Xin zuijia paidang (1989)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Chia-Liang Liu

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Plot:

Two friends who own an investment firm turn to a policeman friend for help when they are framed for robbery by a gang of antiquities smugglers. |

Plot Keywords:

Smuggler | Political | Beautiful Woman | Murder | Fifth Part

Cast

Ellen Chan	...	Ellen
Leslie Cheung	...	Brother Thief
Roy Cheung	...	Murderer King
Tat-wah Cho	...	Wah
Maria Cordero	...	Woman in Window
Willie Doxan
Bruce Fontaine	...	Assassin
Deborah Grant	...	Deborah
Chi Chun Ha	...	Female Communist Agent #1
Mark Houghton	...	Blond Thug
Samuel Hui	...	King Kong
Conan Lee	...	Chinese Rambo
Danny Lee	...	Prisoner from Hong Kong
Nina Li Chi	...	Sister Thief
Karl Maka	...	Albert Au
Melvin Wong	...	Thug
Fennie Yuen	...	Albert's Niece

Also Known As:

Aces Go Places V: The Terracotta Hit
Mad Mission 5 (Europe)
Mad Mission V: The Terracotta Hit (USA)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

China

Company:

Cinema City Film Productions

Movie Connections:

References First Blood (1982)

My favourite of the Aces Go Places series.

When The Aces latest job turns sour, partners Baldy (Karl Maka) and King Kong (Sam Hui) decide to go their separate ways; however, they are reunited three years later after a brother and sister crime duo, The New Aces (played by the late, great Leslie Cheung and beautiful Nina Li) frame them for the theft of China's national treasures, the Terracotta Army and a valuable sword.

With both the Chinese authorities (led by Conan Lee's Chinese Rambo) and a gang of criminals hot on their trail, the guys are forced to work together once again in order to prove their innocence.

Directed by martial arts movie legend Lau Kar-Leung, The Terracotta Hit is without a doubt my favourite of the Aces Go Places movies; there is still plenty of the series' trademark silliness (including a gwailo villain who wears a white pussycat glove puppet!), but this one also offers much more in the way of kung fu action than previous efforts, with the entertaining fight scenes utilising a nice range of traditional weaponry.

After plenty of daft stunts (my favourite being Nina Li's disastrous human-cannon escape plan), and lots of general looniness, the film ends with a satisfyingly furious fight amidst the Terracotta Army, which features baddies disguised as statues and absolutely loads of very painful looking falls for the film's HK stunt-men.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.