I've always been a huge fan of James Bond movies and, as per the more films I watch of his, I am also becoming a huge fan of Stephen Chow as well. So when a movie is offered up that combines them both, I was pretty hyped to check it out. The results aren't as outstanding as I hoped -- but I had huge expectations for this film -- but is still a satisfying cinematic experience nonetheless.

From Beijing With Love starts out as a pretty dead-on parody of the Bond movies, with a good pre-credits action sequence and then a hilarious take on the famous Bond title sequences. We then follow this with a great take on the mandatory "gadget" scene, with Law Kar-Ying (whose Cantonese name of Tat Man Sai is the same one given for Leonardo DaVinci... but in true Stephen Chow fashion "Man Sai" is also slang for "smelly pussy") playing a decidedly stupider version of the famous Q. Stephen's gadgets in this movie are not watches equipped with lasers or cars that can turn into submarines, rather they are things like a solar-powered flashlight and a briefcase that turns into a chair so that you can take a rest whilst stalking your target (a direct parody of the gimmick-laden suitcase in From Russia With Love).

However, after this, it turns into much more of a typical Stephen Chow "moy len tau" (nonsense comedy), which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit more Bond-style action (i.e., big-ass action sequences). Most of the running time is dominated by Chow's usual Cantonese puns, physical comedy and overt dramatics (through his scenes with love interest Anita Yuen). Not that I'm complaining that much -- there are several memorable bits in the movie, such as one after Stephen gets shot and he uses a porno movie for an anesthetic while Anita operates and Pauline Chan (a former Cat 3 softcore star who plays one of the mandatory hoods with a gimmick) operating a flamethrower bra. The action sequences, while not huge, are still pretty exciting, and quite bloody in parts. Stephen's favorite weapon (from his days as a butcher) is a giant cleaver, which he puts to use in a few pretty gory bits, including one where he chops a guy's fingers off before slashing his throat -- the usual Bond PG-13 action this ain't.

It's just that the movie as a whole is not as solid as some of Chow's other works. But From Beijing With Love is still worth a look if you are into Stephen Chow's movies, even if you are not a big fan of spy capers.

I remember one scene in the film were Anita Yuen has shot herself in both arms. She is bleeding profusely so Stephen Chow says: Do you want a Band-Aid? Stephen Chow does more crazy stuff like this but this line was one of my favourites.

In the James Bond films Bond has a gadget man that comes up with great inventions for him to use. In this film Stephen Chow has a crazy scientist who invents some really crap things. His name is Tat Man Sai and he insists that everyone call him by his full name and not just Man Sai. When Steven is introduced to him at the secret agent headquarters Man Sai is found urinating on a wall. He then shows Steven one of his really crap inventions; a solar powered torch. This is a torch that only works when light is present. To operate it in the dark you have to shine another torch into it. Pretty clever huh?

Another interesting scene is when Stephen Chow has been shot in the leg. Because he is a secret agent he can't go to a hospital. He has to get medical attention the hard way. He asks that the bullet be removed from his leg by a chisel. To keep his mind off the pain he puts on an X rated movie. He is basically having surgery while watching porno.

My favourite action scene in the whole movie takes place in a shopping mall. A small group of terrorists steal some stuff and when the police fire at them they fire back. They then take Stephen Chow as a hostage. When the terrorist who is guarding Steven diverts his attention Steven pulls out his meat cleaver and chops the guy's fingers off. The terrorist then stands there in shock horror staring at his severed appendages. In one clean swoop Steven finishes off the terrorist by slicing his neck. There are a few other great action scenes like that but this one is my personal favourite.

Considering this is an action comedy I was very surprised by some of the serious scenes in the film. I'm mainly talking about the relationship between Stephen Chow and Anita Yuen. It starts off on very bad terms because Anita is intent on killing Steven. After a while she starts liking Steven and must then decide what's more important, her feelings or her mission.

From Beijing With love has everything you can expect from a good film. It's funny, it has great action and at times it can be very serious. This is one of my favourite HKA films and I hope everyone can see and admire it.