After appearing in cameos in the first two
Aces Go Places movies, it was only a matter of time before cult filmmaker
Tsui Hark took a turn in the director's chair himself, and the result is a spectacularly silly send-up of the spy genre and one of the series' best installments. King Kong (Sam Hui) is kidnapped in Paris by a British agent called James (Jean Marchent) who wants to recover one of the stolen crown jewels, the Star of Fortune. For some reason, the jewel is hidden at the headquarters of the Hong Kong police, meaning that King Kong will have to steal the jewel without the knowledge of his best friend, bald detective Albert Au (Karl Maka). Albert and his wife, the fiery Superintendent Ho (Sylvia Chang), have a new baby in their house, but their tempestuous relationship produces as many fireworks as ever, with Albert ready to walk out and King Kong using the situation to his advantage by setting Albert up on a date so he can pull off the heist. Eventually, of course, King Kong realizes what the duplicitous James is up to and joins his friend in bringing the bad guys to justice.
Peter Graves and
Richard Kiel show up to add to the fun, and there are numerous jabs at various genre clichés to go alongside the series' usual blend of action, slapstick, and interpersonal conflict. Purists should note that the dubbed English version on Thorn-EMI is missing approximately 12 minutes and loses a great deal in the translation. The next installment, 1986's Aces Go Places IV, would be helmed by
Ringo Lam. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide