Wheels on Meals (1984)

Raymond Chow-Golden Harvest production deals with two cousins named Thomas (Jackie Chan) and David (Biao Yuen), owners of a mobile restaurant , meanwhile they save the gorgeous Sylvia , a pickpocket posing as prostitute (Lola Forner). They join forces with their friend Moby (Sammo Hung Kam-Bo), a botcher eye private whose chief (the prestigious American secondary Herb Edelman) assigns him a new case about looking for a girl named Gloria (Susana Sentis) . Entertainment , comedy and amusement abound in the streets of Barcelona , culminating with a spectacular attack in the hideout fortress of the nasty band led by Mondale (the notorious Spanish actor Jose Sancho) and his evil thugs (Keith Vitali , among others).Chinese/Spanish action comedy full of over-the-top struggles , thrills , ingenious stunts , slapstick , tongue-in-cheek and excitement . This bemusing movie is packed with adventure , car pursuits , intrigue , unstopped action , overwhelming stunt-work and lots of fights but with abundant humor . Jackie Chan is top notch as one army man fighting a group of heinous villains and as always he makes his own stunts like is well showed . Awesome , incredible stunts and brief comic touches , as usual ; the picture is better constructed than Chan's predecessors films . The lighting-paced storyline slows down at times , but frantic action sequences make up for it . Spotlights movie include spectacular brawls , car chases including bounds and leaps , impressive and interminable fights , a breathtaking final struggle between Jackie Chan and Keith Vitali ; in addition other fine action sequences in overwhelming style . This is an acceptable action movie distinguished by nicely cinematography of the spectacular sequences , and contains agreeable sense of humor such as previous entries . Chan pays overt homage to two of his greatest influences as Charles Chaplin and Harold Lloyd . Jackie Chan usually forms couple to notorious actresses as Maggie Chung and Michelle Yeoh . However in this outing Jackie teams up again to prestigious Chinese actor Sammo Hung , a fine action star in their own right and also had an American career as successful ¨Martial Law¨ TV series . Both of them starred together several films as ¨Heart of Dragon (1985)¨ which was directed by Sammo . Third protagonist , Yuen Biao, also played some movies with the famous pair as ¨Dragon Forever¨. All three of the main stars, Jackie Chan , Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung, all were seen in Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon in which Jackie plays a guard who gets beaten by Bruce in the underground hideout, Sammo plays Bruce's opponent in the opening of the film, and Yuen plays a tournament fighter.This is a passable action movie distinguished by fight sequences , noisy action and packs silly sense of humor as well as Jackie's subsequent entries . The picture achieved moderated success in China , Spain and around the world . However , Jackie Chan's failed at Box-office in his American debut ,¨Battle creek brawl¨ . Chan is a hard-working actor and director throughout his long and varied career . He went on playing ¨Cannoball¨ , ¨The protector¨ and "Rumble in the Bronx", until getting all American success with ¨Shangai Knights¨ , ¨The tuxedo¨ , ¨Around the world in 80 days¨ and ¨Rush hour¨ trilogy , and the recent ¨Karate kid¨. Of course , his biggest hits were ¨The Police story¨ series that won the Golden Horse Award, a Chinese version of the Oscar , the first was titled ¨Police story(1985)¨ directed by the same Chan , it was a perfect action film for enthusiastic of the genre ; the following was ¨Police story 2(1988)¨also pretty violent and with abundant humor touches . It's followed by ¨Supercop¨ or ¨Police story 3¨ and finally , ¨Police story IV : Crime story¨ . The picture is well produced by the great Asian producers Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest production and compellingly directed by Sammo Hung . Rating : Acceptable and passable , the picture has its sensational moments here and there , but also with abundant humor touches mostly provided by its agile star , the super Jackie stunningly accompanied of Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao . ¨Wheels and meals¨ also titled ¨Spanish connection¨ is followed by a sequel ¨Wheels and meals II (1985)¨ with the same actors and direction . It's a perfect action film for enthusiast of the genre though only for Jackie fans .

Two owners, of whom are cousins and run a mobile food business on the outskirts of Barcelona- played by Yuen Baio and Jackie Chan, along with a private detective in Sammo Hung, sporting an 'embarassing looking' Gerry curl haircut- are embroiled in a mission when a Spanish woman, who is also a thief but later befriends the guys, is kidnapped by a gang of criminals. She is also the daughter of Baio's dad's girlfriend. Together, the trio work together to rescue her from the bad guys. At first impressions, the film's title implies that it has food connotations; well, the two cousins are working in the café/take-out based industry after all, serving and taking orders from customers, whilst riding on a skateboard. But with Jackie Chan, you know that there is far more to this film than serving portions of fried rice and chow mein. Though the plot is really nothing new, it is the movie's fight scenes, which are a delight to watch as ever, as well as the humour and the narrative; this of which becomes a dominant aspect of Wheels on meals. Viewers of the US show, Martial Law will recognise Sammo as the cousin's friend and P.I. The camaraderie of the three male leads is always great to see, and the performances are spot-on, as usual. The script is well written; the comedic elements add a nice touch to the film and the humour works well to good effect. The climax of the movie reaches fever point towards the end with the fight to the death between the impressive Benny Urquidez and Jackie himself. All in all though, Wheels on Meals is a culinary, light-hearted, 'kick- ass' romp, and one of which has some of the most amazing stunts and battles ever featured in a martial arts comedy-based movie. This is yet another one of JC's movies worth adding to any fans' collection. 8 and a half out of 10

If you have seen Rush Hour and its sequel and you were impressed you have to see this one. If you have seen "Martial Law", and you were impressed you have to see this. And also you will meet the other star of this group of Masters of the Martial Arts and Comedy Yuen Biao.Jackie, Sammo and Yuen play a group of losers that get in trouble in Spain, the rest is a non-stopping adventure full of incredible fights, laughs and healthy fun. Wheel on Meals is probably the ultimate mix of Kung Fu, Acrobatics and Funny Gags spawned by the admired Sammo Hung, he's got an incredible eye for action, that's why he's one of the best directors alive.Jackie leading here is at his best along with his partners Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, they fight with an incredible physical ability, and not casually among the many thugs they kick are some real champs like Benny Urquidez or Keith Vitali. In the closing credit don't miss the bloopers, watching the bloopers the admiration we feel for the great Jackie increases. But Jackie not only uses his legs and fists to make you laugh he puts some funny faces that could make people fall off their seats laughing. The good thing in the movie is that there's enough of Sammo, Jackie and Yuen, every Fighter has their memorable moments on-screen. "Kwai tsan tseh" is a Masterpiece of humorous action.

this is a great movie. a little long, but still great. all the movies with the kung-fu-teers are awesome. and this is no exceeption. funny and action-packed. great fun for everyone interested. i dont however, understand the title. wheels on meals? whats that mean? oh well, see it and enjoy.