Project S (1993) [Film Review]

Project S: or, A Forgotten Spin-off

     If I do manage to clinch this deal, I will take you to America. I gave you my word.

After reviewing the Police Story movies last year, I knew that there was more to the series than the original trilogy, but I simply did not have enough time to get round and check out other instalments. I can be safely said that there were 4 movies which followed after Police Story 3: Super Cop. The first of these, in a chronological order, was Project S which came out only a year after the premiere of part 3. A somewhat underrated and unremembered film which very well deserves to be counted as part of the series.

Release Info

Directed by: Stanley Tong Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Yu Rongguang, Emil Chau, Athena Chu

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 超級計劃 Runtime: 98 min

 

Synopsis

Michelle Yeoh reprises her role as Inspector Yang Chien-Hua. She is a tough and diligent officer who works for the PRC’s law enforcement. What is more, she is in a relationship with a former Vietnam veteran, David Chang Fung (Yu Rongguang), who moves to Hong Kong in order to start a better life. A little while later, Hong Kong is plagued with a series of thefts. Inspector Yang is called in to assist and she begins the investigation. Is her love interest involved in the crimes? Will she be able to stop the gang of robbers and their elaborate bank heist?

 

Once a Cop

I heard about this movie for the first time in the early 2000s when I read some disapprovingly bitter article about the Police Story series on some shady site. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to check out the movie 10 years later. The movie is great and the awesome Michelle Yeoh proves to be a worthy replacement for Jackie Chan as the main lead.

 

Even though the year 1993 marked the decline of Girls with Guns genre’s popularity, Project S still holds up to the standards of a proper action flick. One can vividly see that Golden Harvest poured a lot of money into the film’s budget which was responsibly used by Stanley Tong. The movie starts right off the bat with a fast-paced credits sequence (Yukari Oshima's cameo!) and swiftly moves on to other explosive set pieces and nicely choreographed fights, which are interrupted only by sweet and tender moments between Michelle and Rongguang. All of that is accompanied by a catchy music score by Richard Lo (cue: music video in the middle of the movie).

 

It has to be mentioned that Jackie Chan appears in a brief cameo role as Inspector Ka-Kui in a drag chasing a jewellery thief (Eric Tsang) who is dressed up exactly like him. Nevertheless, Jackie’s appearance was quite exploited by some distributors who shamelessly slapped his face on the front cover of the movie, even though he shows up for three minutes at best. In addition to this, Project S suffered from a whole slew of alternative titles: Once a Cop, Supercop 2, Police Story IV, and (my favourite) Police Story 3 Part 2, Supercop.

 

Regardless of the marketing, Project S is primarily a Michelle Yeoh vehicle. This is her last true Girls with Guns movie and it is a real shame that she was not involved in any more of these little gems from the 1990s. It is a pleasure to see her beating up bad guys in a flash and fire tons of bullets. Her performance is enhanced by the towering presence of Yu Rongguang as the villain-ish lover with a code of honour. In the supporting roles we can also spot Athena Chu and Louis Fan before the days of their fame. Alain Guernier, who plays a sophisticated mastermind behind the heist, is evidently a foreigner taken from a street, but he comes off as a convincing criminal in his one-time performance. Additionally, Bill Tung reprises his role as Uncle Bill Wong from the previous Police Story films.

 

Recommendations

All things considered, I recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in good old Hong Kong action for a Saturday evening. This movie has everything it needs in order to entertain you: shootouts, car chases, rooftop jumps, but most importantly, it has Michelle Yeoh who is the sole reason to check Project S out. I wish that Stanley Tong could keep making more of these back in the day instead of focusing on the American market.

Overall score: 9/10

Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992) [Film Review]

Police Story 3; or, Super Cop with a Vengeance

     Super cops in Hong Kong are cheap and plentiful like commodities in supermarkets.

It took 5 years for Jackie Chan to become convinced by a young, up-and-coming director Stanley Tong to make a third Police Story movie. The end result became an unforgettable rollercoaster of awesome action set pieces and the finest entry in the Police Story trilogy. I’m talking about Police Story 3: Super Cop.

