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Forbidden City Cop

Original title: Daai laap mat taam Ling Ling Fat
  • 1996
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
5K
YOUR RATING
Forbidden City Cop (1996)
Dark FantasyFarceParodyPeriod DramaWuxiaActionComedyFantasyRomanceThriller

An imperial agent gets ridiculed for his various inventions, until his supportive wife encourages him to attend a conference, which's actually a trap to kill all the doctors serving the empe... Read allAn imperial agent gets ridiculed for his various inventions, until his supportive wife encourages him to attend a conference, which's actually a trap to kill all the doctors serving the emperor, where his crazy inventions come in handy.An imperial agent gets ridiculed for his various inventions, until his supportive wife encourages him to attend a conference, which's actually a trap to kill all the doctors serving the emperor, where his crazy inventions come in handy.

  • Directors
    • Stephen Chow
    • Vincent Kok
  • Writers
    • Stephen Chow
    • Vincent Kok
    • Man-Sang Lo
  • Stars
    • Stephen Chow
    • Carina Lau
    • Carman Lee
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    5K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Stephen Chow
      • Vincent Kok
    • Writers
      • Stephen Chow
      • Vincent Kok
      • Man-Sang Lo
    • Stars
      • Stephen Chow
      • Carina Lau
      • Carman Lee
    • 17User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos30

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    Top cast29

    Edit
    Stephen Chow
    Stephen Chow
    • Ling Ling Fat
    • (as Chiau Sing Chi)
    Carina Lau
    Carina Lau
    • Kar-Ling
    • (as Lau Ka Ling)
    Carman Lee
    Carman Lee
    • Gum Tso
    • (as Carmen Li)
    Tat-Ming Cheung
    Tat-Ming Cheung
    • Emperor
    • (as Cheung Tat Ming)
    Kar-Ying Law
    Kar-Ying Law
    • Fat-Yan
    • (as Law Ka Ying)
    Tats Lau
    Tats Lau
    • The Ghost
    • (as Lau Yee Tat)
    Cheung-Yan Yuen
    Cheung-Yan Yuen
    • No Face's Wife
    • (as Yuen Cheong Yan)
    Shun-Yee Yuen
    • Two Face
    • (as Yuen Shun Yee)
    Lik-Chi Lee
    Lik-Chi Lee
    • Emperor's Advisor
    Stephen Au
    • Master of Ceremonies for Anatomy
    King-Man Chik
    • Sex-starved Patient
    Mimi Chu
    Mimi Chu
    • Fat's Mother-in-law
    Vincent Kok
    Vincent Kok
    • Doctor
    Elvina Kong
    Elvina Kong
    • Dizzy Patient
    Kin-Yan Lee
    • Emperor's Mistress
    Indra Leech
    • Doctor
    Gary Wing-Lun Mak
    Gary Wing-Lun Mak
    • Ling Ling Fat's Relative
    Jackson Ng
    Jackson Ng
    • Ling Ling He
    • (as Yuk-Su Ng)
    • Directors
      • Stephen Chow
      • Vincent Kok
    • Writers
      • Stephen Chow
      • Vincent Kok
      • Man-Sang Lo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews17

    6.95K
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    Featured reviews

    7ChungMo

    Over the top comedy of exaggeration

    Many of the same sort of visual gags found in Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle get their first sparks here. The comedy is very broad, as usual for an HK production, and the production is uneven at times. The kung-fu is more crazy-fu and shot in dizzying super wide angle close- ups. In contrast the non-fighting portions are photographed nicely.

    Chow is a good comic actor following in the footsteps of notable actors like Fu Sheng, Jacky Chan and others. The relationship between Chow's character and the wife is very well done for this type of film. There are lots of anachronistic media references and sometimes the film seems more like a TV show. Much of the action seems to be influenced by Ng See Yuen's Shaolin Drunkard films of the 1980's, not that that's bad at all.

    Not as polished as Chow's later films but good fun.
    core-3

    Screamingly funny, even in English

    Saw this on a flight from Tokyo to HK - had no idea what it was about (still don't, really) but it had my wife and I ROTFL. There's bits about the alien autopsy, Academy Award speeches and cooking shows, I think.

    Doesn't make any sense, has cheesy effects and this isn't really acting, just mugging for the camera and winking at the audience, but everyone's very charming and once you stop worrying about the story (there might have been one, somewhere), you won't stop laughing.
    Digitise

    Positive feedback? Hell yeah!

    Forbidden City Cop was a movie that suprised the hell out of me. When i first saw a copy of the thing, i twisted my face up in confusion, not knowing what the hell i was in for. Lucky, i picked up a copy and about an hour and a half after chucking it into my vcr, i was still laughing my ass off.

    This film is the perfect mix of comedy, corruption, and sheer lunacy. The fight scene with the magnets had me in tears, and the amount of golden one-liners in the film was hilarious.

    In the immoral words of the Faceless Ninja: "BLAND AND FACELESS, MY SKILLS ARE UNFATHOMABLE!"
    7butcheredman

    It's really oldie funny movie

    I really like this movie, indeed. Love the way Stephen Chow shows on screen.
    Chrysanthepop

    A sweet off beat comedy with kong fu, aliens, acting awards, gadgets and gizmos, concubines, transsexuals, prostitutes and the bizarre

    What makes 'Daai laap mat taam 008' different from other Kong Fu comedies is that it's slightly more offbeat and has less kong fu. But hang on, it's funny as hell and endearing. I love the character Ling Ling Fat (Stephen Chow) and his wife Kar Ling (Karina Lau). Chow as Fat is a royal servant, an inventor, a medicine man, a devoted husband and a cop is amazing. He shows another side of his comedic talent that is very different from what he did in 'Shaolin Soccer' and 'Kung Fu'. Carina Lau displays her versatility by playing a comic role as the devoted and loving wife Kar. The relationship of the two characters is very well portrayed and is one of the highlights of the film. There are also many funny characters as I mentioned in the summary that just make the movie experience more fun. The over the top fight scenes are both comical and well shot, fitting well with the context. Yes, a lot of the scenes are done in a cheesy way, a lot of them are far fetched too but then again, it just adds to the humour. There are several laugh out loud moments and very funny twists. I am pretty sure that one will be unstoppably laughing throughout the film. I find 'Daai laap mat taam 008' to be a very refreshing comedy but it's probably the kind one would either hate or like very much.

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    Related interests

    Doug Jones and Ivana Baquero in Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
    Dark Fantasy
    Leslie Nielsen, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, and Lorna Patterson in Airplane! (1980)
    Farce
    Bill Pullman, John Candy, Joan Rivers, Daphne Zuniga, and Lorene Yarnell Jansson in Spaceballs (1987)
    Parody
    Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, and Eliza Scanlen in Little Women (2019)
    Period Drama
    Maggie Cheung in Hero (2002)
    Wuxia
    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Elijah Wood in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
    Fantasy
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Connections
      Referenced in Shaolin Soccer (2001)

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    FAQ16

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 16, 1996 (Hong Kong)
    • Country of origin
      • Hong Kong
    • Languages
      • Cantonese
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Đại Nội Mật Thám
    • Production companies
      • Win's Entertainment Ltd.
      • Samico Films Production Company Ltd.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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