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Shadow Cop
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Wikipedia article
'Shadow Cop' is a 1993 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Albert Lai and starring Waise Lee and Carina Lau. Lee plays a cop who becomes a ghost after being killed in a car wreck and eventually discovers the truth behind his death.
Plot
While posing undercover in a drug bust operation in Volvo Club, Anti-Narcotic Unit Sergeant Chiu Kai-hung (Waise Lee) gets drunk to keep his cover. After his superior officer and godfather, Officer Fong (Kenneth Tsang} leads his squad to arrest the drug dealers and collapses on the streets and ends up on the same taxi as a drunk hostess, Witty (Carina Lau), who works in the same nightclub. The taxi drivers carries the two, who have passed out, into Kai-hung's home and bedroom. When they wake up, Witty thinks they had sex and demands HK$2000 from Kai-hung despite knowing he is a cop and takes his television and VCR. In another operation to bust drug lord, Master Tai (Chen Kuan-tai), Kai-hung encounters Witty again, who accidentally blows Kai-hung's cover, and Tai's gang chases and shoots the two before Fong brings his squad to arrest Tai. Witty injures her leg from jumping off a high platform and Kai-hung takes care of her. Some time later, Kai-hung and Witty have become a couple and are co-habiting.
Kai-hung takes part in another operation with his new partner Mang Sam (Ben Lam) to arrest drug dealer Maddie, (Shing Fui-On) at the Containers Terminal, but Maddie's gang shoots at the two. Sam fights Maddie's henchmen while Kai-hung takes the engages in a car chase with Maddie to catch him, but Kai-hung's car was hit by a truck. Kai-hung comes out but his colleagues ignore him, only to see them carry his body out of his car and realizes he has died and became a ghost. When Witty finds out Kai-hung died at the hospital, she breaks down and admits her love for him as his spirit watches behind her. Witty is then harassed by Maddie to give back HK$10 million (prepared by the government for the bust) that Kai-hung snatched from him and she reports it Kai-hung's colleagues, so Sam and Fat (Chung Fat) were assigned to protect her. At the police station, Kai-hung meets another ghost, Ko (David Wu), who was killed by his cheating wife and lover, who teaches Kai-hung to use supernatural powers and informs him in 49 days, he must find a body to reincarnate or he will cease to exist.
Witty and Sam later encounter Maddie and the latter manages to arrest him. However, Fat later finds a suspicious $200 bill in the register of the police station canteen where his wife works. The police accountant announces the HK$10 million has vanished without suspicion but Fat tells Sam what he found and Fat was later pushed into a fire while burning offerings for Kai-hung. Witty is horrified after witnessing it and Sam tries to molest her while comforting her. The next day, Kai-hung follows Sam and discovers the latter the behind his and Fat's death, and Fong was also conspiring with Sam for the HK$10 million.
Kai-hung, who have been trying to get attention, realizes she can talk to Witty's friend, Eva (Angile Leung), who is a spirit channeller and tells her to report to the police, but Sam and Fong stops her. Kai-hung instructs Eva to take the HK$10 million from Sam's locker in a bowling alley and mail it to his own home to give it Witty. Witty then witnesses Sam pushing Fong off the building after a deal gone wrong and once she receives the money, she gives it up to in order to have Sam arrested and avenge Kai-hung who is touched by Witty's action before it was time for him to reincarnate. Some time later, while helping a blind man cross the street, Witty encounters a man who looks exactly like Kai-hung and is thrilled to joy before kissing.
Cast
*Waise Lee as Chiu Kai-hung (), an undercover sergeant or the Anti-Narcotic Unit of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force who becomes a ghost after being killed in a car wreck.
*Carina Lau as Witty (), an abrasive, materialistic, but kind hostess of Volvo Club () who becomes Kai-hung's girlfriend and eventually sacrifices money for love.
*Ben Lam as Mang Sam (), inspector of the Anti-Narcotic Unit trained in England who is the culprit behind Kai-hung's death and scheming the take HK$10 million of government funds for himself.
*Angile Leung as Eva, Witty's friend who is a hostess of Volvo Club's 28th Group who has the ability to channel spirits and can communicate with Kai-hung but cannot see him.
*Chung Fat as Fat (), a sergeant of the Anti-Narcotic Unit and Kai-hung's colleague and best friend.
*Shing Fui-On as Maddie (), a drug dealer who sold HK$10 million worth of cocaine to Kai-hung and Sam in a trade where the two were to bust him.
*Kenneth Tsang as Officer Fong (Sir), Kai-hung's superior officer and godfather who conspires with Sam to obtain the HK$10 million cash.
*Chen Kuan-tai as Master Tai (), a drug dealer who trades with Kai-hung in Volvo Club before arrested by Fong's squad.
*David Wu as Ko (), a ghost who Kai-hung meets who was killed by his cheating wife and lover, teaches Kai-hung to use supernatural powers by avenging his own death as well as informing him he must find a body to reincarnate in 49 days.
*Eliza Yue as Fat's wife who works at the register of the police station's canteen.
*Charlie Cho as the lover of Ko's wife.
*Mai Kei as Brother Ben (Ben), a drug dealer Kai-hung busts in the former's mansion.
*Gabriel Wong as a taxi driver who drives Kai-hung and Witty and carries them up to the former's home while they were drunk.
*Billy Ching as Billy (Billy), Kai-hung's colleague who was undercover with him while busting Ben.
*Jo Jo Ngan as Witty's friend who is a hostess at Volvo Club.
*Debbie Cheung
*Cho Seung-wan as Officer Fong's wife.
*Ng Man-choi as a blind man whom Witty helps cross the street.
*Albert Lai
*Poon Chuen-tak as Kai-hung's colleague.
*Edith Au as Ko's wife who is then killed by her dead husband.
*Kingdom Yuen
*Kam Piu
*Lee Man-kuen
*Lam Hoi-chin
*Cheng Yam-chiu
*Wong Wa-shing as Kai-hung's neighbor who lives above his flat.
*Mole Yin-seung
*Chow Hong-chiu as a Aunt (), man beaten by Sam at the bowling alley while chasing Witty.
*Kei Ho-chiu
*Hui Sze-man as Kai-hung's neighbor who lives a floor above his flat.
*Ng Kwok-kin as the police accountant.
*Yu Ngai as Hui Kwok-on (), inspector of the ICAC's Special Operation Unit.
*Lung Ying as Maddie's henchman.
*Choi Kwok-ping as Maddie's henchman.
Theme song
*Song: 'People Revolve by Following the Mortal World' ()
**Composer: Johnny Yeung
**Lyricst/Singer: Oman Mui
Reception
Box office
The film grossed HK$1,060,863 at the Hong Kong box office during its theatrical run from 8 to 13 January 1993.Critical reception
In his book, 'The Hong Kong Filmography, 19771997: A Reference Guide to 1,100 Films Produced by British Hong Kong Studios', John Charles gave the film a s score of 4/10 and states the film's change to supernatural theme midway keeps the film interesting but criticizes the film's attempt at humor.References
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