Nifty role reversal is the key to this buddy comedy starring Francis Ng and Nick Cheung. The two play against type — Cheung is a hard-boiled undercover cop and Ng wears bow ties and stutters as a nerdy coroner. They become partners when Cheung is framed for the death of his partner and Ng becomes the only means of clearing his name. This gives us plenty of time for shtick-filled male bonding, which actually is good because the action is directed horribly. I’ve gone on record saying that James Yuen needs good producers to give us decent material, and that’s certainly the case here. Surprisingly his producer is Joe Ma, who should know better.

While Francis Ng can sometimes save a movie, he hasn’t proven to be a definite guarantee of quality, and as usual he’s better than the material. He handles his bookish character much better than Cheung does as the righteous cop. Helping matters is Ti Lung, who does a fine job as the duplicitous police captain, and Stephanie Che provides welcome support as Cheung’s love interest. However, the film is ultimately undone by poor direction and a recycled script that needed a definite polish. (Kozo 2000)

image courtesy of Mei Ah Laser Disc Co., Ltd.