Synopsis: Pao Lung Sing, a descendant of the famous Judge Pao Ching Tien, is a 9th-degree corrupt judge (the lowest degree) who changes his tune when he tries to champion a woman Chi Siu Lin, who is framed for killing her husband. As a result, Pao is forced to flee and through a series of events – most of which are often hilarious – he soon becomes a 1st-degree judge and comes back to wreak havoc and justice on the guilty. (106 Mins)

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Views: The incredible and hilarious Chow Sing Chi stars as Pao Lung Sing, a low service judge who is also a descendant of the famous Judge Pao – the historic Chinese judge who helped to correct injustices during the Ming dynasty. While not as smart as his ancestor and blinded by his love for money, Pao Lung Sing is repeatedly tricked by a wicked lawyer (Lawrence Ng) who soon convinces the townsfolk that their poor official is the real cause of the town's problems. Along with his assistant, played by the late Ng Man Tat, the pair go into hiding and soon find a new problem in the shape of Panther – a corrupt official and kung-fu master. After some clever trickery, the crazy duo soon captures him and are hailed heroes by the locals. With his newfound popularity, Pao returns to his court with the promise of being a more honest judge. But as a murder case is brought before him involving a beautiful new bride (Cheung Man), Pao finds himself once again under the scrutiny of the twisted lawyer who manages to turn the simple judge, into the accused. His lies and actions have Pao sentenced, but he quickly escapes jail and goes into hiding. Intent on making things right and finding out the truth, Pao makes his way to the Emperor to explain the situation and, after catching him in a brothel, blackmails him to make him a 1st-degree judge so he can deal with the evils in his court!

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Although it is jam-packed with Chow and Wong Jing's typical comedic style, Hail The Judge has some very dark moments throughout – most noticeably during the court case of Sharla Cheung Man after she is framed for murder by the evil Collin Chou, who killed everyone in her household and raped her. The lies, corruption, and violence launched upon her are actually pretty shocking, with Cheung Man delivering a powerful performance as she is mentally destroyed and beaten to a pulp with sticks and paddles. It's an incredibly hard scene to watch and completely removes you from the fact that you're watching such a ridiculous comedy. This scene is further strengthened by the fact that both Lawrence Ng and the brilliant Collin Chou, turn in such great performances as evil men you will just love to hate. Of course, it also proves to be the turnaround point for Chow as judge Pao – making him realise just how much damage he actually does by lying. Hail The Judge may not be on the top of everyone's list when it comes to favourite Chow Sing Chi movies, but it still proves to be a hugely entertaining piece. For me, Chow Sing Chi is perhaps the funniest man in cinema. While many westerners can't seem to handle his crazy mo-lei-tau style of humour, I just adore it. Of course, having someone like Wong Jing behind things just helps elevate this even more. One of my all-time favourite filmmakers, Wong has been behind some of my favourite Hong Kong movies as a director, writer or producer. Kicking off his work in the industry as a writer in the early 70s, Wong Jing made the move into acting and directing with Challenge Of The Gamesters in 1981, his first film of many that combined the elements of Hong Kong action and gambling. With Hail The Judge, both parties deliver a strong and often hilarious film with plenty of broad humour that had me laughing out loud over-and-over. And then of course, there is the wonderful and dearly missed Ng Man Tat – Chow's regular sidekick and co-star who is as much a part of what makes these films just as funny as the main star and director do. Starting in 1975 with a small role in The Running Mob, Ng went on to star in almost 170 films and impressed across the board in many titles winning Best Supporting Actor for his role in Benny Chan's fantastic, A Moment Of Romance. And while he is more known for his comedy roles (and mostly alongside Chow), Ng Man Tat has proven to deliver many great serious performances over the course of his career.

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Wong Jing pulls together a great cast to star alongside Chow and Ng Man Tat, with the aforementioned Lawrence Ng as the hateful lawyer, and the young Collin Chou/Ngai Sing as the brutal Shang Wai who displays any amount of violence with some powerful strikes. Super-tall and super-fun Elvis Tsui Kam Kong delights in the role of Panther – the white haired, crazed official who ends up joining Chow in his mission to fix things. I'm a huge fan of Tsui's from his Shaw Brothers days to his modern hits, and always find him a joy to watch. Here, Elvis seemingly brings back his role from Royal Tramp – the hilarious and action-packed film from Wong Jing that saw him star alongside Chow Sing Chi only a couple of years before. The rest of the cast is filled out with many great names such as Ku Feng as Collin Chou's father, Gabriel Wong as the Emperor, Christy Chung and Joey Leung as boat owners, Wong Yat Fei as Pao's boss, the wonderful Lau Shun as Eunuch Lee, and the hilarious Yuen King Tan as a brothel owner. I must also mention the great Teresa Ha Ping, another actress who unfortunately passed in 2019. Actress of over 260 films, Teresa was a wonderful actress with great comic timing and plays Pao's senile mother who brings on some great laughs.

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With plenty of hilarity and many laugh-out-loud moments, Hail The Judge is perhaps a Chow title that is as worthy of an introduction to the star as much as Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu Hustle is. It could also play as a loose sequel to Johnnie To's hilarious Justice, My Foot with many similarities in characters and settings – although offers a little more craziness coming from the pen of Wong Jing. The final 20 minutes offers a wild conclusion with Pao using his 'quarrel-fu' that he learned at the brothel, in order to talk down the lawyer and corrupt officials that often talk over him. With his quick-witted words and ways, Pao is backed by Panther and Man Tat in saving Cheung Man from execution and sentencing the evil Shang Wai to death. It's a crazy closure that delivers some wild comedy, sword swallowing, kung-fu, justice, and a few babies that helps make Hail The Judge a worthwhile watch from one of cinema's greatest comedy actors!

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Overall: A tidy production from Wong Jing, with plenty of great comedy moments courtesy of Chow Sing Chi and Ng Man Tat!

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Blu-ray Extras: Trailer