The Mad Monk

One of Hong Kong’s top directors reunited with its biggest comedy star after several previous hits (Royal Scoundrel, Justice, My Foot) – only this time their subject was the gods themselves. Internationally proclaimed comic genius Stephen Chow plays petty, arrogant god Dragon Fighter Lo Han, who is changed into “Monk Chai” and ordered to alter the fates of three bad people on Earth, lest he be retransmigationized. Unfortunately for him (but to any viewer’s delight), the trio he finds are a prostitute (played by the radiant, remarkably talented Maggie Cheung Man-yuk), a beggar (played by award-winning actor Anthony Wong), and a cold-blooded killer. Chow and To wring honest pathos and many laughs from this wonderful scenario, ably supported by the star’s welcome sidekick Ng Man-tat and vaunted action director Ching Siu-tung (the director of A Chinese Ghost Story and the producer of The Heroic Trio).