Hail the Judge

Hail the Judge follows Pao Lung Sing, a man who claims descent from the famed Judge Pao Ching Tin but works as a low-ranking magistrate who supplements his income through bribery. His outlook shifts when he takes up the cause of Chi Siu-Lin, a woman accused of killing her husband. His efforts on her behalf leave him exiled from his post, and after a series of experiences he returns as a high-ranking judge determined to see the guilty answer for their crimes, with the story played largely for comedy.

Wong Jing directed and wrote the film, the fifteenth of the thirty-seven features he has directed in chronological order, arriving between Future Cops and Legend of the Red Dragon. Stephen Chow leads as Pao Lung Sing, with Ng Man-tat, Elvis Tsui Kam-Kong, Sharla Cheung, Collin Chou and Lawrence Ng among the principal cast; thirty-eight performers receive credit. Jimmy Heung Wah-Sing produced for Win's Movie Production Limited, and the film runs 106 minutes.

The Hong Kong comedy-drama has held up well with viewers. On IMDb it sits at 7.5 out of 10 from roughly 5,300 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 7.5, from about 156 votes. Those figures point to a durable following for a 1994 release rather than a large but lukewarm one.