The first half of the film seems to focus more on plot development and humor as Sammo is a third rate P.I. and Yuen Biao and Jackie Chan are selling burgers, visiting wacky people in the mental institution, and trying to impress a woman with sticky fingers. Some of the humor works well, but other parts kinda' fall flat and seem outdated. Overall, there is enough here to keep you entertained until the second half, where the plot and relationships between characters come full circle, resulting in more action which is what really makes "Wheels On Meals" stand out. After some goofing around, the final fights were very intense and hard-hitting. Well done!

Highly recommended for everyone.

Sammo has made some of the true all-time classic fu flicks, but this reviewer has to break with the mutual admiration society and state plainly that “Wheels On Meals” is not among the classics. Before all the rabid Jackie fans go nuts, this is not to say that “Wheels” is a bad movie. In fact it’s quite watchable and even enjoyable. The story is not bad, the goofball comedy is played to the hilt (as it is meant to be, over the top to the extreme – hell I almost peed my pants seeing Sammo for the first time in his 80’s weave complete with geri curl), and the acting is decent. BUT, as a fu flick (the other half of the formula) it simply fails to deliver for a vast majority of the film. For instance, there are only two brief fight scenes within the first hour of the movie and then we have to wait almost until the last 15 minutes for anything substantial to happen again.

Now, many reviews talk about the "great", "one of the best of all time", "best in all of Jackie’s films"...fight scene between Jackie and Benny ‘The Jet’, and it is good – but again in the opinion of this reviewer over-hyped. First of all, the fights look sped up at several points, and it is pretty clear from their motions that if Benny ever met Jackie in a back alley to have it out, he’d in reality kick Jackie’s ass. Benny ‘the Jet’ was not an undefeated kick-boxing champion by accident; but he’s no actor either – something the ‘three Peking brothers’ are. Yuen Biao’s fight with his baddie in the final fight sequences certainly shows off his quickness and acrobatic prowess but is too short to be terribly impressive. Sammo’s fencing fight in the same section is good but again restrained and short – certainly of the sequences Jackie’s is longest and best. Yet, even as good as this latter fight is, it’s not enough to make this a fu classic.

As an HK comedy from Sammo Hung, this is a solid 4 star movie; as a fu flick this is a 4 star movie for the 8-10 minutes of fight screen time, but only about a 1.5 star movie sustained in its entirety. In the end this reviewer is compelled to give “Wheels” not more than 3 total stars and this is generously erring to the comedy.

Yeah, you're right.... I'm gushing.

Now, whether or not "Inside Kung-Fu" magazine called Benny's final showdown with Jackie in this movie "The greatest onscreen fight ever" is moot, because I don't read Inside Kung-Fu, and neither do the majority of you who're reading this. I know that if you heard that it's because you saw that anthology "The Deadliest Art", and not because you read it in the magazine. But if they did print that, then I would have to back that statement up, because I don't think I've yet witnessed a more perfect one-on-one battle scene. Sammo may make the silliest fuckin' movies in the world, which he does (if you're doubting that, watch the "Lucky Stars" movies, and then watch "Mr. Nice Guy", and then we'll chat), but goddamn if he doesn't direct a good fight scene.

Well, so far, this ain't no kinda movie review; it's just me running off at the mouth about isolated aspects of the movie.

Ok, the movie, as a whole, is patchy (which is typical of a Sammo Hung film). Sammo ain't no Steven Spielberg when it comes to pacing or characters. However, he IS the Spielberg/Cameron of the fight scene. His fight scenes are always kinetic, intuitive, dynamic, ingenious, and so on and so on, and the fight scenes in 'Meals' have all of those qualities, but they're spaced out a bit too far, save for the end. Specifically, I found the fight with the dork bikers waaaay too damn short, although it was spectacular in that slo-mo crane shot, but I ain't tellin' what happens, for those still virgins to this film.

The cornball stuff is cute, but gets a little "too cute" in spots. The female lead here is, as always, a friggin' knockout, as any less just wouldn't do in a HK movie. The story, well, I've forgotten it already. That's how involved I was with it. Like I've said before, if you want a good story, watch Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai", or the original "Jaws". This movie is for fans to get their fight fix, maybe a couple of yukyuks, and that's it.

There's one thing that confuses the crap outta me...

