Karl Maka: By hook or by crook (1980)

Cast: Sammo Hung, Wu Ma, Karl Maka, Dean Shek, Chung Fat, Lam Ching-Ying
Thank god there's Sammo to balance up this very local kung-fu comedy that comes with an overload of Dean Shek. When he's at it, there's no stopping because he was a creative force behind the scenes usually. Who's to protest but us Westerners because I'm sure crews and audiences in Hong Kong could stand this a lot more. Director Karl Maka does try and be clever by injecting modern movie references into this period piece, mainly from Westerns but it's mostly tiring humour. Just because you feature it as an element, doesn't make it funny. Example: Eric Tsang has an easy 2 minutes of work as the Chinese Clint Eastwood. I'm not snickering even.
It has to be said though that the latter half has a director with a better focus on how to deliver wit, in particular evident during a training sequence and a mock fight involving Lam Ching Ying and Wu Ma. Oh it's a character gallery with obnoxious and unsympathetic traits but Sammo is a fine standout here, flexing both his endearing comedic chops and bringing the expected power to the fight choreography. By Hook Or By Crook is for the majority of the time intolerable but ends up being entertaining eventually, despite the sins it commit. Chung Fat also appear.






PW: malamute