Rumble in the Bronx (1995) [Film Review]

Rumble in the Bronx; or, A Fish Out of Water
     That’s my uncle’s car!
Fresh after the success of Police Story 3: SuperCop (1992) and Project S (1993), the duo composed of director Stanley Tong and action star Jackie Chan continued their fruitful cooperation in yet another bombastic project called Rumble in the Bronx. This movie would go on to prove itself especially important for Jackie’s career because it is often cited as one of the 90s flicks that made the Hong Kong actor recognisable in the United States.

Release Info

Directed by: Stanley Tong Starring: Jackie Chan, Françoise Yip, Anita Mui

Language: Cantonese, English Original Title: 紅番區 Runtime: 90 min

Synopsis
Keung (Jackie Chan) arrives in New York to visit his uncle (Bill Tung) who is going to remarry soon. Uncle Bill sells his grocery shop to a businesswoman called Elaine (Anita Mui). Nevertheless, problems arise when local thugs raid the shop. Keung helps out Elaine, but for his heroic action, he is assaulted and wounded by the bandits. He is looked after by his neighbour Danny (Morgan Lam), a physically-disabled boy, and his sister Nancy (Françoise Yip). In the meantime, a crime syndicate is looking for stolen diamonds in the neighbourhood. In order to fight the syndicate and protect his friends, Keung will have to join forces with the thugs.

Street Fighter
Rumble in the Bronx was made in-between Jackie’s popular Police Story movies, so it comes as no surprise that the team behind this franchise (director Stanley Tong, producer Raymond Chow, and screenwriter Edward Tang) crafted this particular motion picture. What is more, the movie was shot primarily on location in Vancouver, Canada, so the crew had to make sure that the setting would resemble NYC cityscapes.

The narrative premise as well as the fact that the film was shot outside of Hong Kong are reminiscent of Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon (1972). In that film, Bruce plays a well-meaning newcomer from Hong Kong who finds it difficult to operate within Western culture, but who tries his best to protect his friends from baddies. This is exactly what Jackie channels in Rumble in the Bronx and he does that very well indeed. The movie is packed with breathtaking action stunts, meticulously choreographed fight sequences, and a light-hearted humour (mostly coming from Anita Mui’s character).

When it comes to US releases of Jackie’s films, as always there are differences in various cuts. The most popular edition of the Rumble in the Bronx from New Line Cinema runs at 90 minutes and is very much watchable; however, the Hong Kong release actually provides different contexts for the characters through the Cantonese dubbing. For instance, in the original cut, it is said that Keung is actually a cop and he has a girlfriend back in Hong Kong. In the American cut, there’s absolutely no mention of such a thing.

With regard to performances, Jackie as always shines on the screen as the happy-go-lucky everyman who never wants to cause any trouble. For some of his 90s productions, Jackie had this great skill of choosing pretty wooden actors, especially Western ones, but this is not the case with Rumble in the Bronx. Françoise Yip does well as the friend/love interest character, and (that’s only my observation), she reminds me a lot about young Cherie Cheung. It is always great to see the late Anita Mui alongside Jackie, especially in a comedic role. The actors playing thugs, such as the late Marc Akerstream, and Gavin Cross also did quite well, and it is clear that they must have had a lot of fun on the set.

Unsurprisingly, the only person who did not have fun on the set was Jackie himself who badly injured his leg. In the making-of footage during the end credits, you can see that he filmed some of his stunts with a leg in a cast that had a sock coloured to resemble a shoe!

Recommendations
Needless to say, Rumble in the Bronx marks Jackie’s epic entry into the Hollywood showbiz. 27 years after its original release, the movie is still an enjoyable ride. I saw it for the first time on a promo-VHS copy from Imperial Entertainment Home Video and the memories of the hovercraft chase stayed on with me throughout childhood.The DVD edition I have contains the standard Miramax cut and no bonus features, but there is a DTS audio track.

Overall score: 8/10

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Police Story 4: First Strike (1996) [Film Review]

Police Story 4: First Strike; or, The Manhattan Project

     Killing me won't bring him back. Give me the bomb, and I'll give you the money. I promise. And then you'll never see me again.

Police Story 4: First Strike punched its way to the big screen on the 10th of February, 1996. It is the fourth entry in Jackie Chan’s successful Police Story franchise and also the second movie, after Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), directed by stuntman/filmmaker Stanley Tong. Interestingly, many online sources often omit First Strike together with a spin-off film, Project S (1993), from rundowns of the series. Even though First Strike may be a forgotten Police Story sequel, it is still part of the franchise and deserves to be discussed.
Release Info

Directed by: Stanley Tong Starring: Jackie Chan, Jackson Lou, Wu Chen-chun, Yuriy Petrov

Language: English, Cantonese, Russian Original Title: 警察故事4之簡單任務 Runtime: 110 min (U.S. cut: 80 min)

 

Synopsis

Officer Ka-kui (Jackie Chan) is sent by uncle Wong (Bill Tung) on a mission to follow a Ukrainian woman. It turns out that she serves as the middle man in a transaction between an elusive spy Tsui (Jackson Lou) and the Russian mobsters who want to buy nuclear warheads. Ka-kui interrupts the transaction, but he gets badly injured in the process. He is rescued by the FSB agency and the Russian authorities send him to Australia so that he can track down Tsui. Ka-kui’s only lead is Tsui’s younger sister, Annie (Wu Chen-chun).

Never Say Never Again

Police Story 4: First Strike is yet another 90s action-packed comedy filled with Jackie’s breathtaking stunts. The storyline must have been inspired by Bond movies, particularly GoldenEye (1995), due to espionage vibes and the nuclear weapons plot. However, as in many Jackie Chan’s movies, the screenplay serves only as an excuse to present a sequence of elaborate action set pieces.

 

In my opinion, First Strike lacks a bit in terms of action when compared to the previous three films. Indeed, there are some great scenes (for example, a ski chase, fight on parapets of a hotel, or a showdown at an aquarium), but none of these surpass Jackie’s mall jump in the first movie or train fight in Super Cop. Nevertheless, I appreciate beautiful locations shot in the city of Brisbane, Australia.

 

That is not to say that First Strike is not enjoyable. On the contrary, it is an entertaining action flick, but its main disadvantage is caused by the fact that there are two versions of the film available out there: The original uncut version (which runs at 110 minutes) and the American cut (with 80 minutes of runtime). First Strike is one of the rare Jackie’s productions that I prefer to watch in an altered form.

 

The uncut version has atrocious multi-national dialogue (caused by amateur actors playing foreigners), bad pacing, and the music score that is basically a looped tune. The American cut, on the other hand, has extended opening credits, brand new English dubbing, and catchy music score composed by J. Peter Robison. This cuts trims a bit the prologue sequence and the aquarium fight. The only scene which, I believe, was fully deleted features Jackie begging for money to make a phone call. In addition, the title was altered as well. Instead of being called a Police Story, the film was released in the U.S. as Jackie Chan’s First Strike.

 

Recommendations

Ironically, Police Story 4: First Strike serves as an example presenting that a movie can be either broken or improved in the editing room. Do I recommend it? Yes, but go for the American version. In consequence, you will not be disappointed. Interestingly, First Strike remains (to date!) Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong highest grossing picture. I wish that Jackie could keep making Police Story sequels throughout the 90s. Eventually, he did make New Police Story and Police Story 2013, but these were much more serious in tone.

Overall score: 6/10

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