''Aces Go Places 5: The Terracotta Hit'' is a 1989 Hong Kong

action comedy The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the America ...

film directed by

Lau Kar-leung Lau Kar-leung (; born 28 July 1934 – 25 June 2013) was a Hongkongers, Hong Kong Martial art, martial artist, filmmaker, Stage combat, fight choreographer and actor. He is best known for the films he made in the 1970s and 1980s for the Shaw ...

with

action choreography Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet p ...

Lau Kar-wing Lau Kar-wing (born 1944) is a martial artist, Hong Kong film director, action choreographer and actor. Background Born in the Xinhui District of Jiangmen in Guangdong, China, Lau Kar-wing was the fourth child of Lau Cham (), a martial arts mas ...

. This is the fifth installment in the ''Aces Go Places'' film series. It was released in the United States as ''Mad Mission 5: The Terracotta Hit''. It is the last one to feature the same cast members, and the last to be produced by Cinema City before their shut down in 1991.

Plot

King Kong and Baldy, the "Aces," part ways in 1986 after a mission in Thailand to kidnap a woman on her way to marry her boyfriend (a rich man claiming to be her husband enlisted the Aces' services) goes sour. Three years later, figures from the famous

Terracotta Army The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting him in his aft ...

and a

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

bronze sword called the "Chinese

Excalibur Excalibur is the mythical sword of King Arthur that may possess magical powers or be associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. Its first reliably datable appearance is found in Geoffrey of Monmouth's ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. E ...

" are stolen during their transport to an exhibition in Hong Kong. Based on pictures that appear in the media, the two men are accused of the heist. By this time, King Kong is running an investment company that has long since been in the red, and Baldy - who sent his wife and son to Canada - is hiding in a Sai Kung houseboat from creditors who lent him money to invest in the stock market. When a muscular MSS operative called the Chinese Rambo separately visits Baldy and King Kong (with indirect approval from the

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

command, who have long since disowned them), both men decide to find those who framed them to clear their names. They discover that a brother-sister tandem calling themselves the "New Aces" took the pictures during the heist and wore face masks of the two men's likenesses while getting away with stealing the Chinese Excalibur. They interrogate them inside Baldy's houseboat, and as the siblings try to escape, they plunge into the water and go back to the house during which a Chinese ship tows the houseboat. All four of them are sent to Beijing prison camp and imprisoned to answer for the crime. They are forced to undergo a staged execution until the Chinese Rambo offers them a chance to get out of prison in exchange for helping the Chinese government recover the figures. The four Aces agree to help recover the figures from the White Gloves syndicate. They begin training in martial arts because Beijing specifically orders that the figures must not be damaged by any means. However, the Chinese Rambo calls off the training, explaining that the Chinese government will try to get the figures back through diplomatic means. Despite the turn of events, the four Aces band together and proceed with the mission. A furious battle inside the White Gloves' hideout, which even involves the use of the Chinese Excalibur, results in the quartet recovering the figures. King Kong, Baldy, and the New Aces join the Hong Kong police in sending off the Chinese Rambo, who is safeguarding the shipment back to China.

Cast

Samuel Hui Samuel Hui Koon-kit (born 6 September 1948), is a Hong Kong musician, singer, songwriter and actor. He is credited with popularising Cantopop both via the infusion of Western-style music and his usage of vernacular Cantonese rather than written ver ...

as King Kong *

Karl Maka Karl Maka (born 29 February 1944) is a Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is t ...

as Baldy *

Leslie Cheung Leslie Cheung Kwok-wing (born Cheung Fat-chung; 12 September 1956 – 1 April 2003) was a Hong Kong singer and actor. One of the most influential cultural icons in the Sinophone, Sinophone world, Cheung was known for his debonair demeanor, flamb ...

as Brother thief *

Nina Li Chi Nina Li Chi (born December 31, 1961) is a retired Hong Kong actress. She is also known by her Chinese name Li Chi or Li Zhi (Chinese: 利智). She is best known for being the wife of famous martial artist and actor Jet Li. Early life Li was b ...

as Sister thief * Conan Lee as the Chinese Rambo *Melvin Wong as Boss's aide *

Ellen Chan Ellen Chan Ar-Lun (, born February 16, 1966) is a Hong Kong actress and singer who has appeared in a number of Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong film productions. Filmography * ''Alibis (1977 film), Alibis'' (1977) * ''Grow Up in Anger'' (1986) ...

as Ellen * Danny Lee as Prisoner *Fennie Yuen as Baldy's niece * Roy Cheung as Murderer King *

Maria Cordero Mariam Maria Cordero Bibi, MH (), nicknamed Fat Mama (), is a Macanese singer, actress, TV Host and DJ based in Hong Kong. She also has her own cooking show, Maria's Kitchen (肥媽私房菜) on Cable TV. Biography Cordero was born to a Maca ...

as Woman in window *Brad Kerner as White Gloves *

Cho Tat-wah Walter Tso Tat-Wah (15 September 1915 – 10 January 2007) was a film actor of Hong Kong, most famous for the roles he played in a number of ''Wuxia'' films in the 1950s and 1960s. The names Cho Tat-wah and Shih Kien were synonymous to "good ...

as Uncle Wah *Ha Chi-jan as Rambo's assistant *Wayne Archer as Boss's thug *Mark Houghton as Boss's thug * Billy Chong as Boss's thug * James Ha as Boss's thug *

as Thai horse rider *

Hung Yan-yan Hung Yan-yan (born 25 February 1962, also credited as 熊欣欣 or Xiong Xin Xin) is a Hong Kong martial artist, actor, stuntman and action director originally from Liuzhou, Guangxi, China. He was the stunt double for martial arts superstar Jet ...

as Thai horse rider *Montatip Keawprasert as May *

Deborah Grant Deborah Grant (born Deborah Jane Snelling; 22 February 1947) is an English actress. Between 1981 and 1991, she played Deborah Bergerac in the BBC television detective series '' Bergerac''. From 2007 to 2023, she appeared in the sitcom ''Not Go ...

as Deborah *Lu Yan as Lui Yin *

Jim James James Edward Olliges Jr. (born April 27, 1978), professionally known as Jim James or Yim Yames, is an American vocalist, guitarist, producer, and primary songwriter of the rock band My Morning Jacket. He has also released several solo albums. ...

as police officer *Ernest Mauser as police officer

Box office

This film grossed HK$20,032,206 during its theatrical run from 28 January to 22 February 1989 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

External links

* *
Aces Go Places V : The Terracotta Hit
' at

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, was a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The we ...

* {{Lau Kar-leung 1989 films 1989 action comedy films 1989 martial arts films Hong Kong action comedy films Kung fu films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films 1989 crime comedy films Hong Kong slapstick comedy films Films directed by Lau Kar-leung Hong Kong sequel films Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films set in China Films set in Thailand Hong Kong detective films 1980s Hong Kong films Films scored by Teddy Robin Aces Go Places (film series)

Plot

Cast

Box office

See also

External links