Los buscapleitos

Cousins Thomas and David are the premier skateboarding, food-van operating team in Barcelona. One day, the two visit David's father at the local asylum, where they meet the attractive and charming Sylvia, the daughter of David's father's girlfriend. David is smitten, but doesn't act upon his desires. Later, they run into Sylvia again, inviting her back to their apartment. She stays the night, robs them, and disappears the next morning onto the streets of Spain. Moby is a bumbling private detective searching in vain for the heiress of a vast fortune. The lives of the four intertwine in ways both unexpected and entertaining in this vastly enjoyable cinematic extravaganza, 'Wheels on Meals.'

Also known as 'Spartan X,' the film is a brilliant roller-coaster-ride of amusement on every level. Edward Tang and Johnny Lee's story and screenplay is filled to the brim with action, witty banter and clever set-pieces. The film rockets along at a brisk pace towards an explosive finale that is as ridiculous as it is technically impressive. It's the kind of film that will leave you shaking your head in amazement at the abilities and energy of the performers- not to mention the fact that no-one died while making it.

Directed by Sammo Hung- who plays Moby- the film is guaranteed to please any fan of Hong Kong cinema. The cinematography is crisp and inventive, while Peter Cheung's remarkably astute editing keeps the somewhat frantic proceedings both cohesive and compelling. Chris Babida and Siu-Lam Tang's musical score is catchy and atmospheric, making especially good use of songs by Toshiyuki Kimori, working under the name Kirth Morrison. Kimori's main theme (used for years without Larry Johnston's lyrics by the wrestling legend Mitsuharu Misawa) is one of the snappiest and most memorable of any martial arts film to date.

The choreography of the stunts and fight scenes in 'Wheels on Meals' is consummate work that is incredible to behold. Graceful but deadly, the fight sequences are some of the best ever seen in a film. It is, after all, the work of the master of action-comedy, Jackie Chan (along with his trusty JC Stunt Team), so one shouldn't be too surprised. There are few whose on screen presence is as charming, as magnetic and as likable as Jackie's, and he proves that notion once again here. Starring as Thomas, he, Sammo and Yuen Biao- playing David- share a great chemistry, giving strong performances both in terms of acting and martial arts.

Lola Forner co-stars as the mysterious Sylvia, and brings much energy and life to the character which- to be frank- is a little underwritten. She performs admirably though, leaving an indelible impression on the viewer with her wit, poise and beauty. Fans of the 'Three Brothers'- as the trio of Jackie, Sammo and Yuen are known- will delight in the small but memorable cameos from Richard Ng and John Shum, and the great Benny Urquidez makes an unforgettable appearance opposite Jackie that is breath-taking and- quite rightly- considered one of the best fight sequences of all time.

'Wheels on Meals' is a funny, frenetic and fantastic action-comedy that will keep you glued to the screen for the whole of its' runtime. The story may be simple, but it's filled with easy humor and impressive displays of martial arts prowess. The cast all give good performances too, and most audiences should find the film an unmitigated pleasure. 'Wheels on Meals' is- to make a long story short- a martial arts masterpiece that mustn't be missed.

I like this, more so than any other Chan+Sammo collaboration. Most of it is a bit weird, but the sense of humor, essential to all martial arts movies, is right there with the skills of Sammo and Jackie. Sweet and sour plum!

Cousins Thomas and David run a mobile restaurant in Barcelona, where David's father is currently recovering in a mental institution. With an uncanny ability to get into trouble, they manage to fall in with the mysterious Sylvia who looks like a princess, steals anything she can get and may be a prostitute. Despite this, David is besotted and tries to help it when it is clear someone is out to get her. In fact more than one group is looking for her and another party has employed local bumbling detective Moby to track her down. With none of them sure why she is being targeted, but each with their own agenda, David, Moby and Thomas all try to keep her safe and uncover the truth.

