Y'ur Height Only

This movie cracked me up the whole time, I couldn't stop laughing or commenting,that Weng Weng is a dwarf had nothing to do with it. (ok, there were a couple of times) If you want to watch a movie that is a really terrible production but fun to watch, this is the one for you. Weng Weng truly is a gifted martial artist and fun to watch do stunts, one in particular made me gasp for his safety. If you go in not expecting a lot from this movie I think you will greatly enjoy it, especially if you watch it with some friends.

At the height of his popularity, Weng Weng was invited by then First Lady, Imelda Marcos to the palace in honor for his contributions to Philippine cinema. He was also named an honorary Philippine Secret Agent and was presented a custom-made .25 caliber pistol by then Vice Chief of Staff General Fidel Ramos.

"For Y'ur Height Only" rivals "Withnail and I" for great dialogue. How often have I howled at lines like "There's a lot of dough in this dough, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker" - if only we knew what the hell that's supposed to mean. Maybe it's better not to know - as Mr Kaiser warns, "Don't be a nosy parker, Paco: with that curiosity of yours, you're liable to wake up one day and find yourself dead."

If you ever want a shining example of a plot device, then check out the scene where our hero's taxi runs out of petrol. There's plenty of other shortcomings, but you'll never see or hear anything else quite like it. All praise to the visionary who introduced me to this gem. Go seek it out.

Plot goes like this: Agent 00 (Weng Weng, under 3-foot tall Filipino superspy) has to track down the boss of a seemingly endless crime syndicate (admittedly played by a handful of non-actors) for kidnapping a doctor and his deadly weapon. Literally, that's it. There's some hand-to-hand combat, with Weng taking on thugs who tower over him, which actually gets pretty entertaining, what little there is of it. These scenes always incorporate his signature move: A swift kick or chop to the crotch. But the vast bulk of the fight scenes, and this movie is primarily made up of them, are ENDLESS GUN BATTLES. No, not even "battles," various stooges line up, or come barreling in, WAITING to be shot. Let me tell you, that got real dull in a hurry, and the movie's almost 90 minutes long.

Weng Weng's partner Irma, who he rescues from being shot in an incredibly bad edit (also resulting in a gun fight), appears to be the only competent person on set who can believably appear to be able to kick someone's ass. Which is ironic in a movie including a veritable army of bad guys. One sequence has Weng attacked by guys with swords. None look competent of holding one, never mind wielding it. So... More Irma?

Other foxy ladies appear. Weng charms, kind of. He's supposed to be this suave ladies man. There's one scene where a woman seduces HIM, tells HIM to take his clothes off, we witness his giant nipples, and... End scene. Maybe I missed some more subtle flirting, frankly, I was falling asleep. He gets it on with NO ONE, at least not on screen.

All the stuff I actually enjoyed in this film are overshadowed by an overabundance of gunplay. Such as, there's no stand-in for Weng Weng. So, "Stunts by Weng." The rocket pack is pretty amusing, where he is obviously being held by a wire (fact that the wire is clearly visible doesn't help). He climbs, kicks ass, and can jump like a cat, clearly the star of the show (well, occasionally upstaged by his partner). Ultimately, the film has it charms, but is totally bogged down in filler, and lack of a real story.

Like the reviewers before me, I have to say the dialogue in this movie makes it worth the watch. What no one else mentioned though, was that the voice actors used Edward G Robinson & James Cagney voices for all the villain characters. I don't know about you, but I doubt gangsters in the Philippines talk like that!

A lot has been said of Weng Weng and his spy "devices", but the thing that cracked me up was the wardrobe of the Crime Syndicate - either Hawaiian shirts or button down shirts open down to the navel. These guys looked like rejects from a cheap disco!

If you love bad movies, run, dont walk, to your video store and get this one!

Meet our hero Agent 00 (Weng Weng). Lover. Fighter. Badass secret agent dude. Fashion plate. He does it all, and then some, and he's only two and a half feet tall. Naturally, he's the best hope for the forces of good when the minions of the nefarious Mr. Giant kidnap scientist Prof. Kohler (Mike Cohen). Kohler has devised an all powerful N bomb that Mr. Giant will use to control the world. As he works his way through a sexy bevy of babes, so too does Agent 00 beat up and mow down one incredibly inept bad guy after another.

Here's one for you to check out if you think you've seen it all. A combination of dwarfsploitation and spy spoof, it gets a fair bit of mileage out of some truly gut busting vocal performances / dubbing and uproarious dialogue. The sight of our diminutive hero soaring through the air and effortlessly clobbering goons is good for much amusement. Unfortunately, for this viewer, the novelty ultimately wore off with a fair bit of movie left to go. The good news is that it's never really boring; it does have energy. And while it tends to be crudely made, that's not a debit for this brand of entertainment. (Obviously, it IS intended to be a comedy.)

Among the highlights: Agent 00 meeting with a boss who's a combination of the "M" and "Q" characters from the James Bond franchise, the sight of him using an umbrella to make an escape (after taking an understandable pause to romance a lady in a bed), and flying towards the bad guys' hidden fortress by using a jet pack.

The Bond style music is catchy, but it's also repetitive. And just like many a Bond film, the ladies are outstanding scenery attractions. The smooth Mr. Weng is quite a hoot to watch.

Seven out of 10.