The Champions (18) |Home Ents Review

You’ll probably keep an innocent smile on your face – one that would do youthful looking lead Yuen Biao proud – while watching this immensely likeable blend of martial arts comedy and football. The Champions predates Stephen Chow’s more famous Shaolin Soccer by almost two decades. 

Young farmhand Tong (Biao) moves to Hong Kong after pissing off a local toff. He meets Suen (Cheung) who is training with his bros at a weird looking game with a ball. It turns out that Tong, with the foot moves he has perfected herding geese, has a special talent for the game. 

But when Suen introduces Tong to the local Football King called um, King (Wei), King gets instantly hostile. He gives Tong a job at his club as a ball boy and humiliates him every chance he gets. 

King’s hostility grows when a local business man gives Tong the opportunity to start his own team. When Tong threatens King’s match-fixing business, King suggests a grudge match where the victor takes the legs of the loser!

The Champions is a pure joy to watch. It feels like a series of energetic and joyful ‘chase-fight-football-fight-chase-repeat’ sequences throughout. And Biao’s optimistic looks can even weather his character’s anger. It is an ultimate feel good movie, despite the violence. 

I think this is also a near perfect Hong Kong film: a simple, much-used story given a twist by the football scenario, continuous frenetic action and those barely legal football/ martial arts moves and sequences themselves. This is the type of HK film that should have been or be immensely popular internationally: it makes total sense to an international audience and is totally fun.

Trailer: