Winners and Sinners (1983)
(aka 5 Lucky Stars)

Synopsis: The first of a (frankly, too long) series of ‘Lucky Stars’ movies, with the emphasis on comedy rather than stunts or martial artistry.  This one involves counterfeiters, whom the gang have to bring to justice.  Mixed in with all this slapstick is a scene or two of Jackie Chan – usually on roller-boots. 

Cal's Review:  Firstly a note on the ‘Lucky Stars’ series.  This was a comedy vehicle for a group of Hong Kong comedians, TV presenters and faded heart-throbs in answer to Cinema City’s popular ‘Aces go Places’ franchise.  It always had Eric Tsang and Richard Ng in them, and other Lucky Stars included Fung Shui-Fan, Charlie Chin and John Shum, while the inexplicably popular Ng Ma seemed to pop up regularly.  The group was headed by Sammo Hung as a sort of street urchin-cum-petty criminal.  The Lucky Stars are seen as having a brotherly bond (probably as an allegory for Hung’s real life childhood as one of the seven lucky fortunes, if anyone cares to note) and to give the movie more box-office clout Jackie Chan was asked to appear.  Other than a few decent comedy routines and a bit of better-than-average fight scenes, there’s not a lot to keep you happy if you are only interested in Jackie.  Mind you, Yuen Biao has an impressive cameo, where he has a brief rumble with Chan.  Note the roller-boot scene – evidence of a skill learned during the making of Battlecreek Brawl.

Rating: 5/10


Reader Reviews

Comedyjim's Review: I loved it although first time I was a lil dissapointed becasue the front cover said starring Jackie 'Rush Hour' Chan and Sammo 'Martial Law' Hung. But the comedy was brilliant. Especially the scene where Sammo and gang convince Richard Ng that he is naked. I especially enjoyed the adventures of Sammo and gang as they try to grope and score with women while helpin JC catch gangster counterfeiters. And the brilliant rollerskating scene (I knew something good came out of Battle Creek Brawl) was enough to satisfy my lust for JC in this flick.
My advice is not to expect this to be a Jackie Chan film and then you will no doubt love as much as I have and will continue to do so, maybe even more.

Score: 10/10

The Hammer's Review: Just seen this movie, and I think it´s very good! Not among the best, but it have some goods scenes and a funny humor.

Score: 8/10

v

Joe's Review: Another Chan movie that wasn't that good, wasn't that bad. There some nice fights, but the comedy is awful.

Score: 5/10

Brendan's Review: The whole comedy emphasis can be a bit much- but this is by far the best of the Lucky Stars series. The comedy is often annoying and very offbeat to say the least. A few cool fights, but I'd be tempted to call this comedy-action rather than action-comedy.

Score: 6/10

Mike's Review: This movie was more of a Sammo Hung movie than a Jackie Chan one. Jackie just did a few scenes, as a cop. His scenes were the best part of the movie though. His roller skating car chase scene was crazy, but fun to watch. His fight with Yuen Biao was short, but sweet. When Sammo helped him to stop a robbery of the fast food joint the action was great, but short again. If you like Sammo, he had a nice fight with the evil gang and some good comedy scenes with the lucky stars, but if you're watching this movie for Jackie alone, you will probably be disappointed. I was, so it was better the second time around, when I knew what to expect.

Score: 6/10

Back Home Up Next