Yat goh hiu yan (1997)

Director:

Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Writers:

Fibe Ma (screenplay)
Edward Tang (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime

Tagline:

Fight first. Apologize later.

Plot:

A Chinese chef accidentally gets involved with a news reporter who filmed a drug bust that went awry and is now being chased by gangs who are trying to get the video tape.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Chef | Martial Arts | Drug Lord | Guesthouse

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Jackie
Richard Norton	...	Giancarlo
Miki Lee	...	Miki
Karen McLymont	...	Lakisha
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick	...	Diana
Vince Poletto	...	Romeo
Barry Otto	...	Baggio
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	...	Cyclist (as Sanno Hung)
Emil Chau	...	Ice Cream Vendor
Joyce Godenzi	...	Cook Show Audience (as Mina Godenzi)
Peter Houghton	...	Richard
Peter Lindsay	...	Grank, Demon Leader
David No	...	Victor
Rachel Blakely	...	Sandy, Demon
Judy Green	...	Tina, Demon

Also Known As:

Mr. Nice Guy (Australia) (Hong Kong: English title) (UK) (USA)
A Nice Guy (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
No More Mr. Nice Guy (USA)
SuperChef
Yi ge hao ren (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for pervasive action violence, some sensuality and drug content.

Runtime:

94 min | USA:88 min | USA:113 min (original running time) | Spain:84 min (DVD edition)

Country:

Hong Kong | Australia | USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color (Cineart)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS (US prints) | SDDS (US prints)

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 (re-rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | France:U | Germany:12 | Netherlands:AL (video premiere) | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 (video premiere) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 (direct to video) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Chinatown Mall, Fortitude Valley, Queensland, Australia

Company:

Golden Harvest Company

Trivia:

As seen in the credits, Jackie Chan had to learn how to cook professionally to give him a realistic appearance of a television chef.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During Jackie's fight with Giancarlo's men at the Golden Garden construction site you can clearly see Jackie fighting Asian stunt-men instead of the guys he is supposed to be fighting.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Killer Spirit (2009) (TV)

Action galore!!!

This film is certainly not an Academy Award Winner, but it most definitely is just a plain old good action film with tons of senseless fighting. The fighting is incredible in this film and the stunts are quite impressive, the choreography and the stunts are what make this film good, don't expect a great story or any great acting.

The story isn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be, it's actually quite interesting and takes a little bit of step aside from Jackie Chan's typical cop character. This time he's simply a TV chef that gets mixed up in things against his will. It sounds pretty stupid, but it's not all that bad.

The acting and even more so, the dialogue are two things that I'm not even going to begin to defend. The acting is pretty bad at times and the dialogue is god-awful! Sadly, a lot of the bad dialogue could easily have been avoided, I don't know what the writers/director was thinking.

Virtually all of the cast members were new faces to me, with of course, the exception of Jackie Chan. Jackie does a good job with his role, exactly what you would expect from one of his films. I feel I have to mention Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, what a beautiful actress!!! And she's actually a pretty good actress, I'll definitely be keeping an eye open for her future work.

If you are a fan of Martial Art films, or just like Jackie Chan, then watch this movie. Just watch this film thinking you are going to have a fun time watching Jackie kick some bad-guy butt! I hope you enjoy the film, thanks for reading,

-Chris