As the Fatty stereotype, Sammo Hung delivers his perfect imitation of 'little dragon' Bruce Lee's fighting stances, weaponry techniques and even his war cries. Glamour is provided by gangster's moll Lai (Carrie Ng) and the Singaporean girls that Fatty and Baldy meet during their off-duty, compulsory vacation trip, where our heroes consider quitting the force to open a karaoke bar. And there's always a car chase, or an impressive showdown waiting just around the corner if you grow tired of the frequently silly comedy work. One aspect that marks this film (and for that matter, many of Sammo Hung's vehicles) out from the standard Hollywood action comedy is the physical abuse suffered by its female characters. Best known for her femme fatale roles, Carrie Ng is very much a victim in this film, as crooks and the cops beat up her character repeatedly, and the sexual assault inflicted on her by the heroes is played strictly for laughs. But whether this could or should be viewed as evidence of a misogynistic tendency, on the part of widely respected Hong Kong kung fu hero Sammo Hung, remains open to question.

What stops Skinny Tiger & Fatty Dragon from getting a higher rating are the detours it takes during the running time. There are several instances of pro-China sentiment that come off as heavy-handed and uneffective. Sammo's dad being a virtual fortune cookie of Chinese rhetoric, the usual nasty gweilos turned up a notch, and one sequence where a foreign car is demolished seem to go a bit over the top. It's okay to be proud of one's heritage, but you don't need to beat it over the head of your viewers -- Bruce Lee's "no dogs or Chinese allowed" bit from Fist of Fury seems subtle versus some of the stuff in this movie.

More disarmingly, there is a sense of misonogny which seems out of place in this supposedly family-friendly film. There are a few scenes, such as one where Maka "beats some sense" into Carrie Ng, and a later very violent assassination attempt against her (as well as some gratutious nudity), which feel very out of place with the rest of the movie and come off as a bit unsettling.

All in all, though, this is a pretty fun movie that should please fans of Sammo Hung, and action films in general -- it's worth a look. And in case you're too dense to notice (like the guy at the video store where I rented this), this movie has no relation whatsoever to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, other than the fact that there's kung fu in both films.

Sammo once again produces some superb and brutal fight action under the direction of Shaw Brothers veteran Lau Kar Wing, who also plays the gang boss.

When in action Sammo copies the mannerisms and fighting style of Bruce Lee perfectly, like he did in his earlier film Enter the Fat Dragon.

The film is by no means perfect, the script is a shambles and the middle of the movie, where the pair go off to Singapore to open a Karaoke bar, slows the film down terribly and seems like it is from another movie altogether.

But when the action starts it is superb with the pair taking on a warehouse full of thugs and Sammo wealds a pair of nunchuku with superb accuracy.

Forget all the other Bruce Lee imitators, Sammo does it with respect and a wicked sense of humour.