I agree with the director's observation about his lack of flair with comedy. I always felt that 皇家大賊 (1985) had so much potential to be another powerful actioner with a thrilling beginning. The middle comedic section almost derailed the film until the high octane conclusion. It just didn't quite pull off Shaw Brothers 80s modern police thrillers like 'Men from the Gutter' (1983) which set a high bar for this genre at Shaw Brothers. Would really love to hear an interview with Nam Nai Choi if that's possible.
Also with 星際鈍胎, I always wondered why Shaw Brothers didn't recycled these futuristic sets and make a horror film out of it similar to Alien. Afterall Run Run Shaw did co-finance a low budget British Sci-fi horror film 'Inseminoid' back in 1981... One of those what ifs with a HK version of Sci-fi horror from the 1980s.