Starring :

Chow Yun Fat

Conan Lee

Ti Lung

Nina Li Chi

Gordon Liu Chia Hui

Action :

Liu Chia Liang

Producer :

Karl Maka

Wellington Fong

Director :

Liu Chia Liang

TIGER ON THE BEAT  (1988)

A.K.A. - Tiger On Beat

Reviewed by Phil Mills

Francis Lee (CYF) is a happy go lucky cop who's chances of promotion are near zero.  He spends most of his time fooling around with women and slacking off until the day he is teamed with Michael Cho (Conan Lee).  Cho is an ambitious cop with a flair for martial arts who embarrasses Lee in a hostage situation by making him pee in his pants.  They are put on a case to follow the lovely Nina Li Chi as her brother is a suspect in a drug running operation.   Lee uses tough tactics to try and get her to help them but begins to fall for her when he realises she is only guilty of trying to help her brother.  Together Lee and Cho capture the leader of the Triads but Lee's sister, Mimi, is kidnapped by the remaining gang.  An exchange is required and the two policemen must go it alone to rescue Mimi and bring the Triads to justice.

Chow Yun Fat gave his typecast image of hitman/gangster a rest in 1988 in favour of playing a successful semi-comedic role for this film directed by kung fu maestro Liu Chia Liang.  Cast alongside him was Conan Lee, the man originally touted as a potential Jackie Chan beater, who shows exactly why he was singled out thanks to some impressive kung fu and stuntwork.  Both stars forge a commendable on-screen chemistry and manage to make what could have a been a routine buddy cop movie into a typically high class Hong Kong 80s classic.  The finale is particularly inspiring as Chow proves he is as adept with a knife as he is with a gun whilst Lee is given the opportunity to go toe to toe with the legendary Gordon Liu Chia Hui in a battle using chainsaws.  Top marks must got to Liang for coming up with a new mix of weaponry!

For 'Tiger On The Beat', Liu Chia Liang manages to mix the action with the comedy superbly and proves that he is as competent at directing modern day movies as period kung fu classics.  As a piece of trivia, when the film opened in Hong Kong it broke all box office records which had been previously set by 'A Better Tomorrow'.

Rating: 

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