Operation Scorpio

Operation Scorpio follows Yu-Shu, a young man in 1920s Shanghai whose head is filled with comics and kung fu rather than schoolwork. After he helps a servant girl escape being sold to a local slave trader, he draws the wrath of the authorities, bringing trouble on his father and getting himself thrown out of school. He finds refuge in his uncle's restaurant, where, without Yu-Shu realising it, the older man begins teaching him martial arts. Those skills become necessary when the slave trader's son, a deadly fighter known for a scorpion technique, comes looking for what he wants.

The film is directed by David Lai Dai-Wai, his third feature after Spiritual Love and Runaway Blues, from a screenplay by David Chan Chi-Wai, Barry Wong and Lui Sau-Fung, produced by Jessica Chan Pui-Wah. Chin Ka-Lok plays Yu-Shu, with Won Jin as the assassin Sonny Wong, Lau Kar-leung as Master Lo, Frankie Chan Chi-Leung, May Lo Mei-Wei and Fung Woo among a credited cast of 23. Made in Hong Kong by Orange Sky Golden Harvest and Bo Ho Films, it runs 99 minutes and mixes action with comedy.

Released in September 1992, the film holds a 6.9 rating on IMDb from 716 votes and a 6.4 on TMDB from a much smaller base of 31 votes, suggesting a modest but durable following rather than wide contemporary attention.