Release Info

Directed by: Stanley Tong Starring: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Yuen Wah, Maggie Cheung

Language: Cantonese Original Title: 警察故事3超级警察 Runtime: 95 min

 

Synopsis

Chinese authorities are plagued with drug smuggling business run by a ruthless criminal called Chaibat (Kenneth Tsang). They decide to carry out a joint HK-China operation in order to break up the crime lord’s smuggling ring. Inspector Ka-kui is sent to Guangzhou where he teams up with Inspector Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh). The two go undercover and rescue Panther (Yuen Wah), Chaibat’s right-hand man. This becomes their pass into the organisation, and they soon after find themselves helping to stage a jailbreak of Chaibat’s wife (Josephine Koo) in Kuala Lumpur. However, Ka-kui’s real identity is exposed and now he has to save his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung) as well as chase after Chaibat.

 

Think Fast, Look Alive, Kick Hard

Police Story 3 does not waste time as it goes from a straightforward exposition into breathtaking stunts. Contrary to the previous two movies, the storylines of which seemed to have been crafted around action set pieces, the plot line in this one appears to be the easiest to follow as Jackie and Michelle work together to get through Yuen Wah to Tsang.

 

However, while I personally find this part as the best of the series, it still carriers some of the series’ shortcomings, like, for example, evident absence of grittiness (serious stuff is only subtly hinted at: girls dying from drug overdose) which got replaced by usual Jackie’s shenanigans (hiding from May; Inspector Yang posing as Ka-kui’s sister), but these quickly pale in the blinding light of fast-paced action.

 

Super Cop does not offer a bus chase or exploding factory, but in turn, we get to see a boat chase, criminals’ base camp scorched to bits, and the outstanding finale in Kuala Lumpur which is a top-notch 10 minutes long sequence. Basically, everybody just remembers the moment of a helicopter landing on a speeding train (no CGI!), but for me, the best part is Jackie hanging hundreds of feet above Kuala Lumpur's downtown. In an interview, Jackie recalled fearing this stunt as he was attached to the helicopter’s ladder only by steel wires.

 

However, Jackie was not the only person whom the movie has taken its toll on. Michelle Yeoh not only had to jump with a bicycle on a train, but she also had to jump on the hood of a car, which required multiple painful takes. In addition, Maggie Cheung badly injured herself while performing an actual fall out of a helicopter. If you have doubts as to how much blood, sweat, and tears went into making this sequel, all the evidence is present in the end credits’ outtakes.

 

In terms of trivia, it should be mentioned that this was the first Hong Kong film to use sync sound; thus, you can hear Jackie’s original voice (in Police Story 1 and 2, he was dubbed by a professional voice actor). Also, Police Story 3 got butchered by the Dimension Films in 1996: standard crappy English dub, music score replacement, scenes cut out, and some fight screams added. Sadly, the Dimension version is the most prevalent one on DVD for years.

 

Throughout the film, Jackie Chan is basically Jackie Chan, but Michelle Yeoh provides a worthy addition as his sidekick, Inspector Yang, (she rightfully deserved a spin-off movie called Project S (1993), directed by Stanley Tong). Maggie Cheung reprises her role as May, but her character is used mostly for comedic effects. Yuen Wah proves to be a great baddie with a prowess strong enough that he could carry the film as the lead, whereas Kenneth Tsang does a commendable job as the villainous, James Bond-like, madman. Interestingly, Josephine Koo, an award-winning actress still in the movie business, plays the supporting role of a wife in distress.

 

Recommendations

Highly recommended to anyone who is into action or new to Jackie Chan’s classics. Police Story 3 delivers everything required from an action flick and to date remains a steadfast point of Jackie’s filmography. I always enjoy going back to it in the moment of need. This movie is an excellent showcase of great stunt work before the advent of the CGI era. Putting it short, Police Story 3: Super Cop is a definite must-see.

Overall score: 9/10