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After the runaway success of All for the Winner, expectations were set high for Stephen Chow, and he met them with Fight Back to School. It was another huge hit for Chow -- actually breaking the previous box-office record he had set with All for the Winner -- and fully solidified his "moy len tau" (nonsense comedy) style as a viable genre in the cut-throat business of Hong Kong movies. Like most of Chow's movies, Fight Back to School holds up pretty well, even though over a dozen years have passed since its' initial release.

In the film, Chow plays a hot-headed SDU officer who is saved from being kicked off the force by a captain. The captain (who is about to retire and doesn't want to lose any face) had his gun stolen by some visiting students, so he sends Stephen undercover into a school to try and recover the piece. Once inside, he soon runs afoul of both the school's principal and a local gang leader (Roy Cheung). However, with the support of his partner (Ng Man-Tat) and a sympathetic teacher (Cheung Man), Chow soon becomes one of the most popular "kids" at the school. He seems to be close to finishing his case, but soon turns up something that tests his mettle.

Fight Back to School isn't as densely-packed as some of Chow's later films. I'll admit that the plot sounds like a bad episode of "21 Jump Street", but director Gordon Chan keeps things moving at a tight clip. But then again, Chow didn't have to try and outdo himself at this point in his career. Quite simply, Fight Back to School is a fast-paced and, more importantly, funny movie. Even though, for the most part, this is a surprisingly "clean" film, especially considering Wong Jing was involved with it (that probably explains the sequence where Chow chews on a condom like it's bubble gum). At any rate, there are a good amount of laugh-out-loud sequences; the fact that there are several solid action sequences as well (with Chow, as always, doing a great Bruce Lee imitation) is just icing on the cake.

Fight Back to School isn't Chow's best work. It does have a low-budget vibe to it and there a few clumsy attempts at serious dramatics, but any Stephen Chow movie is better than eighty percent of the so-called "comedies" that ooze out from both sides of the ocean. Even though there haven't been too many extraordinary or mind-blowing moments in his work, Stephen Chow is probably the most consistent actor Hong Kong has ever produced. For the most part, you always know what you're going to get and Chow delivers it, with entertaining results. Bottom line is, if you've gotten hyped on Stephen Chow after seeing him in his later movies like Shaolin Soccer and want to check out some of his beginnings, a film like this is an excellent way to start -- and if you're already a fan, you're sure to have a good time.

RATING: 7.5

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