Powerful

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is the first sequel to "Winners and Sinners" and returns to the screen Sammo Hung, Richard Ng, Stanley Fung and Charlie Chin. Eric Tsang joins the cast and replaces John Sham. Although a majority of the original actors from the first movie returns, they all play different characters than the previous film (but are still dubbed "The Five Lucky Stars"). They portray friends from an old orphanage and team up to help Hong Kong cop Muscles (Jackie Chan) rescue his partner (Yuen Biao) from a ninja gang and recover their stolen loot of diamonds in Tokyo. Like the first film, the main plot is loosely tied together and is not very solid. What you get throughout the movie in addition to the main ninja gang/diamond plot is a few subplots, which, however, were averagely entertaining at best. While the intro scenes for each of the "Five Lucky Star" character were amusing, especially the hilarious scene involving Rawhide (Stanley Fung) tackling with an adulteress' husband (Bolo Yeung), the scenes involving the "Five Lucky Stars" trying to woo Chief Insp. Barbara Wu (Sibelle Hu) by playing tricks on her was drawn-out, goofy and a little boring. This, and the awkward chemistry between Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan and Sibelle Hu, were a distraction from the main point of the story. The film gains traction again towards the latter half, where we get a good helping of martial arts action and some good suspense. The stunts were well choreographed and the scenes in Tokyo were a welcome departure from the usual Hong Kong streets. While a lot more goofy and slower-paced than the previous film, it was still a treat to see the all-star cast in action and experience some of their classic Hong Kong-style humor and comedy. And, of course, the action scenes were probably the highlight of the film. Grade C+

My Lucky Stars is one of those Kung Fu films that western audiences are unfamiliar with. There have been serious hard-hitting martial arts flicks; namely Enter the Dragon, Police Story and yet there are also comedy based Kung Fu movies, such as 'My Lucky Stars', the sequel to 'Lucky Stars: Winners and Sinners'. It combines slap stick comedy with martial arts action, though the humour isn't exactly as silly as that of Kung Pow or Beverly Hills Ninja. It is Hong Kong Chinese humour but with a touch of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Marx Bros thrown in for good measure. The film is mostly set in Japan and there is a lot of Japanese being spoken, although this is still a Hong Kong production. Jackie Chan plays a cop and he and Yuen- the other cop are on a mission to Japan to get hold of a former cop turned thief. When Yuen's character is captured, Chan enlists the help of his friends to rescue Yuen and to recapture the diamonds. Joining the guys is a female cop named Barbera, who apparently takes no prisoners and puts up a decent fight. Most of the scenes feature lesser known names such as Sammo Hung- who later on went to make his US TV debut in the CBS show, Martial Law-, Yuen Biao and Hong Kong comedy actors, Eric Tsang, Richard Ng and Charlie Chin, who are well known faces on Hong Kong television, all interacting with one another and making silly banter. Depending on how receptive you are of the humour, it can take a while getting used to; being Chinese and with Cantonese as my dialect, I understand it better than I do speaking it myself and so I had no difficulties adapting and assimilating to it. Yes it is different but the quicker you get used to it, the more you'll enjoy this movie. It is funny in places and the fight sequences as ever, are excellent. One of the highlights of the film is the battle between the two Chinese and Japanese female characters; it is brilliant to watch and a complete contrast to see women squaring off each other in unarmed combat; not like Police Story where the females such as Maggie Q gets seven shades knocked out of them by the villains. Despite Jackie Chan's appearance being relatively limited in contrast to the other cast members, this doesn't dampen the film's interest. The other characters all play their part; thus for once, Jackie doesn't dominate this movie, as he does with his other efforts. I think that it's a tad shame though that the Hong Kong film industry, thanks to the likes of Raymond Chow and Leonard Ho, no longer churn out these types of movies. The Kung Fu genre began in the 70s with Bruce Lee, continued with Jackie Chan in the 80s and then eventually it died by the 90s, after the efforts of Jet Li and Stephen Chow, only to be replaced by the likes of Hollywood blockbusters, The Matrix and China's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Hero. Chinese cinema, well make that Far Eastern cinema's reputation, laid bare the foundations of Hong Kong film making and it was a reputation that was once lauded by many as one of the very best that ranked alongside the US and Hollywood. 'My Lucky Stars' is one of Chan's under rated hits- which spanned a follow-up titled: 'Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars', released in the same year as its predecessor, and yet if you want to see him in a comedy- based role, then you can do no wrong with this effort. I enjoyed it very much and if you're a fan of his, then so will you. Highly recommended

Very funny and entertaining as this would be 1 of the breakthrough films in Jackie's, Sammo, Yuen Biao's career.This is a film about 2 cops (Jakcie & Yuen Biao) who are out to catch a some crooks in Japan and because of some difficulties along the way Sammo, and the rest of the gang are contacted to assist.Very amusing, nice actresses played by Sibelle Hu (who's retired now), Michiko Nishiwaki.Check out the awesome pranks they play on Sibelle, get the digitally remastered version with interviews with Michiko Nishiwaki, still looks stunning after all these years.

A follow-up to Winners and Sinners,this is,like that film,essentially a comedy starring Samo Hung and some Hong Kong comedians,the Lucky Stars, with what really amounts to little more than an extended cameo from Jackie Chan. He has more scenes in this one,but despite what DVD covers might say he certainly doesn't 'star' in the film.Opening with some great car and fight action involving Chan and his fellow Peking Opera School graduate Yuen Biao,the film than becomes,for almost the next hour,a series of comedy set pieces involving the Lucky Stars. As well as slowing the film to a halt the problem is that very little of the humour seems funny to these western eyes and may only be understood by Hong Kong audiences {as in a lengthy sequence on a bus involving jokes about Chinese dialects and the like}. Much of it is taken up with the men all trying to find ways to get close to female star Sibelle Hu, in what looks alarmingly like sexual harassment. Only Eric Tsang's childlike behaviour and Righard Ng's double takes,plus a gag about a walnut,seem to work.After what seems like an eternity of this stuff the last 20 mins is all fantastic action,with a very imaginative fairground set piece which may have influenced Beverley Hills Cop 3,ninjas,and some terrific fighting involving Chan,Hing,Biao and some other Hong Kong action folk. Maybe it's a case of too little too late. As with some other Hong Kong films the action seems to cancel out the comedy and vice versa. It's OK,but Winners and Sinners before it and Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stare are better.