Hail the Judge (1994) User Reviews

Stephen Chow delivers the laughs, but the movie is just average

[gorthu · 6/10 · 26 April 2009]

Stephen Chow stars as a young judge who allows himself to be pushed around. He gets offerred a bribe to let someone free, but it turns out he was being tricked and loses his spot as a judge. Now he has to work for a brothel as a gigilo and ends up learning talking kung fu from Ada Choi. He ends up being named the supreme judge and shows that he can argue with even the best of lawyers.

This is not a great movie or anything, but it is a lot of fun. Stephen Chow has a few brilliant comedic moments, but there is just too much time filler. The problem with Stephen Chow movies is that they rarely feel original. There are a few that stand out, but most of the time Chow plays someone who starts out rich, turns poor, then has to fight his way back to the top. Another thing that is the same is that Ng Man Tat always stars alongside Chow, and Cheung Man always plays his love interest. But luckily they come up with a few new things. Ada Choi is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen and she has a great role as the mistress of the brothel. The ending is a hilarious sequence in the courtroom and only Stephen Chow can deliver huge laughs in a mindless movie like this.

Typical Chow

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 22 December 2022]

HAIL THE JUDGE is a funny period comedy from Stephen Chow, filled with his usual diverse plot ingredients and scattershot surprises. Chow plays the usual low level character, a judge who falls foul of the corrupt rich in society and ends up penniless while true justice continues to elude the needy. After some ultra-bizarre adventures, he finally befriends the emperor himself and things take a turn for the better. It's an episodic, sometimes silly adventure filled with memorable characters (Elvis Tsui's kung fu master is a case in point) and hilarious situations, the animated speech scenes being particular highlights.

Classic of Market Calculation - Review of "Hail the Judge"

[kampolam-75813 · 6/10 · 22 January 2023]

According to Wong Jing's marketing strategy, the middle-aged audience of the TV series "Justice Pao" (1993) and the teenagers of Stephen Chow Sing-Chi's fans were combined into one "Hail the Judge" (1994), and the two completely different audiences were captured in one go. Of course, judging from the box office figures, Wong Jing's strategy has indeed achieved some results, but it's still difficult to connect Stephen Chow and "Justice Pao". From this film co-produced by Wong Jing and Stephen Chow, the classification of Hong Kong audiences has reached a level that is quite close to meticulous. In the face of such drastic changes, the filmmakers seem to have been futile in trying to salvage this divisive situation, and this film can serve as the end of such attempts.

This film maintains the level of Stephen Chow's comedy, and the burst of laughs strikes, and the effect is as expected. The old story and the formula, the audience is not surprised, they just focused on watching Stephen Chow to make them laugh, and Stephen Chow really tried his best to not deceive. Among them, in the court, the scene of the tribunal of the three divisions is an excellent performance by Stephen Chow since "Justice, My Foot!" (1992). Although the film as a whole has many flaws, it does not hinder the popularity of the film.

The film centers on Pao Lung-Sing, played by Stephen Chow, who is ignorant and just wants to use money to buy a petty bureaucrat to survive, but encountered the massacre of Chik's family, suffered persecution, and lived in a brothel in the capital, and finally succeeded in turning over. In the casting, Wong Jing and Stephen Chow have a lot of magic strokes. Among them, Ng Wui and Ha Ping play Pao Lung Sing's parents, Collin Chou plays the villain Shang Wei, Yuen King-Tan plays Madam of a brothel, and Lawrence Ng Kai-Wah plays Fong Tong-Kan. Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong plays Panther, and Lau Shun plays Li Lin-Ying, all of them are unique and unforgettable. The two borrowed the words of Pao Lung-Sing's father to say that being an honest official is more wicked than a corrupt official, so that honest official can deal with a corrupt official. This element will also appear from time to time in Wong Jing and Stephen Chow's later films.

By Kam Po LAM (original in Chinese)

Corrupt Officials, evil Kung-Fu Masters, and Circus Folk, OH MY!

[secrective · 17 October 2002]

Stephen Chow plays the son of a judge who's family has been famous for its judgements. Too bad his first case gets him shunned from his villiage for taking a bribe. This leads him on a quest to clear his family's name and to become a great judge.

