The Odd Couple (1979) - Dir. Lau Kar Wing 
What do you get when you take a double-dose of Sammo Hung, mixed together with a double-dose of Lau Kar Wing (sibilng of the great Lau Kar Leung), a dash of Lee Hoi-Song, and a hearty pinch of Jackie Chan and Yuen Biao working behind the scenes as fight choreographers and as stunt doubles? Well, besides being a mid-school kung fu fan's ultimate dream-come-true, what you get is simply one of the greatest kung fu-comedies of all time:
The Odd Couple. If you have never seen the insta-classic, let me cut through the crap and say one thing: go now, buy the DVD, watch it, and love it - that's all there is to it. This could be the shortest review yet on the Top 100, because, honestly, that's all that really needs to be said.
What's that, you want some more? Well you see, it's like this: Sammo Hung plays the King of Swords, and Lau Kar Wing, his on-screen rival, is the King of Spears. I'll let you figure out which weapons each one of them specializes in. Once every year, these two masters meet for a duel to test which of their techniques is the best - needless to say, every single one of these duels ends in a draw. They are just too perfectly matched, and, of course, utterly stubborn; they will not rest until a victor is determined. Unfortunately, no matter how good their kung fu is, and it is remarkable, the King of Swords and the King of Spears must succumb to the ultimate of all rivals, old age.
To remedy the threat of old age, the two masters devise a great plan: they decide to each recruit and train a student to continue their martial arts tradition. And it is here that the genius of the narrative kicks you upside the face. Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Wing also play the students, only their roles are reversed. So, now we get to see Sammo Hung train Lau Kar Wing in the sword technique, and Lau Kar Wing train Sammo Hung in the spear technique. How freaking cool is that? Even if the entire narrative focused solely on the training of the two students and their ultimate clash, the film would still be an A-class example of the genre. However, in typical mid-school fashion, the filmmakers throw in a bevy of slapstick humor, wild shenanigans, and a ton of prime examples of what I like to call, kungfoolery.
The filmmakers from the mid-school era of Hong Kong cinema had their thumbs on the very pulse of pure entertainment. With
The Odd Couple, it's as if Hung and Wing scientifically extracted the very essence of every moment that defines an awesome genre flick. There are enough action set pieces to satisfy even the most jaded kung fu fan, and the martial arts on display during the many kung fu sequences is astonishing - jaw dropping even. What's more, the film also contains enough quirky moments and characters, and bizarre situations, to entertain those who may not be enamored with the physicality of the genre. The humor in
The Odd Couple is broad, and yet still dang funny, while the dramatic tension is tangible. The narrative is paced to perfection, rarely does a dull moment go by, and even while the film shovels on a ton of crazy stuff at the screen, it is still a cohesive experience.
There is no question as to why the films from this era are often the launching point for many a Hong Kong film fan's adoration, and
The Odd Couple is at the apex of this era. It doesn't happen very often, but when all of the elements involved in crafting a genre film come together in perfect unison, it is a very special thing to witness. All too often, we are left saying, “If only that was left out!” or, “If only they had done that!” Well, such is not the case with
The Odd Couple. Everything rings true, and every moment hits its mark like an expertly thrown shuriken. I am so thankful to have seen this film, and now I can join in with the masses who have already declared it a martial arts masterpiece.