Please note--this review is for the English-dubbed version. It's about 11 minutes shorter than the original film and I have no way of knowing how close it stuck to the original vision. It seemed to be dubbed reasonably well, but having never seen the original Chinese version, I am only guessing.

The idea of making a Corsican Brothers-like film with two Jackie Chans sounded pretty dumb when I read about this movie. And, while in parts it is awfully silly, the overall effort was far better than I expected and was one of the better Chan movies I have seen.

The movie begins with a prologue which shows how two twins were accidentally separated just after birth. The parents cannot locate the lost child and are forced to raise the remaining child. The second is fund by what appears to be a prostitute and this child is raised in a poor household. Many years later, when the rich and privileged Jackie returns to Hong Kong, he accidentally is mixed up for the poor one--the one that the local mob wants to kill! Now had this just been an action film with fight scene after fight scene, I think it wouldn't have worked as well. But, given that Jackie Chan did the movie a huge amount of comedy and clever situations involving two separate girlfriends were infused into the plot. Several times, I found myself laughing at some of the silliness of it all, but I also was impressed by how well the film all worked together pretty seamlessly.

There were only two complaints about the film. First, the poor Jackie snorted a lot. Why? Couldn't there have been a better way to distinguish between them than making one of them sound like he's a pig or has a really bad cold? Secondly, the film seemed to go on a bit too long--particularly at the action-packed conclusion. Knocking five or ten minutes off would have probably made the film a bit better--as the fight scene just went on and on and on. Still, this is a decent martial arts film and is worth a look and a laugh.

FYI--The film's second billing went to Maggie Cheung--a relatively famous Asian actress who has made a variety of excellent films. However, her role was no bigger or more prominent than the other lady in the film who didn't appear until much further in the credits. Bummer.

This film sees Jackie Chan playing twin brothers who were separated at birth. John went with his parents to America, where he became an acclaimed concert pianist and conductor while is brother 'Boomer' was raised on the streets of Hong Kong where he learnt martial arts and gets in trouble with gangsters due to his diminutive friend 'Tyson'. Shortly after Boomer and Tyson's run in with the gangsters John arrives in Hong Kong to perform a concert; inevitably it isn't long before their paths cross and confusion ensues. John ends up caught up in car chases and fights while Boomer finds himself conducting a symphony orchestra. If that weren't enough two women who know each of the brothers find themselves involved with the 'wrong' twin.

I must admit that when I picked up this DVD I didn't check to see if it was dubbed and was doubly disappointed to discover that not only was it dubbed but that it was also shorter than the Hong Kong original... surprisingly I still rather enjoyed it. There is the action and comedy that one would expect from a Jackie Chan film and it is the sort of film where what you watch is more important than what the characters say. The action is nicely varied with impressively choreographed fights, a speed boat chase and a few explosions. The humour is an effective fix of farce and slapstick. Jackie Chan does an impressive job in the twin lead roles; it helps that he dubbed his lines into English... many secondary characters were clearly dubbed by Americans so sounded wrong for characters who are meant to be Hong Kong Chinese. Maggie Cheung and Nina Li Chi also impress as love interests Barbara and Tammy. Overall this I found this to be a fun film and hope one day to see the original version.

Jackie Chan comedy that was made as a fundraiser for the Hong Kong Directors' Guild. Jackie plays twin brothers separated at birth who's paths cross years later when one brother, a concert pianist, visits Hong Kong for a show, is mistaken for his criminal street-wise brother. Comedy and martial arts ensue! My main disappointment with the film is that there weren't enough fight scenes. A majority of the film is a farcical door slamming sex comedy (though mostly a family friendly sex comedy since this IS a Jackie Chan film),involving lady friends (Maggie Cheung and Nina Li) mistaking the brothers for the other and liking what they find. That part of the film is mildly entertaining, but not funny enough to make it worth recommending. However, the climactic fight sequence in a car testing plan is terrific and makes this film absolutely worth watching. Co-directed by Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam, Hark directed most of the comedy and Lam took care of the action. There's also some fun HK director cameos, including John Woo as a priest at a wedding, Ringo Lam plays a mechanic, Tsui Hark plays a card player, Gordon Chan plays a violinist, and Kirk Wong plays a thug.