Jackie Chan, Man!

I've been watching Jackie Chan movies like crazy for about a week now.

It started out as just a fun idea. Watch a few of Jackie Chan's older movies, maybe watch a few of the newer movies as well, but then it turned into an ambition, so I've been stuck watching movie after movie. Haven't seen Jackie Chan's movies? Keep reading, you should, most of them are really worth watches. Jackie manages to combine action and comedy like no one else does, and manages to use both the surrounding environment and nearby objects to his advantage, each fight scene is a new creative experience, and in my case it gives a lot of inspiration and motivation too.

Sure, there are a lot of great martial artists out there - Jet Li, Tony Jaa, Bruce Lee, ehhh, and a bunch of others with names I'll probably never remember, but the point is, Jackie Chan is unique out of all of them. I love all kinds of action movies, but Jackie Chan has become some kind of addiction. Maybe it's the fact that he does all stunts himself, maybe the fact that his movie characters always portray him as a nice person, IDK, no need to dive into psychological concepts now anyway. Don't know who Jackie Chan is? Read this.

Chan started as a regular stunt guy back in the sixties, but it took a while for him to gain the recognition he should have gained, maybe because he kept playing bad guys, no acting, just fighting. His comedial talents didn't come to show until the seventies, but once they did he became an immediate hit and has since then not only acted as main character in about thirty movies, but also coordinated a lot of fight and directed movies of his own. I've watched just about all of them so I thought I'd leave a bunch of quick reviews for each below.

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu was a real comedy, but without any spectacular plot. Jackie played the roll of a student at a school, schools fight, nemesis appears, big drama, student surpasses nemesis. Just like so many other movies at this time... this movie was just like so many other movies at this time. Snake in the Eagles Shadow is similar, and in both movies Jackie is trained by the same teacher/actor, the locations seem very similar as well. The training exercises are all interesting to watch and may be useful if you feel like starting some training yourself, as are the fights since the coordination is - like in all old Kung Fu movies - not realistic at all, yet varied, and filled with stylish athletic moves and fancy names. It's all about different styles and discipline and fighting and ehh.. not much of a real plot. However Jackie Chan is in great shape, so if you like Kung Fu flicks, you'll enjoy them (I did). I watched Hapkido too, since I thought he would be in it, but he wasn't as far as I could see. Good movie though, similar plot. I should mention that these movies all take place a few decades or maybe centuries back in time.

Drunken Master is a movie a bit like Snake in the Eagles Shadow, except here he doesn't learn the Snake Style, he learns Drunken Boxing, and if I'm not mistaken it's still the same actor playing his teacher. Much better fight choreography, a much better plot, overall it's a great watch. And if you like this movie, the sequel The Legend of the Drunken Master brings it to a whole new level. I've watched the movie maybe four times and the final fighting scene is just as suspenseful each time. It is according to many Jackie Chan's best movie, and I just might agree. The fights vary in location and style, and it's no longer the classic Student surpass Nemesis scenario (though he is still a student), the villains are many, as are the heroes, and the plot is both comical and unique. Great action.

Project A is a movie in which Jackie plays the role of a Navy officer out to capture or kill a gang of pirates. Expect comedy, explosions, and Samu Hung, a friend of Jackie who since this movie eventually appears in about half of the movies he has made so far. Samu is pretty fat, but moves swiftly and adds much to the element of comedy. Project A II is the sequel, another great movie.

In The Canton Godfather Jackie suddenly becomes a crime boss. He becomes this by mistake, though he really isn't a bad guy at all, and the movie is pretty hilarious. More and more people become involved in the plot and eventually it all turns into a big mess. Great movie.

In Winners and Sinners Jackie plays the role of a cop, but not really main character. Samu Hung appears as one of the many characters, as well as four others you'll be seeing a lot of in the other movies. there are four (I think) sequels, all with the same cast of characters and a lot of comedy. There's at least one big fight scene in each one, so if that's what you're searching for, they're all worth a watch. This series of movies might be the least known of the ones listed on this page, but they're all good.

Armour Of God & Armour of God II - Operation Condor are a couple of my favorites. Jackie plays the role of a thief, stealing artifacts and expensive things from uncivilized tribes. There are some amazing stunts in these two movies and it should be mentioned that Jackie almost died during the filming of the first one, he had to undergo brain surgery and still has a plastic plug in his skull to remind him. Not that it slows him down at all though.

