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"It's an epic!" howls one of the fighters in the free-for-all finale, overwhelmed by the sheer number of characters that get crowded into a single room, all pounding away at each other. Indeed, every comic actor and most of the leading action stars in Hong Kong in 1983 seem to have been squeezed into this amiable kung fu comedy--there are even tiny cameo appearances by several famous movie directors (Ann Hui, Tsui Hark, Wu Ma). This picture marks the debut of a loose-knit group of farce-action stalwarts, the Five Lucky Stars, stumble-bum reformed crooks who attempt to go straight by setting up a cleaning service, but can't seem to help getting into tons of trouble. The Stars went on to appear in several sequels, including My Lucky Stars. Jackie Chan, as a cop pursuing the hapless crooks, is essentially the straight man here, and he seems to be using a stunt double in some of his big scenes. This is a close as Chan ever got to phoning in a performance. --David Chute
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