My Lucky Stars Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

My Lucky Stars Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 1, 2023

Sammo Hung's "My Lucky Stars" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival program with Sammo Hung; archival program with actress Michiko Nishiwaki; deleted footage; and vintage trailers. In Cantonese or English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

It is a bit strange to think of My Lucky Stars as a Jackie Chan film. It is not because Chan does something drastically different in it and fails to deliver what he is supposed to – top-quality action mixed with humor – but because he is one of several very big Hong Kong actors who spend a lot more time before the camera. Yep, you read this correctly. In My Lucky Stars, Chan does not lead, he is part of a team, and he is not even the second power player there. However, it does make sense to group My Lucky Stars with several of Chan’s big solo projects, precisely so that one can see that he can be just as comfortable while sharing the spotlight.

Chan plays an experienced Hong Kong cop named Muscles, who together with his partner, Ricky (Yuen Biao), is tracking down an ex-colleague-turned-professional thief. Unaware that the target is protected by a powerful Japanese clan that employs ruthless ninja killers, however, Muscles and Ricky are quickly overpowered, and while improvising to stay alive, the latter is kidnapped. Determined to capture the target and free his partner, Muscles then reaches out to his old crew, Five Lucky Stars, whose members have a long history of successfully dealing with bullies, lowlifes, and seasoned gangsters. But soon after Muscles and his old crew land in Tokyo, they begin to realize that the crime game is played a bit differently there.

A lot and possibly everything that makes My Lucky Stars an oddly uneven and ultimately disappointing film, or at least as far as Chan’s work is concerned, could have been avoided if Sammo Hung had not directed it. This is not a speculation. Indeed, while there is a fair amount of quality material in My Lucky Stars, there is twice as much mediocre material that overwhelms it and compromises the integrity of its story. An experienced director easily would have recognized the imbalance. However, it is very easy to make a case that Hung intentionally prioritized the mediocre material because it features buildup material that is quite elaborate. In other words, the imbalance is not a byproduct of underdeveloped and poorly shot quality material, it is a byproduct of intentionally overdeveloped and shot mediocre material. For example, in the second half, there is a long sequence in which the members of Five Lucky Stars engage in a very silly game where one of them and a beautiful female detective (Sibelle Hu) who has been assigned to work with them are attacked by ninjas (the remaining members of the gang) and tied together. The game ends when each member experiences the bliss of being tied to the female detective. The first two tries are somewhat decent, but the rest are flat-out annoying. So, either the entire sequence should have been redone under Hung’s direction, or rethought and reshot with additional material to avoid the annoying repetitiveness.

What reveals Hung’s inexperience the most, however, is the fact that the numerous stars do not struggle with their parts. This is precisely why Chan looks very comfortable where he is required to shine in familiar ways, too. Indeed, the action choreography and the execution of the stunts are all predictably excellent, it is the remaining material that is supposed to make them essential for the story that is being told that disappoints. Of course, the great irony here is that Hung is one of these stars.

In the past, some fans of My Lucky Stars have attempted to explain its troubles with the supposedly less-than-impressive quality of the screenplay, which was penned by multiple writers. The screenplay is a factor, but it is not the decisive factor. My Lucky Stars is an ensemble piece that quite easily could have been spectacular, even with a far weaker screenplay. Indeed, an experienced director would have created opportunities for the cast to improvise in a variety of ways to overcome the shortcomings of the aforementioned imbalance. Hung remains content with it.

The remaining members of Five Lucky Stars are played by Richard Ng, Stanley Fung, Charlie Chin, and Eric Tsang.

My Lucky Stars Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, My Lucky Stars arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The release is sourced from a recent 2K master that was struck from the original camera negative. Unfortunately, the overall quality of the 2K makeover is pretty underwhelming because there are some quite obvious traces of degraining adjustments on it. (For what it's worth, I thought that these adjustments were very similar to the ones that can be observed on the recent 2K makeover of She Shoots Straight and produce almost identical anomalies). For example, all over the film, in close-ups and wider panoramic shots, fine nuances are barely noticeable or lost. In some areas, and especially where light is restricted and there are plenty of shadows, smearing is often easy to see and and depth is compromised. Unsurprisingly, the overall dynamic range of the visuals is quite inconsistent (You can see an example here). The degraining adjustments even create the impression that additional sharpening adjustment have been applied. As a result, the surface of the visuals often looks artificially polished. (You can see an example here). The good news is that color balance is convincing. Despite the digital tinkering, in some areas the primaries, in particular, perform surprisingly well. (The only exception is primary blue, which does not. See the ice/snow footage with Jackie Chan). However, in darker areas, where smearing is noticeable, darker supporting nuances are compromised. Image stability is very good. There are no distracting large cuts, debris, damage marks, warped or torn frames to report. My score is 3.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

My Lucky Stars Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are three standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Mono, Cantonese LPCM 2.0 Stereo, and English Dolby Digital 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I started viewing the film with the original Mono track but switched to the English track in several sections of the film. I have to say that while quite goofy at times, the latter is worth experimenting with because the dubbing of Eric Tsang is incredibly funny. In fact, this dubbing is what makes the film worth seeing. The Mono track is very healthy, so I assume that it was fully remastered when the 2K makeover was prepared. Its dynamic intensity is very, very good, too. However, keep in mind that some dynamic contrasts are wildly exaggerated, which was a common practice on Hong Kong produced films.

My Lucky Stars Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Clown Prince - in this archival program, Sammo Hung explains how the original idea for Five Lucky Stars and its colorful members materialized, and discusses the conception of My Lucky Stars and how action and comedy are closely intertwined in it. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Lady Daredevil - in this archival program, former powerlifter and Miss Fitness Michiko Nishiwaki discusses her background and contribution to My Lucky Stars. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Ng Shots - presented here is cut footage that was considered unusable for the final version of My Lucky Stars. Silent. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Cantonese Trailer - presented here is an original Hong Kong trailer for My Lucky Stars. In Cantonese, with English subtitles. (5 min).

• International Trailer - presented here is an original international trailer for My Lucky Stars. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Booklet - 30-page illustrated booklet featuring critic Alex Pappademas' essay "Bugs Bunny in the Shaolin Temple" and technical credits.

My Lucky Stars Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Select parts of My Lucky Stars look quite good, but the complete film, despite bringing together several very, very talented actors, is quite underwhelming. It is easy to tell that the source of all troubles is the imbalance between the action and comedy, but it is even easier to conclude that My Lucky Stars was too big of a project for Sammo Hung to direct. I think that a more experienced director would have done a much better job with the same material. This release introduces a recent but shaky 2K makeover of My Lucky Stars, and is included in Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar, a four-disc box set.