Film

Winners & Sinners

A scrappy Hong Kong action-comedy about five ex-cons trying to go straight while accidentally caught between Triad gangs. It's loose and energetic, packed with slapstick and hand-to-hand mayhem, funny in ways that shift between absurdist and anarchic. Made for anyone who loves Jackie Chan's charm but wants something weirder, faster, and less interested in making sense.

TMDb rating3.5

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you enjoy crime comedies where brawling and gang-war stakes share the screen with a loose ensemble of scruffy misfits who matter more than tidy plotting.

Skip it if you want a sleek, tightly controlled thriller; the comedy is broad and the fights are rough-edged, and the plot wanders between set pieces with little interest in tension.

What it asks of you: Around an hour and three-quarters of attention, with broad clowning shifting into hard-hitting brawls and back again; it rewards staying with its rhythm rather than chasing a clean through-line.

If you liked this

Police Story1985

Jackie Chan's genre-defining masterpiece: a cop action-comedy with innovative stunts, genuine laughs, and the manic energy that defined '80s Hong Kong cinema. Essential viewing.

But The plot is paper-thin and the dubbing occasionally peculiar. If you need coherent narrative above all else, this will frustrate you.

Police Story poster

Wheels on Meals1984

Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao's food-delivery action romp, with Jackie Chan in a supporting role. Charming, silly, and packed with inventive fight choreography that turns everyday objects into weapons.

But The humour is broad and the structure episodic. Some gags land better than others, and the pacing can feel scattered.

Wheels on Meals poster

Armour of God1986

Jackie Chan as an adventurer-for-hire in a globe-trotting action-comedy with serious stunts, genuine peril, and a weird adventure-film aesthetic that keeps you off-balance. Wild and entertaining.

But The tone lurches between slapstick and dramatic threat. It's sometimes unclear what mood the film is aiming for.

Armour of God poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Winners & Sinners

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dragons Forever1988

Both are ensemble caper-comedies where the plot is secondary to the joy of watching charismatic people fight, scheme, and fail together.

A lawyer action-comedy starring Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung together. Blends courtroom comedy with martial arts, showing how Hong Kong cinema could marry multiple genres without apology or awkwardness.

But The tone shifts constantly and some comedy scenes go long. It demands you roll with whatever it tries next rather than finding one groove.

Dragons Forever poster
More like this (8)

My Lucky Stars1985

Sammo Hung and Richard Ng lead an ensemble of Hong Kong action stars in a caper about con artists and police. Joyful, chaotic, stuffed with fights and jokes that flow into each other naturally.

But The plot is basically an excuse to string together set-pieces. If you're watching for narrative momentum, you'll be disappointed.

My Lucky Stars poster

Project A1983

Jackie Chan as a coast guard captain fighting pirates in a colonial Hong Kong setting. Elaborate set-pieces, genuinely funny moments, and Chan's willingness to take real physical punishment for a laugh.

But Some action sequences outstay their welcome. The film assumes you're enjoying the spectacle more than caring about dramatic stakes.

Project A poster

The Magnificent Butcher1979

Sammo Hung's tribute to kung-fu cinema, mixing comedy, emotional depth, and stunning martial arts. A genuine classic that shows Hung's range beyond pure action.

But It's more serious than you'd expect from the setup. The tonal shifts can feel abrupt if you're braced for pure fun.

The Magnificent Butcher poster

Drunken Master1978

Jackie Chan's early star vehicle, pairing him with the legendary Yuen Lo as a drunken kung-fu master. Inventive choreography, physical comedy, and enough charisma to explain why Chan became a phenomenon.

But The pacing drags in the middle, and the plot exists mainly to connect fights. Some gags feel dated now.

Drunken Master poster

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin1978

Gordon Liu in the definitive kung-fu training film: methodical, beautiful, with an almost Zen patience about showing skill development through movement. A genuine masterpiece.

But It's slow by design. There's no comedy, no snappy dialogue—just martial arts. If you want speed and wit, look elsewhere.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin poster

Aces Go Places1982

A caper-comedy heist film with Sam Hui and Karl Maka, joyfully plotless and full of charm. It captures the anarchic spirit of early-'80s Hong Kong action-comedy perfectly.

But The dubbing is distracting and the humour is extremely broad. It's more interested in gags than any recognizable story.

Aces Go Places poster

A Touch of Zen1970

Both emerge from Hong Kong's specific tradition of action cinema, but Hu's film shows the serious, almost spiritual root that films like Winners & Sinners playfully obscured.

King Hu's epochal martial-arts film, more visual poem than narrative, with action sequences of breathtaking grace. It changed what action cinema could be and deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

But It's slow, painterly, and demands patience. The story is mythic and dreamlike rather than propulsive. This is not entertainment in the modern sense.

A Touch of Zen poster

Shaolin Soccer2001

Both pit underdogs (ex-cons, monks) against impossible odds using comedy as a weapon. Both love their characters too much to let plot get in the way of fun.

Stephen Chow's absurdist sports-action-comedy where kung-fu monks play soccer. Completely unhinged, wildly inventive, and genuinely moving about friendship and purpose beneath the anarchic surface.

But It's deliberately silly in ways that can feel exhausting. The CGI is dated. The rapid-fire jokes assume you're keeping up.

Shaolin Soccer poster

People

Cast

Directing

Production

Recommended by