This movie goes hand in hand with "Lawyer, Lawyer" in which he plays a lawyer (surprise!). If you like this, you might also like "Justice, My Foot!"

totally absolutely ultimately 1000 times more ridiculous than any film that u can imagine!!!

[nyk2000my · 10/10 · 15 December 2006]

I felt sorry enough that this film is not popular at all even in Hong Kong. However, for all die hard Chow's fan, this will be a masterpiece that shud not b left out. This is "Mo Lei Tou" (a comedy style that based on unrealistic and ridiculous plot pioneered by Chow) at its peak. The plot is totally absolutely ultimately 1000 times more ridiculous than any film that u can imagine. The dialog is awesome. No single part of the film cool down for u to stop laughing.

The plot look simple but crazy enuf for u to start laughing. It begin with Chow starring a junior magistrate (a corrupted one of course)caught into jail when helping an innocent married woman he love at first sight to clear her from a murder charge that plot by evil minister whose son was actually the real convict. Chow escape from jail and run away as a refugee. He intend to go to the capital to see the Emperor and report the conviction. On his way, he manage to pick up 2 lovely women, one from circus, another one a prostitute while in the mean time mastering supreme skill to quarrel and bad mouth from the thin Mama-san (who happen to be his future in law). Finally, he able to force the Emperor to re-open the case by black mail the Emperor whom he meet him in the brothel. The Emperor made him a highest level judge to judge the case tgt with the evil minister. He manage to setup some brilliant but hilarious plots to force the convict to commit the crime, execute him while thrown the evil minister to jail.

The plots are really hilarious and ridiculously brilliant. Also not to forget the tremendous dialog that include some brilliant bad mouth quarrel between Chow and the Mama-san, quarrel between the fat Mama-san and thin Mama-san to inspire Chow to learn the quarrel skill later and also quarrel between Chow and the evil eunuch Lee near the ending. Beside that, some of the scenes are brilliant too.

One thing that need to mention is that to really understand the film and catch up 100 % of all the elements correctly, this will be a must to master Cantonese really well. Which may be the reason why early age Chow movie receive moderate response only from Asian world. However, when Chow film began to spread his influence around the globe, hardcore fans like me found that his film is no more that funny like the old time.

It's underrated in IMDb!

[the_big5 · 9/10 · 3 September 2002]

It is one of the best of Stephen Chow. I give it a nine out of ten.

I was surprised to see that Shaolin Soccer was rated on top of all singsing's movies. Unbelievable.

All time favorite!

[v-86934 · 10/10 · 18 January 2022]

Best comedy I know, always love Stephen Chow. He is our childhood watching his movie give me nostalgia and I wish he made more movies back then. This movie gives you chill there's proper conflict and climax I feel satisfaction when watching this!

To be honest,

[motogpcooper · 9/10 · 30 November 2023]

To be honest, what impressed me the most about this film was not Bao Xingxing's righteous and resolute attitude towards justice, nor Wu Qihua's deceitful face of official support, but Bao Xingxing's hard work and perseverance in practicing cursing skills, as well as his invincibility. I once thought to myself that this should be a typical exaggerated technique. With such thoughts in mind, I spent more than twenty years peacefully, Today, I accidentally heard a case of returning the original object of a Nanjing bus curse, which reminded me of my childhood memories. It turned out that cursing to a certain level can indeed go beyond the law and achieve the goal of justice The general content of the story goes like this: a theft occurred on a bus, and a young man secretly stole the driver's phone. Unfortunately, there were too many people on the bus, making it difficult to find the real culprit. Therefore, the ticket seller, out of the sake of justice, cursed the thief's shameless behavior on the bus for the entire journey. All the passengers on the bus changed their colors, and the thief's comrade was probably even more heartbroken. Finally, at the last stop, the thief bravely stood up, Leaving behind her phone and a sentence, "I'll give it back to you, don't curse," the ticket seller snatched the door and fled. With no need for a single soldier, the ticket seller finally achieved justice for the driver with her superb cursing skills, The story is over. For someone like me who is studying law, it is a very educational lesson, just like a little memory left by my youthful years. Once again, it represents learning.

What to say about this movie.

