Odd Couple (1979)

Too much of everything

Fresh and Exciting

Fantastic!

Did you people see the same film I saw?

ODD COUPLE isn't a bad knockabout comedy but I was expecting more from the team. This is slightly lacking in the action stakes when compared to something like MAGNIFICENT BUTCHER or KNOCKABOUT, both of which had far better fight choreography and more fluid and exciting action scenes. In many moments of ODD COUPLE, Sammo will kick an opponent only for his foot to go nowhere near the guy. This happens multiple times and became something of a distraction for me.Otherwise this is a straightforward Hong Kong comedy with lots of action scenes to keep it moving along nicely. Sammo Hung teams up with co-star and director Lau Kar-Wing to play a couple of martial arts masters who seem to spend most of their lives sparring. To confuse matters further, both actors also play their young apprentices, so double dual roles for the pair. I wasn't really fond of this plot development which seemed pretty silly. The supporting cast is rounded out by Mars playing a character called Potato who is one of the goofiest you'll ever see, smaller parts for Lam Ching-ying and Lee Hoi San, and the great Beardy as a stock villain.The action scenes are acceptable but where this film falls down is the comedy. I usually don't mind Chinese humour but it goes way over the top here and quickly becomes grating. It doesn't help that the dumb American dubbing really saps the film of vitality and the exaggerated voices sound like they're from some idiotic cartoon. I can't believe that they made Spice Girls jokes during this dub, it really is the worst ever and unfortunately affected my enjoyment of the movie.

The title sequence of ODD COUPLE features Sammo Hung on spear and Liu Chia-Yung on sword, and it's a tightly choreographed ballet, to be sure: both men are amazing to watch. When Sammo delivers a sign reading KING OF THE SWORDSMEN to blacksmith "Dog Face," it triggers a reaction from a pair of swordmasters who have just arrived looking to take on the finest swordsman in town. Sammo and Dog Face pit them against one another before Sammo reveals himself and sends them both packing. Liu, using his Poverty Spear, literally gives a wannabe assassin a close shave before his annual showdown with Sammo. Sammo, using his sword, relieves Liu of his eyebrows; Liu cuts off Sammo's beard- a draw. They each go in search of a student to train for the next ten years (at the end of which, the students will be pitted against one another to see whose kung fu is best). Here things get interesting, because Sammo and Liu both play the younger disciples of the two older masters. Sammo saves Liu from a trio of would-be protection men, then proceeds to convince him to be his student by burning down the younger man's house. Meanwhile, Liu recruits Ah-Yao, a ferryman (played by Sammo), after convincing Sammo to sink his own boat. The stage is thus set for a number of great fight scenes between the two stars. When the elder masters both die at the hands of Hsiao Pa-Ten, the inevitable showdown is set in motion.

The combo of a youthful Sammo Hung and the legendary Liu Chia Liang's brother Liu Chia Yung is a perfect match here. While not as elaborate as the Liang's classic "Legendary Weapons of Kung Fu" the fights between Sammo Hung and director Yung are absolutely incredible.The plot is simply this: Two old kung fu masters, the King of Swords and the King of Spears can't defeat each other after 15 years of annual fights to the death. They are also known as the Naughty Old Man and the Dirty Old Man. They decide to see who can train the best student and make them fight each other in ten years. Cut to ten years later, the students are sent out to find the other and fight but suddenly an old enemy of the two old masters reappears and captures the students. The old men must now rescue their students.There's a lot of Chinese humor, some visual and some spoken which doesn't translate well. Many of the secondary characters are classic Chinese comedy characters and the humor is broad and exaggerated. There's a guy named "Potato" who's got buck teeth and the strangest hairdo or hairy moles on his head. Sammo and Yung are in great acting form here and both seem to be really enjoying their dual roles. They play the old men and the two students! Breezy and fun, the film should be very enjoyable for kung fu movie fans. Unusual for this type of movie the film doesn't immediately end after the bad guy is dealt with, it keeps going. Sammo and Yung have lots more energy to show.A film that is here for unabashed kung fu talents to show themselves. Very well done and recommend for those who enjoy watching real physical talent on screen. And there's actually a moral to the story!

I have to say that I have seen an awful lot of Sammo Hung movies and not only is this one of his best films, but it is probably the finest weapons movie in the history of kung fu movies, and there have been a lot. This film is not like many other kung fu films in the way that the fights start small and then get bigger and better as the film progresses. The fights in this film practically start from the word go, with the standard remaining high throughout the rest of the film. The first (and in my opinion the best) big fight in the movie starts about fifteen minutes into the film where the old Sammo and the old Lau do battle with their weapons. The fight is so well choreographed that you wish that it would never end. After this fight the fight scenes become shorter until Leung Kar Yan comes into the picture, then the fights turn violent. Leung is such a menacing villain that you really are rooting for the good guys to win. Once the young fighters have killed the villain its time for them to fulfil their masters wishes and fight each other until one of them wins. this culminates in a duel that is similar to the fight earlier in the film and is outstanding in its execution. This film is so great that no kung fu fan should be without it. Even if you hate weapons films this film may well change your mind, and if it doesn't there are a few open hand fights which are equally as fantastic. An absolute masterpiece, I can't recommend it enough!