I decided to give Shen Qiang Shou yu Ga Li Ji (a.k.a. Pom Pom and Hot Hot) a shot after reading a review referring to it as a prime example of "gun-fu". I expected a John Woo style actioner, but what I got was an amalgamation of a film. Yes, there is stylized violence with some amazing gunplay gags. I was pressing rewind saying things like "Get the Hell out of here!" or "That is not possible!" What made this an even crazier film was the unique comedic
presence. This film is not like the Naked Gun series with all of the slapstick comedy and police-action aspects playing themselves out at the same time. The action and comedic elements run side by side with one another. It's almost like watching two different movies at the same time. One scene may have the characters laughing it up with one another and the next scene may have them in a serious gun battle with people dying. Furthermore, the brand of comedy is of the Hong Kong brand: physical comedy and sex jokes. The Western viewer may find this Asian style of inducing laughter as irritating and annoying, so beware. The plot deals with the usual cops vs. gunrunners battle. Jacky Cheung and Tung Wei play the goofball duo out to catch the bad guys. Lam Ching Ying sheds the Taoist-hopping-vampire-fighting-priest role to play the duo's serious superior. Instead of using amazing Taoist tricks with red ink, yellow paper and sticky rice, Lam uses shotguns, magnums, and bullet magazines to spectacular cinematic effect. The ending of Pom Pom and Hot Hot ranks in the upper echelon of gun violence. It is definitely up there with the conclusions of A Better Tomorrow II, Hard Boiled, and The Killer. Love it or hate it, it could have only come from Hong Kong.
