The Cheeky Chap (1980)
Ma is a grinning and arrogant young man who believes himself invincible, and with fairly good reason. He intervenes to save Captain Kao from robbery, then aids and abets the robbery of an old man, whose daughter Chin he falls instantly in love with. The stolen money was to pay a debt and, because he hasn't the money, the old man is mortally wounded by Sha, the debt collector's assistant. Ma spends the remainder of the film wooing Chin and baiting and fighting the villains, who seem to keep changing allegiances.
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The problem with Cheeky Chap is that one of the most intriguing aspects of the film is also its potentially weakest spot: I am talking about the title character. At the first glance, the young fighter Ma may appear as your typical "naughty kid" type of hero - bad manners, cocky attitude but basically a good lad. However, in this case this is not entirely true. Ma is a very ruthless and arrogant guy, whose saving graces are more or less limited to good looks, filial piety and a certain (somewhat inconsistent) sense of honor. It really is quite difficult to genuinely like him or at least to sympathize with him - simply because most of the time he is one mean, selfish bastard. Being a Wei Pai fan helps. A lot...;-) "The Cheeky Chap" is also fairly dark, regarding both the humor and some of the plot twists - this film has a devilish grin all over it. This strange blend of slapstick and dark, and the ruthlessness of the main character render the film somewhat weird - with significant potential both to intrigue and entertain and to annoy.As for the action. I am easily impressed, mind you - but I thought the action scenes were okay. The only one that truly stands out though (and is in my opinion really very good) is the final showdown between Wei Pai and Charlie Chan....to cut the long story short: if you are a Wei Pai fan, this is a must-see. If you are not that much into the guy, I would advise you to approach this film with cautious curiosity.