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Film / Forbidden City Cop

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A 1996 Hong Kong Wuxia comedy direted by Vincent Kok and Stephen Chow that has an imperial guard, Ling Ling Fat (Stephen Chow), an aspiring inventor who was recently demoted by the Emperor for lacking any martial art skills. However, things take a turn when the remaining bodyguards are killed and only Ling Ling Fat remains to save The Emperor (Cheung Tat Ming) when he is kidnapped by the Kam Tribe.

The movie also stars Carina Lau as Ka-Ting (Ling Ling Fat's wife), Carman Lee, Cheung Tat Ming, Law Kar Ying, Tats Lau, and Lee Lik Chi.

It was released on February 16, 1996.

Tropes for the film:

  • 11th-Hour Superpower: Ling Ling Fat, after getting struck by lightning unlocks the potential to be able to pull off the Flying Fairy move, defeating Faceless for good.
  • Chekhov's Gun: The Flying Fairy move, which Ling Ling Fat gets the manual of at the beginning of the movie, it's only brought up twice after. Then, the climatic battle has it become the 11th-Hour Superpower to defeat Faceless.
  • Contrast Montage: Ling's peaceful picnic with his wife is contrasted with the brutal deaths of the other Cops. Equally jarring since the cops' demises are immediately followed by events at the picnic that mirror their deaths as a creepy form of Relax-o-Vision.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: The Emperor's bodyguards get effortlessly killed by Faceless's son and wife.
  • Distressed Dude: The Emperor gets kidnapped by Faceless and put inside of an alien suit about to be dissected by the doctors at a fair until Ling Ling Fat unmasks him before they could do so.
  • Don't Try This at Home: When Ling Ling Fat is demonstrating his gunpowder at the beginning, he reminds the audience that Fat Yun is high trained for such feats and that children should never attempt detonating gunpowder in their mouths.
  • Flipping the Bird: Ling Ling Fat does this to Luk Siu Fung when he threatens to strike him with his wonder finger.
  • Gonk: The warriors Ling Ling Fat meets in the prologue are rather unattractive middle aged men, which the warriors are aware and take offense of.
Luk Siu Fung: Great swordsman aren't always handsome. Handsome heroes are just unreal expectations of ordinary people!
Sai Mun Tsui-suet: Heroes can be bald too.
Ling Ling Fat: But not as ugly as you are!
  • Gory Discretion Shot: During the Contrast Montage, the Emperor's bodyguards are massacred, but before any of the killings are shown, it immediately cuts to Ling Ling Fat and his wife dining at various food booths.
  • Groin Attack: Ling Ling Gong gets stabbed in the crotch (that or up his anus) and it kills him.
  • Praetorian Guard: Each member of the Chinese emperor's personal guard is a master of a different martial arts technique, except for Ling Ling Fat ("008"), who earned a spot through a family legacy. He's also the only one who lives to the end of the movie.
  • Relax-o-Vision: Ling and his wife are attending a picnic while his fellow Cops escort the Emperor when they are attacked by the villains. As Ling enjoys himself, his fellow Cops are swiftly and brutally killed. Each time a Cop is killed, the scene shifts to the picnic when something happens that mirrors the way he dies. For example, when the last Cop is killed by having his crotch crushed, the scene immediately shifts to the picnic where an egg explodes after getting squeezed by a cook.
  • Science Hero: Ling Ling Fat is a member of the imperial guard by family heritage rather than martial arts ability. He's actually a gynecologist by trade and part-time inventor who uses his creativity and analytical mind to succeed where the other bodyguards fail.
  • Took a Level in Kindness: The Emperor at first is unimpressed with Ling Ling Fat's lack of martial prowess and demotes him, only summoning him for labor tasks. After Ling Ling Fat rescues him from the Kam Tribe, he becomes the Big Good of the movie.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Ling Ling Fat possesses no martial art skills and the Emperor demotes him because of it. But he manages to kill Faceless's son and wife (while the other bodyguards were curb-stomped by them) using nothing but magnets, a cauldron of fire, a bat (for the son), metal helicopter blades, and a mini cannon (for the wife).

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