''Aces Go Places 3'' (), also known under the titles ''Aces Go Places 3 - Our Man from Bond Street'' and ''Mad Mission III'', is a 1984 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

Tsui Hark Tsui Hark (, , born 15 February 1950), born Tsui Man-kong (), is a Hong Kong filmmaker. A major director in the Golden Age of Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong cinema, Tsui gained critical and commercial success with films such as ''Zu Warriors from ...

as the third installment in the ''

Aces Go Places ''Aces Go Places'', (), also known in the United States as ''Diamondfinger'' or ''Mad Mission'', is a 1982 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Eric Tsang, and starring Samuel Hui and Karl Maka. It is the first installment in the ''Ac ...

'' film series. ''Aces Go Places 3'' was the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong on its release in 1984 and was the highest-grossing film in the

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

. The film was released in an English-language dub titled ''Mad Mission 3'' which had scenes cut and altered from the original film. Tsui had previously appeared in the first two films in cameos.

Plot

The film starts in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where King Kong (

Sam 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 ...

) is recruited by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and a

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

-like character to retrieve one of the

Crown Jewels Crown jewels are the objects of metalwork and jewellery in the regalia of a current or former monarchy. They are often used for the coronation of a monarch and a few other ceremonial occasions. A monarch may often be shown wearing them in portra ...

which has been stolen and is located in a Hong Kong Police Headquarters vault.

Richard Kiel Richard Dawson Kiel (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014) was an American actor. Standing tall and often referred to as "the Gentle Giant", he was known for portraying Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (197 ...

spoofs his role as " Jaws" from the ''

film series A film series or movie series is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. It is a type of series fiction. This article explains what film series are and gives brief examples ...

Cast

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 Albert Au *

Sylvia Chang Sylvia Chang (born 21 July 1953) is a Taiwanese people, Taiwanese actress, singer, director, screenwriter, and producer. Early life Chang was born in Chiayi County, Chiayi, Taiwan. She dropped out of school when she was 16 and started her career ...

as Nancy Ho * Cyrus Wong as Baldy Junior *

Ricky Hui Ricky Hui Kwun Ying (3 August 1946 – 8 November 2011) was a Hong Kong actor and singer. He along with his brothers, Michael and Sam, made several comedy blockbusters in the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Ricky Hui Kwun Ying was born 3 Augus ...

as Puffer Fish *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...

as agent Tom Collins *

John Shum John Sham Kin-Fun (born 1952) is a Hong Kong actor and film producer. His English name is sometimes written as John Shum. Whilst known primarily for his comedic acting roles in Hong Kong cinema, he also spent time as a political activist. Biog ...

as Police chief * Jean Mersant as Mr. Bond *

as Big G * Tsuneharu Sugiyama as Oddjob * Huguette Funfrock as Queen of England * Jay Koch as

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

Production

''Aces Go Places 3'' riffs off the plots of the

James Bond series James Bond is a fictional character created by British novelist Ian Fleming in 1953. A British secret agent working for MI6 under the codename 007, Bond has been portrayed on film in twenty-seven productions by actors Sean Connery, David Nive ...

and features cameos from actors in various English-language spy features. These include

from the '' Mission: Impossible'' television series and

who played Jaws in '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' and '' Moonraker''. The film also features a character resembling

Oddjob Oddjob (often written as "Odd Job") is a fictional character in the espionage novels and films featuring James Bond. He is a henchman to the villain Auric Goldfinger in Ian Fleming's 1959 James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and its 1964 film adap ...

. Several sources erroneously report that the character of "Mr Bond", the James Bond-like British secret agent, was played by

Neil Connery Neil Niren Connery (16 December 1938 – 9 May 2021) was a Scottish actor and the younger brother of actor Sean Connery. Early life Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 16 December 1938. The Connery family is of partial Irish origin. His ...

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

's younger brother. The character was actually played by Jean Mersant, a French Sean Connery impersonator.''Asiaweek'' Volume 10, 1984, Page 47

Release

''Aces Go Places 3'' was released on 26 January 1984. The film was a success with audiences, becoming the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong in the year end box office and was the highest-grossing film in the ''Aces Go Places'' series.Morton, 2009. p. 141 An English-dubbed version of the film was released under the title ''Mad Mission 3''. This version removes about 20 minutes of footage including scenes from the original film with

's Albert, the baby and a maid and scenes with

's character, Ho, in the hospital. This version includes additional comedy scenes with

' character.

Reception

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

'' gave the film three stars out of five, noting that the plot for ''Aces Go Places 3'' was "stronger than usual for the series" and "that film's juvenile sense of humor might put off viewers in search of more sophisticated fare, but many others are likely to find the movie too colorful and exciting to be denied." John Charles, author ''Hong Kong Filmography 1977-1997'' awarded the film a six out of ten rating finding the scenes involving

and

were "tiresome and consist almost exclusively of situations from old sitcoms". In his book ''Horror and Science Fiction Film IV'', Donald C Willis referred to the film as a "lively, routine action comedy."

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * * {{Tsui Hark 1984 films 1984 action comedy films 1984 martial arts films 1980s martial arts comedy films 1980s crime comedy films 1980s spy comedy films 1980s parody films Hong Kong action comedy films Hong Kong martial arts comedy films Hong Kong sequel films 1980s Cantonese-language films Films directed by Tsui Hark Films set in Hong Kong Films shot in Hong Kong Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris Hong Kong detective films Parody films based on James Bond films 1980s Hong Kong films Depictions of Elizabeth II on film Aces Go Places (film series)