Mad Mission 4: You Never Die Twice (Aces Go Places 4) - D+
By Kage Alan

When a scientist entrusts master thief Sam Kong with a special prism capable of turning mere men into supermen, you can bet there’s going to be trouble. Why? Because trouble always follows him and this time it’s evil villain Ronald Lacey (one of the villains from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, complete with burned hand and all). Anyway, Sam and another professor’s daughter flee New Zealand and head back to Hong Kong for help. Who does he turn to? None other than Asian/American Detective Albert Au himself.

The bad guys are never far behind and in order to get the upper hand, they kidnap Au, his wife Nancy Ho and their baby boy, Junior. It’s then up to Sam and his new gal to find the missing trio, keep the prism out of the bad guy’s hands and attempt a daring rescue. Sounds quite exciting doesn’t it, especially since this installment was directed by Ringo Lam? Well, it’s not. “You Never Die Twice” feels very much like another script that had nothing to do with the series was adapted for it. Actor Karl Maka wrote the script and produced the film, only I wonder just how much influence he truly had. There are moments of sheer comic brilliance here, but they are surrounded by volumes of unfunny and by-the-numbers action plot elements. It’s too serious to meet audience expectations based on the first three films and almost too childish for adults to enjoy. Sam Hui is almost completely wasted in his role as is Sylvia Chang, though Karl Maka does get some decent material. Unfortunately, it all adds up to disappointment.