Sylvia Chang interrogates Karl Maka in Aces Go Places 3

Third in the series goes international as the producers bring in a couple of known faces to further the laughs. While vacationing in Paris, King Kong (Sam Hui) gets attacked by Odd Job (Harold Sakata), as well as Jaws (Richard Kiel) from the James Bond films. After the necessary fight, King Kong is enlisted by a faux Bond (Neil Connery, making money off of a relative) and a Queen Elizabeth look-alike to steal the crown jewels from the HK police. 

However, this means working against best buddy Kodojak/Baldy/Albert (Karl Maka), who’s busy trying out parenthood with Inspector “Hot Tongue” Ho (Sylvia Chang). Their new spear-bald child Junior is the rugrat in question. Never mind that Kodojak comes home to find the kid alone (that’s good parenting for you), it’s the possibility of Kodojak straying that makes Hot Tongue angry. This family dysfunction is put aside when King Kong begins his heists. Then, they learn that Bond is in fact a scam artist out to steal the jewels and sell them to an Arab collector. Aided by an American agent (Peter Graves of Mission: Impossible fame), the three band together to stop Bond from stealing the jewels. Whew! 

All convoluted wackiness aside, this film is breezy fun thanks to the continued chemistry of stars Hui, Maka, and Chang. Still, the shtick has gotten somewhat old. How King Kong can continue to break the law and be seen as a friend of the police is beyond me, but this is a series so mired in its own slapdash, anything-goes rules that it’s ok. If you loved the first two, you’ll like this one. If you hated them, then you’ll hate this one. The Aces Go Places movies were definitely a product of their times - if you can dig that then these movies will probably tickle you. Or not. (Kozo 1998)

Maybe something got lost in the translation. At least, that's what I kept telling myself as I sat through Anchor Bay's English dub-only DVD edition of Aces Go Places 3 (here re-christened Mad Mission Part 3). This Tsui Hark-directed spy spoof is certainly an ambitious endeavor, but in the end the film is sabotaged by its own scattershot storyline.

From the early going, the film makes it clear that it's going to be an extensive parody of the popular James Bond series: 007 baddie Richard Kiel (sans the metallic dental work) makes an appearance, as does an Oddjob look-alike with a Dr. No metal hand. There's even Mr. Bond himself in the form of a Sean Connery impersonator (one in dire need of a quality hairpiece, I might add). But the filmmakers' excesses extend beyond the 007 oeuvre, as they up the spy spoof ante by having American actor Peter Graves show up from time to time for no other discernable reason than to remind viewers of Mission: Impossible.

In what passes for a plot, supposed super spy J.B. (See! It's James Bond! Get it? Ugh.) tricks master thief King Kong (Sam Hui) into stealing the crown jewels from the HK cops. Or something. Much like special guest star Peter Graves, I pretty well sleepwalked through this movie. The only difference is that at least Graves got a paycheck when it was all over. And in a movie that begins as a promising spy caper only to unravel into a harebrained farce featuring bikers in Santa Claus suits (!) and an out-of-left-field parody of the Road Warrior, one sincerely hopes Mr. Graves was paid well.

Ultimately, with all its 007 wackiness, Aces Go Places 3 is a must-see for James Bond fanatics, drunks, or better still, drunken Bond fanatics. And though I want to place the blame solely on the English dubbing and the presumably poor American re-cut (it's said that Peter Graves gets more screen time in this version), I doubt the Hong Kong edition is anything close to a masterpiece. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Aces Go Places 3 is that HK auteur Tsui Hark was the film's director. To be honest, if I didn't have the foreknowledge that Tsui Hark would eventually produce such high quality films in the years to follow, I would strongly suggest his license to thrill be immediately revoked. (Calvin McMillin 2002)

image courtesy of Universe Laser and Video Co., Ltd.