1996 ‘大內密探零零發’ Directed by Stephen Chow, Vincent Kok
An imperial agent gets ridiculed for his various inventions, until his supportive wife encourages him to attend a conference, which's actually a trap to kill all the doctors serving the emperor, where his crazy inventions come in handy.
Stephen Chow Carina Lau Carman Lee Yeuk-Tung Law Kar-Ying Cheung Tat-Ming Lee Lik-Chi Tats Lau Yee-Tat Yuen Cheung-Yan Yuen Shun-Yi Kingdom Yuen Poon Hang-Sang Mimi Chu Noel Chik King-Man Alvina Kong Yan-Yin Wong Chi-Keung Wong Yat-fei Manfred Wong Man-Chun Chan Kim-Wan Charles Shen Jackson Ng Yuk-Sue Tai-Chuen Kong Stephen Au Kam-Tong Jimmy Wong Wa-Wo Wilson Yip
Dai lap mat tam 008, Daai laap mat taam 008, 大内密探零零发, 007 북경특급 2, Đại Nội Mật Thám, 鹿鼎大帝, Daai Laap Mat Taam 008, สายไม่ลับคังคังโป๊ย, Полицейский из Запретного Города
Hong Kong
South Korea15
Hong Kong
South Korea
People used to say that Stephen Chow’s pre-Shaolin Soccer movies could never play in the west because they were so dense with Cantonese wordplay and locally-specific references. And perhaps that is true. But let’s say that a movie has 20,000 jokes and as many as 10,000 of them don’t play outside Hong Kong. That still leaves you with 10,000 jokes.
There is a lot to love here, it is also pure visual insanity, coming across more like a lost Mel Blanc project on a stag weekend in Asia with David Zucker.
Minus the subtitles using "feck", it is a really good localisation here, which does help with a lot of the subtly, so thanks 88!
Then you have the adorable relationship of "Wifey" "Hubby", "Wifey" "Hubby" between Stephen Chow and Carina Lau. I would like to say it's magnetic, but that is saved for the fights sequences.
I think the only thing missing, is Chow doing QVC like sales spots, trying to sell his inventions, like the dust pan and brush shoes. That would raise this to another level.
Stephen Chow plays an Emperor's guard who doesn't know any martial arts in a world of flying swordsmen, so he has to use his wits and goofy gadgets to save the day.
Probably too formless for Stephen Chow newbies (It's a film of two distinct halves), but the Alien Autopsy segment and the climax are TOP TEN Stephen Chow comedy moments for me.
It's funny because I feel like Stephen Chow is one step ahead of many Hong Kong directors on both the traditional and stylistic fronts (especially comedy), but as an action director it's somewhat of a small step down. Gotta love his meta-humor though.
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Stunts - 80/100 | After this and the A Chinese Odyssey series, Stephen Chow should apply for a membership to join the ~WE LOVE FIRE STUNTS!~ Club. Known senior members (not an extensive list): Yuen Woo-Ping, Tsiu Siu-Ming, Jackie Chan
Narrative - 68/100 | Well grounded in the main character's personal life which I enjoyed. Quite stylish too, however as in most Stephen Chow movies, it was meandering a bit too much. The movie gets back…
Fun, fast, and zany but so much that I feel I missed a lot and should revisit it again soon. I expected the 007 score cues, but definitely not Howard Shore's After Hours theme.
Maybe the slightest Stephen Chow movie I've ever seen. He's one of the Emperor's personal guards, but he doesn't have any martial skills, he just invents stuff like a giant fan (to blow away the Yuen clan's assassins' killer leaves) and magnets (to take their swords). Mainly three episodes: he gets kicked off the force for not knowing kung fu, then he rescues the Emperor from the Yuens, then he goes undercover to procure a prostitute (Carman Lee, from The Odd Ones Dies) who may be an assassin. Would be utterly forgettable if it wasn't so much fun or without Carina Lau, who plays his wife. Their relationship is maybe the sweetest thing in any of Chow's films.
A Wuxia spoof by Stephen Chow where the strongest aspect of the film is not on the comedy and action sequences but in the depiction of the relationship between Ling Ling Faat (Stephen Chow) and Ling Kar Ting (Carina Lau). The chemistry between them and how they treat each other was wonderful to see. That's a relationship goal!
I just couldn't understand why this had an even heavier James Bond influence than From Beijing with Love with the 007 Bond opening credits along with the constant musical cues reminiscent of the Bond films until I saw Stephen Chow's character name being translated as Double Zero Fat on HKMDB. It makes sense as his character does not know any Martial Arts…
Day VIII — 大內密探零零發
Chow Collection — #25
Even after 30+ Chow films in my collection, this one is still muh favorite. While in From Beijing With Love (See Review HERE) he is a 007, in this movie he is a 008. It also uses the same James Bond theme song from From Beijing With Love as well.
I just love everything about this movie, straight from the beginning it doesn’t even bother to take itself seriously and it is like that all the way through. The plot is thin with most of the screen time used for sight gags and Chow’s specific brand of mo lei tau comedy, if only I spoke Cantonese to…
Forbidden City Cop didn’t click with me as perfectly as Love On Delivery and From Beijing With Love, but this still works exceptionally well as an amusingly goofy wuxia parody
Martial-world court intrigue where science and deception beats wuxia super-skills, where the charming chemistry between Stephen Chow and Carina Lau beats all the kung-fu comedy and action for the best parts. Our titular inventor-cop using mundane tech to defeat martial-arts villains is never not hilarious, while the action is all creatively on point as expected from a Chow flick. Any movie that does a classic cut-to-obliterated-food-to-imply-grievous-injury is a win in my books, and Forbidden City Cop does it thrice
No plot, just Stephen chow having an extramarital affair😭, the vibes of this are so lovely, most of the film is just him and Carina Lau being the cutest couple. And him being a chaotic royal guard who can’t do anything except build inventions, being a medical practitioner, and a master of disguise. I’m ngl the confrontation of him cheating with the hot prostitute was the most dramatic and well performed thing ever. The fights aren’t that great, but the way it makes fun of the era and films that are usually set in the era is glorious.
Exactly what I needed today, I think I might keep coming back to this. New comfort movie probably 😭.
