Genre: Comedy

The first twenty minutes are a barrage of over-stylised visual tricks and self-conscious winks to the audience; these begin to dissipate as the story continues, but it takes optimism to endure these early weaknesses.

Not that ‘Heart Against Hearts’ doesn’t have its moments, but it certainly never develops the story beyond typical moments of Hong Kong farce.

‘Heart Into Hearts’ is subsequently a perfect example of the law of diminishing returns, a sequel that tries to impress with its relative opulence but forgets how important its characters are.

If you prefer to see Jackie in films like ‘Shanghai Noon’ and ‘Rush Hour’ then this may not be for you, but if you want to see an alternative to his stereotyped bumbling hero then it will certainly deliver.

With consistent pacing, a convincing story and an effortless mixture of comedy and romance, it is no wonder that ‘Heart To Hearts’ was successful enough to spawn two sequels and numerous imitators.

While it runs out of steam far sooner than it should have done, ‘Hello Mr. Billionaire’ does offer a few smiles along the way.

Not a Brunel intellectual challenge, this is a recommended satirical comedy, easy to enjoy and a feather in the cap of Johnnie To’s varied filmography.

Widely seen as Carol Cheng’s finest hour, ‘Her Fatal Ways’ manages to combine a number of qualities to create a very satisfying experience.

It’s important to remember that this is nothing out of the ordinary though and, if you didn’t enjoy the original, it’s unlikely that you’ll enjoy this weaker sequel.

The themes may have dated, but the opportunity to see Cheng and her three able co-stars play off each other is not to be passed up.

It may be relatively incident free and not as prestigious as many of its contemporaries, yet this is still a film that earns mild commendation.

‘Hero Of The Beggars’ is not a patch on ‘Security Unlimited’ or the many other classic Michael Hui hits, but it still achieves its simple edict of entertaining the audience.