With two of the most underrated - and most capable - action stars of Hong Kong cinema (Yuen Biao, Kara Hui), Lowell Lo handling most of the mugging and busty Siu-Fan Luk providing the sex appeal, "Rosa" had the potential to be a much better movie than it is. Although the comedy did make me laugh at a couple of points, pretty soon I realized that the film is a nearly plot-free collection of overlong comic bits, some of which don't translate so well (there is a 4-minute mahjong sequence that will be completely meaningless to most non-Chinese viewers). And even the big warehouse fighting climax pales in comparison to the big warehouse fighting climaxes of other Hong Kong movies (just to mention one I saw recently: "Naughty Boys", also featuring Kara Hui and also made in 1986). The film is still worth seeing if you're a fan of any of the stars, but it's by no means a HK classic. (**)
Review of Rosa
