Yuen Biao

(On TV, February 2021) Jackie Chan made so many films in his heyday that I’m still discovering new ones despite having been a Chan fan since the mid-1990s. Wheels on Meals is a good example of Chan’s fully formed action/comedy persona, working with his buddies Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao to deliver a silly but action-packed film. Unusually set in Barcelona (reportedly because Chan’s growing fame made it impossible to film in Hong Kong), the plot has to do with the heir of a sizable fortune being pursued by multiple parties, including our likable heroes. Of course, much of the plot is spent going from one action showcase to another — a good car chase concludes the first half of the film, while the rest of it builds to a three-ring action circus featuring each character. The action is a bit rough around the edges, but that’s more in keeping with the technical qualities of the film in general than any specific fault with the action performers — as others have pointed out, this is the film that has Benny “the Jet” Urquidez performing a spinning kick so quickly that the draft actually blows out candles on-screen. Wheels on Meals is silly fun in the way most early Chan films were, with enough comedy to make the action immensely approachable even to those who don’t particularly like martial arts movies.