How the hell did Yeun Biao keep his spine from flying out of his body like a cork in that stunt where, well, if you've seen the movie you know what the frak I'm talking about. - Dan-O

UPDATE 6/2006: I would like to change and elaborate what I said before about Wheels On Meals.

Wheels on Meals is definitely one of the best of the 3 collaborations of the 3 brothers of Hong Kong action cinema. The 3 movies being Project A (directed by Jackie Chan), Wheels On Meals, and Dragons Forever (both directed by Sammo Hung), and the 3 brothers being Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung. It is hard to say which one is the best.

In terms of the movie, the comedy is great. Sammo Hung's commic and witty antics show through his acting especially in the movie, as he plays a clever private detective with no experience whatsoever. Jackie and Biao are kind of funny as they try to get with the Spanish girl. All 3 brothers get a chance to shine. Yuen Biao is pretty funny as he tries to please the Spanish girl as much as he can, letting her do whatever she wanted.

In terms of action, Biao and Jackie get the most time, showing their acrobatics and agility. Sammo does an okay job but does not get enough time (although certain places are questionable enough to ask if their is a stunt double for him). For most of the movie, Biao fights alongside Jackie, keeping one another from outshining eachother. But at the end movie, all 3 take on a separate guy. This is where Jackie fights Benny "The Jet" Urqidez, an undefeated American kickboxing champion. I must say, this fight is very intense during the very first minutes of it. But after that, it gets a bit slow and comical, and the intensity dies. Both Jackie and Benny throw all their energy into it and then it just dies. This fight scene is very overrated in my opinion. It does not compare with the with their fight in "Dragons Forever," which is very fast and very intense throughout.

Wheels on Meals is probably the best movie of the 3 in terms of character chemistry and comics. A must see for all Kung Fu fans.

There are a number of sub plots including Biao's father living in a mental hospital and a neighbor with a wife ready to kill him for his philandering ways. As it turns out Biao's father and Lola's mother are a couple, both living at the mental hospital, and Lola's mother just happens to be the woman Samo has been looking for, along with her daughter the only obstacle to the Count's money. The Count confessed to his wife and insists she track down the rightful heirs.

Things heat up when mother and daughter are kidnapped. If they don't claim the money in just days they will lose all claims. Samo, Jackie and Biao make up a team to rescue mother and daughter. The amazing acrobatics are pure Jackie! Trying to gain access to the mansion/castle is great fun to watch as each advances in their own style. Just as dinner is served the three rescuers move into action. And what action it is!!! Before long Jackie is fighting Benny "The Jet", the number one open handed fights I have ever seen!!!!

The end fight scene in Drunken Master II between Ken Lo and Jackie Chan is the best of the best but contain weapons at some points, and so is not in the same category. Just Jackie and Benny throwing all their skills and every ounce of energy into the best fight in cinema! I guarantee you will watch this scene more than once. There is no fighting with ladders or props - just the best damn fight scene you will ever watch!

Samo and Biao have their own battles to win. It's quite obvious Samo is dressed for a "double". It could be anyone in his clothes. The same is true for Biao but I have no verified reason why. The acrobatic fight certainly could be done well by Biao but again the outfit conceals well any identity.

Perhaps he was injured or shooting a different scene but it does make one wonder why the "disguise"?

A couple of notes about different versions. The VHS English dubbed version suffers from the same problem so many Hong Kong movies seen in the US - there is LOUD music and words or sounds not on the HK orginal. It's not too aparent how poor quality this version is visually until you see Wheels On Meals remastered. All the colors in the VHS version were terrible but the remastered DVD version looks and feels more real. The US version has another problem, at least for me. It has a run time of 107 minutes, while the HK version has run time at 103 or 4 minutes. Amazingly the editing was perfect! The scene cut was offensive in using the word "chink". Very good part to toss out. A few words at the end of the film have the term "Chinese Fire Drill". We all know that was not what a Chinese/Asian actor would say. That's what should happen when an edit is done. The movie only gained quality minus the scene.

Also in American versions of HK movies the music is too loud and the actors whine and yell etc. Hong Kong must believe that Asians expect less "sound" while the US demand more.

Aside from those minor concerns this an excellent film! Buy it don't rent it because you won't want to take it back!