| This film is a perfect companion piece to "Odd Couple", which was made the following year by the same people, and also stars all the same people. Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Wing are again reluctantly teamed up despite their differences, this time to locate the "Invincible Armour"--a priceless heirloom, a chainmail vest that makes the wearer impervious to attack. Unlike "Odd Couple" this film doesn't have a very interesting plot, and instead makes do simply on the (respectively) dirty and crazy antics of its two antagonistic protagonists.
The story begins with a heroically unattractive old woman hiring a man, "Tiger" (Lau Kar Wing), to locate and bring back her husband, "Frog" (Sammo Hung), who has run away from her to gamble, drink, and generally get into trouble. Frog, it seems, has left his wife and taken her "Invincible Armour" (literally, "metal cloth shirt") with him. After a brief run-in with a couple crafty pickpockets, Frog is quickly relieved of his Invincible Armour--along with most of his dignity. It is at this time that Tiger finds him and hauls him back home to his wife. Frog's wife, not surprisingly, is aghast when she learns that her bumbling husband has lost the priceless "Invincible Armour". Frog and Tiger then set out together to locate it--for the purpose of selling it themselves.
The film follows the journey of these two troublemakers across the land as they do battle with assorted nefarious folks, all of whom are anxious to get the Invincible Armour themselves. The bulk of the film centers on Tiger taking advantage of and making a fool out of Frog during their escapades. Though this gets tiresome after the first few gags--and we really begin to resent Tiger--it makes for some incredible martial arts exchanges between the two. Sammo, despite his bulk, is more than able to hold his own against all opponents, and his physical action is a joy to watch.
As in "Odd Couple", Dean Shek Tin serves up a truly bizarre character that is so ridiculous and strange it grates. His "Mr. Rocking" character in "Odd Couple" was pathetic, whiny, and almost offensive in its relentless slitheriness. Here he plays "One-Eyed Panther", a one-eyed villain who is again so slithery and bizarre it's hard to take him at all seriously--and also hard to watch after awhile. Luckily, he doesn't regurgitate raw eggs on camera this time, as he so nauseatingly did in "Odd Couple".
Though the final battle with the White-Haired Monk was a bit of a letdown for us, there is luckily another playful battle between Tiger and Frog tacked on afterwards that is incredible. If you're going into this film looking for plenty of great fight scenes, you're in for a treat. We strongly recommend picking both up "Odd Couple" and "Dirty Tiger, Crazy Frog", and having yourself a kick-ass double-feature. |