[k-56652 · 10/10 · 24 May 2023]

What? Who's messing with the body? Who? Who's talking? What has the least big mouth? How do you this dog shut who dog shut who dismembered ten thousand pieces who dog shut who deserved to drink 72 less? I'm going. What are you going to do? Just say it again. Why don't you practice well? Who doesn't? Watch out for choking on what? Come on. It doesn't taste good. What? No, no, no. What is it? What? Just leave it alone. What idiot? What is what to do what to do? What idiot is miserable? What idiot? Who's an idiot? What, dump the water? My man is a playboy. I won't feel anything. Feel. What's with this idiot? Who's an idiot? What's white? What's not white? Who can't eat this white? It's none of your business. It's none of your business. What? What brat, brat, what kind of disease is looking for someone? False what false what what, close your fart thing to close, close not close do not do what thing, what gives birth to who, give birth to a child to do not have assh ole, give birth to you a hammer to do not have as sh ole? I can't, who can't? What? Who stands in your way? I'm an animal. Who thinks you haven't been here? What you can't who can't say, who is a pig who is a pig what? What, hidden-head, rat eye, what, carving, what? What upper beam is not straight? I'm obstinate. What is obstinate? What wanted man? What baby without an as shole? There is no hammer in Shanghai. What? What did you give me? No blame, no blame, no blame. No blame? Who's gonna die? What? What is it? What what beheading what who is what? Just what is easy to deal with, what is not accurateWhat is it that you don't know about? When I stand out again, I call my younger brother and scold him. What are you scolding?.No, it's nothing. No, it won't be completely forgotten. Just put it down. I'll put it down. What born born born Goddess what? I dare not look at anyone except the emperor. What Lord Bao doesn't want? If he doesn't want it, he won't do it. If he doesn't allow it, he won't do it. What? Hello? Who? What a big official. What's so big? What, you are so powerful? Who is so powerful that you can fight? Who can win two consecutive championships? If we don't want it, we will transfer it to him. Pimples and pimples. To who? I'll go one by one. What about the man? What about the man? Who tried it? Who is the holy hand of the saint. Hum what? Hum what? What water to use what is not, not is not is not? If not, who will? What fresh? What shrimp? If you don't go, go what? I can't. If it's impossible, it's impossible. What, it's impossible, it's possible, it's impossible not to do it? What do not want to change, who do not want to change the topic to change a step, do not do not change who change, words also do not do, do not make who turn not to do what do not have to do? What wine who gets what, what who can not possibly not get? What's the matter? You don't care what you do, who you are, and you don't have an as shole to give birth to a child? What is it? What is it? Your father, what is it, what is it. You will never see it again. You will never see it. This dog, dog officer, dog officer, dog official? What what you come to catch you what dog officer thief dog officer dog, what no dog do not get what garbage officer, dog officer smelly tube dog, smelly what what thing ahIf I don't take a shower, I will find whatever I want. You are really what you are. Don't worry? Good people don't live long. I save save what thing, what you what tea what save who save what. Who am I to be enlightened? Don't block it. Don't block it. Don't what? I don't care what you do, what you stink, what you do as a ghost? What on the one hand helps to write what on the other hand, what things, what things are big and go? No one can beat you, who can't beat you, who can beat what, no one can beat, who can't beat you, no one can hit, you can't hit anyone? What is it? What? Don't fool around. Just fool around. No, no, no, no. Don't mess around. Who's messing around? Don't mess around.

very good, very funny

[qianfo · 11 September 2002]

If you are a Chinese, I am sure you have seen the film, and enjoy it a lot.

If you are not, maybe you have seen one or two Zhou Xingchi(Stephen Chow)'s film such as: Shaolin Soccer, if you like that kind of humor, I am sure that you will like this film much more. Please remember Singsing's films is always the most funny movies in China.

If he had not been forced into a desperate situation, he would not have had such a bottoming out and rebound situation and determination

[icegopim · 9/10 · 14 December 2023]

Bao Longxing went through a tortuous journey to become Bao Qingtian. If he had not been forced into a desperate situation, he would not have had such a bottoming out and rebound situation and determination. He mingled with the lower class, learned the art of swallowing swords and arguing with clients, and also encountered the current emperor in a brothel. Justice is not easy to assert, even if he is the protagonist and ultimately overthrows corrupt officials, he has put all his life lessons, luck, and courage into it. Although Xingye's comedy may seem nonsensical, it is still worth pondering. The most memorable scene is when he fights with the people in the brothel, defeating each other ten times, and finally goes to the beach.