Obviously the plot is completely irrelevant, and in this film it doesn't matter as the fights come thick and fast, and leave no chance you leaving you underwhelmed.