Where's Officer Tuba?

As I happened to stumble upon the 1986 Hong Kong action comedy "Pi Li Da La Ba" (aka "Where's Officer Tuba") here in 2022, I just had to sit down and watch it. Simply because this was a Hong Kong movie that I hadn't already seen, but also because it had an interesting cast ensemble.

And as I now have seen "Pi Li Da La Ba", aside from a rather bad title, then the movie's storyline was pretty generic, even for a mid-1980s Hong Kong action comedy. But hey, if you enjoyed that era's action comedies, then you know what you're getting here, for better or worse. Writer Barry Wong wasn't exactly revolutionizing the Hong Kong cinema with this movie. But sure, I was adequately entertained by "Pi Li Da La Ba" turned out to be, as I happen to enjoy the mid-1980s Hong Kong cinema.

What does work in "Pi Li Da La Ba", is the cast ensemble. You have Sammo Kam-Bo Hung in the leading role, and then you have familiar faces such as Jacky Cheung, Dennis Chan, Paul Chun and even Wah Yuen and Bolo Yeung on the cast list. So there are some pretty familiar faces on the cast list if you are well-traversed in the Hong Kong cinema.

While "Pi Li Da La Ba" is watchable, it is hardly a movie that warrants more than just a single viewing, however.

My rating of directors Phillip Chan and Ricky Lau's 1986 movie lands on a five out of ten stars.