A key thing to know going into this film is that the plotting was not anywhere near the top of the priority list and that it does show in the final product. The story is a really convoluted mess that has characters and scenarios that seem to exist only to allow the overall flow to continue (specifically the entire mental institute thing) and that, even with this, it has plenty of logic jumps to keep things going. This isn't a massive problem though because generally the film is a comic genre film and it is possible to accept this as coming with the territory. So it goes forward with this constantly played-up comedy air that is always silly but mostly quite amusing - I never really roared with laughter but I had frequent chuckles to myself.

A big part of this is down to the acting rather than the material and, although very much of the genre, it does work. All three of the leads do well with the comedy, all overacting and exaggerating facial expressions to emphasis things - hence it being a bit silly a lot as well. Sammo does this the most but at the same time does get the most laughs. Chan is good but doesn't have as much pure comedy in his character, while Biao has more of the romantic sap to carry but works. Where they naturally excel is in their physical action work. Sammo has the lesser part of this and his main efforts are in his (admittedly impressive) reactions to the many kicks and punches he takes. Chan gets a great scene with Benny Urquidez to show his skills and Biao is amazingly agile. The one problem with the martial arts action is that there is not quite enough of it. The end of the film is the "big" scene but up till then it is not quite what you would be used to from the genre - where amazing fight scenes are scattered throughout as well as a big finish. So at times I was coasting on the odd chuckle but the final scenes are tough and impressive - particularly Chan, doing his usual stuff but instead of making it a bit comical he makes it a lot more brutal than I have seen him do.

The support cast all overact accordingly and mostly fulfil their roles without their average acting skills mattering (eg a goon is a goon and the main fighters are very good fighters etc). Forner is not too bad as Sylvia, although her role as "woman of intense beauty" isn't helped by the impact of dating on her looks and outfits. The one supporting performance of real note is from Ng (I think - he was the mental patient who was "mentally ill - not stupid", he has two main scenes both of which are funny due to his material and his performance.

The end result of all this is not a brilliant film but still a silly and enjoyable one that never quite has enough of any one thing but still works overall with consistent chuckles and, when it comes, engaging and impressive fight sequences.

If Sammo could ever do anything right, he could choreograph. He's a master of martial arts choreography and many of Jackie's and Biao's best films come with Sammo doing the choreography. This movie is a prime example of this.

The film deals with two Chinese men in Spain who run a food truck. They meet a pick-pocket who turns out to be heir (along w/ her institutionalized mother) to a large fortune, which is coveted by some nasy goons. Sammo plays a detective that's on the case. All this builds up to an excellent climax at a Spanish castle.

One thing that I did like a lot about the movie was the script. The rapport between Yuen Biao and Jackie Chan was excellent, and they get a lot of witty comments, comebacks, and responses to supposedly stupid questions. You have to see the subtitled version to understand.

Like I was saying, the choreography in the film is great. Unfortunately, there are only about 4 fight scenes or so before the climax that are all really short. It really left me craving a lot more. The finale is a true piece of work. Jackie takes kickboxing champ Benny "The Jet" Urquidez in one of the best one-on-one's ever filmed. Yuen Biao takes on Keith Vitale, another karate champ. Sammo takes on the lead villain in a Chinese variation of European fencing.

The action isn't wall-to-wall but what's there is excellent. The relationship between Yuen and Chan is also great. It's a Jackie Chan film worth seeing.

This movie does drag a bit at certain points. Personally multiple times I just wanted it to just fast-forward to the next Jackie Chan action sequences. This one really does bring out Jackie's acrobatic skills. At some parts it's like watching the Chinese Three Stooges, and the trademark Jackie Chan humor works. This one is more story focused, not a great story but a watchable one. But sometimes just didn't seem to have enough action. The main highlight fight is the one with Jackie Chan vs. Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. It's one of Jackie's highlight fights in movie history for a reason. Sammo Hung is amusing as this kid detective guy, that is amateurish but persistent. His fight sequence with the fencing expert was a entertaining watch as well. The trio does a good job of bringing in that humor and tenacity on screen. When it comes to the plot it seemed like a live action Chinese version of "The Castle of Cagliostro". Except with kung-fu and stuff. Overall it's cool to see Jackie during his prime. Despite few dragged out parts and parts that are a bit rushed. This is still a fun movie with flashy but entertaining fight choreography.

7.3/10