Martial-arts mayhem meets Looney Tunes invention in this outlandishly entertaining extravaganza from Hong Kong comedy legend Stephen Chow. He brings his everyman magnetism to the role of Sing, a wastrel wannabe gangster in prerevolutionary Shanghai, whose destiny is revealed after he becomes embroiled in a war between an axe-wielding gang and the eccentric residents of a tenement complex, who turn out to be formidable adversaries. Soft-shoe-shuffling mobsters, a panoply of martial-arts icons, and a climactic battle that ascends to the heavens: Chow and legendary action choreographer Yuen Wo-ping throw all this and more into a showstopper that was a resounding success both in Hong Kong and internationally.