With
the success of RUMBLE
IN THE BRONX ($30 million gross on a
$1 million investment for the US rights),
it seems like a "new" Jackie Chan
flick pops up every time I turn around.
In actuality, most of these are long since
"new" -- SUPERCOP
was actually POLICE STORY 3 (1993), OPERATION
CONDOR is better known as ARMOUR OF GOD
2 (1991!), and this oddly-titled effort
is 1996's POLICE STORY 4. Got that? Good,
'cause there's a quiz later.
Unfortunately, this
over-exposure has diluted Chan's talents
and appeal to a point of indifference, at
least for this viewer (the poor boxoffice
for every HK import since RUMBLE implies
that most of the US market feels the same).
Instead of looking forward to each release
and rushing to see it, their glossy sameness
has created a surprisingly unappealing air.
Frankly, the films
could be saved by a story that relied more
on, well, story instead of the now tiresome
ad ploy about Chan performing his own stunts.
Great. Now can he perform a story once in
a while? Remember, that was what set POLICE
STORY (aka JACKIE CHAN'S POLICE FORCE) apart
from the Hong Kong crowd in the first place.
Sure, it may've had a wealth of chop-sockey
elements and outrageous stunt-/set-pieces,
but it also had an above-average plotline
that kept viewers interested between battles.
For that reason, it was for more fun to
watch a Chan flick, PEKING OPERA BLUES,
or THE KILLER instead of an 18th generation
Bruce Li flick or something with the words
"Shaolin Temple" in the title
The same can't be said
of FIRST STRIKE, the latest video release
from Chan's back filmography. The "plot"
has something to do with terrorists, double
agents, stolen bomb parts, an aquarium,
and JC cutesying it up (and getting naked)
for what seems like the nth film
in a row. Ugh.
Don't get me wrong,
folks. At his best, I love Chan. Sure, the
descriptions of his skills rely too heavily
on comparisons to Buster Keaton and Gene
Kelly, but that's not Chan's fault.
And, if you're interested
in a Chan flick with more of a bite, rent
CRIME STORY, which wasn't picked up by his
stateside distributors. A dramatic tale
of good cops gone bad, it's closer to the
original POLICE STORY than FIRST STRIKE's
annoyingly slapstick violence.
