Fight Back to School (1991)

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

In this action comedy, Stephen Chow stars as SWAT team leader Detective Sing Chow, who goes undercover at a high school to retrieve a stolen gun for the Commissioner.As with many of Stephen Chow's films, this one has no shortage of slapstick humor and ridiculous action-comedy. Chow proves he could do action as well when he tries to deal with the ammunition smugglers when they raid the school and hold a group of students hostage. In the mist of all the mayhem is a touch of romantic humor courtesy of Sing's affection with school official Miss Ho (Sharla Cheung).A little goofy here and there, but this is a pretty good film and is rather entertaining.Grade B

I liked this film, but I have to say that something about it is lost in the translation. Or so I have to assume because it's a very popular movie in China, with several sequels I believe, while watching it with subtitles it was only occasionally amusing. But there were some laugh out loud moments, and I assume that it has a lot more humor that I just can't access because of the language barrier.Chow plays Star Chow, a rookie cop who's sent to a school undercover to find a cop's missing handgun -- sort of like "Stray Dog" meets "21 Jump Street." He's an excellent fighter, but not a natural leader, so his school experiences basically serve to make him understand the value of working together with others to accomplish a common goal. He also falls in love with a pretty schoolteacher who takes an interest in him (Sharla Cheung), and befriends an eccentric janitor/spy (Man Tat Ng -- Chow's coach in his more famous later film "Shaolin Soccer").The chemistry between all the leads is excellent. The school fight scenes have some of the same flavour as Chow's later film "CJ7." Chow himself is very funny with his deadpan expressions and so forth. But this film lacks some of the visual nuance of his own directorial efforts, or of some of his later films with Vincent Kok. It lacks resonance and becomes just a diversion. But not a bad one at that.

Stephen Chow gives slapstick a whole other meaning. Like many of his movies he provides a humor that is very visual and easy to understand. So very accessible for a large (international) audience. In "Fighting back to school" there are some jokes that require knowledge of the Cantonese language. But because these jokes are accompanied by some visual sketch you do get what it all is about. While "Fighting Back to School" is a pure comedy there is just enough action to keep those fans happy. It is well know fact that Stephen Chow is a huge fan of Bruce Lee. He also tries to show it in many of his movies. In "Fighting back..." there are some scenes which are a obvious tribute to the Master. I couldn't discover any direct parodies on certain movies. But it is my guess that "Fightin back..." is some sort of take on teen high school movies produced in Hollywood. But who cares ,it doesn't matter because Stephen Chow movies are fun. Just watch it!

Fight Back To School (1991) was a hilarious comedy that starred Stephen Chow as a cop who goes undercover at a local high school. His assignment? Find the Captain's (Barry Wong) favorite hand gun. He lost it and believes that someone in the high school might know the whereabouts of it. Being a man in his late twenties, he has to convince the head master (Dennis Chan) that he's a seventeen year old kid. Whilst at school, he develops a rush on a teach (the ever hot Cheung Man) an befriends a lovable nerd (Gabriel Wong) and his crew of misfits.Will Star Chow fend of the strict Miss Leung (Yuen King-Tan)? Confront the shady Brother Teddy (Roy Cheung) about the missing gun? Does he discover something more than a simple robbery case? To find out you have to watch FIGHT BACK TO SCHOOL. A highly enjoyable comedy that'll tickle your funny bone!Highly recommended.