City Hunter is probably the funniest of all the movies mentioned here. Jackie Chan is a detective with a pretty messy lifestyle, he's broke and has trouble staying away from his female assistant - the cousin of his previous brutally murdered partner to which he promised never to seduce her. Maybe not cousin, but a relative in one way or another. There's more shooting in this movie than in most Jackie Chan movies, it's not like the traditional Jackie Chan movies. It's a crazy mix of love, action and comedy, most of it taking place upon a cruise ship which vicious terrorists are trying to take over. Will City Hunter rescue the day (that's the detective)? Find out, watch the movie. ;)

Heart of Dragon, The Twin Dragons, Thunderbolt & Dragons Forever are all great action movies. In the first one Samu Hung plays the role of a retarded younger brother to Jackie, in the Twin Dragons Jackie Chan plays two roles (remember Van Dammes 'Double Impact'? I wonder which one was made first), in Thunderbolt Jackie plays a professional racer and in Dragons Forever he plays a cop. All great movies. All with great fighting sequences, though they are all far from his best works and therefore are left unnoticed by most people.

Police Story is a series of five movies Jackie Chan directed himself that set a new standard for Hong Kong Action. Jackie performs stunts that just get crazier and crazier, hanging onto a bus with an umbrella, electrocuting himself, swimming with sharks, climbing around on skyscrapers, snowboarding down some pretty intense slopes, hanging from a helicopter ladder as it drags him against buildings. After you've seen this series - knowing that what you are seeing is the real deal - the new Hollywood action movies will just seem dull like a gray skull. The series combines comedy and genuine action in a manner you won't forget. The first three are classics, the fourth one wasn't as big a success as the previous, the fifth one (also called 'New Police Story' is a whole new chapter, made about twenty years after the first one it starts over from the beginning and pretends as if the previous four never happened. The stunts aren't as crazy here as in the previous three (I mean, they do look crazier, but in difference from the old movies he actually has safety nets and stuff in this one) but it is an amazing movie nevertheless.

In Who Am I Jackie loses his name and tries to find it again. He also fights at the edge of a big building (maybe not skyscraper big, but still very big) and later glides down the side of the building, no safety nets, pretty intense.

Rumble In The Bronx is a classic. For the first time Jackie Chan travels to America and makes a movie. Even in the movie he plays the role of an immigrant, arriving in America to help his uncle with the shop, yet stumbling straight into some brutal gangster society. His English accent sucks, but the movie is great, both dramatical and well-made, and with a couple of rememberable fight scenes as well.

In Shanghai Knights and Shanghai Noon Jackie plays together with Owen... first name Steve? I forget. Anyhow, the movies take plays in the Wild West in the US and are all the way through great action comedies.

In the Rush Hour series (three episodes) Jackie plays together with Chris Rock, both as Cops, but from different cultures. Expect a lot of cultural collision comedy, and a lot of good comedy, and a lot of not so good comedy, and then some great action as well. The series is more Hollywood than Hong Kong, but still as great as it can ever get. The first two are perfect, the third one is (as most sequels made just for additional income) just good.

The Accidental Spy, The Tuxedo, The Medallion & Around The World In 80 Days are a bunch of Jackie Chan's newer American movies. The first and second both feature him as a spy, by accident. The third features him as just a regular person who gains mystical abilities. In all three he has an attractive American female sidekick that follows him around and though they are all great movies they aren't really anything special. It's Hollywood, you know what to expect. In Around The World In 80 Days, a remake of the classic book and movie, he travels around the world as an assistant, explores various cultures and comical aspects. It is, IMHO, much better than the previous three. Btw, Samu Hung appears in the last one too. ;)

Mr Nice Guy & Rob B Hood are a couple of newer Un-American movies starring the you know who. Both feature a lot of great fight scenes and pretty good plots, but they don't stick out of the crowd.

My Stunts, My Story & Top Fighter are a three documentaries. The first two are Jackie Chan exclusives. In 'My Stunts' he speaks about the crazy stunts he's made, how the stunts are made, reveals lots of interesting tricks and techniques used in low-budget Hong Kong action movies, etcetc. If you're interested in going behind the scenes it's a real gold mine. Top Fighter is a documentary on a bunch of great Martial Artists, and Jackie Chan just takes up a few minutes of it's total runtime, but you'll learn a lot about Bruce Lee, Samu Hung (yepp, him again), Larry Lee, JC Van Damme and a bunch of others you've probably heard of before. Top Fighter is a couple of decades older than My Stunts, but both are worth watching.

Gorgeous is a love story in which Jackie Chan plays a lonely rich man. The movie follows his journey in love and in beating his rival and friend. One of the stunt men that appeared in My Stunts made his grand debut in this movie, and a very good one too. He looks like a European version of Jackie Chan, same height, comical facial expressions, skilled. There is only one major fight scene (very good one - though), a couple of minor ones, but overall it's still a well-made movie.

Enter The Phoenix is a comedy slash action movie starring Jackie Chan. He just makes a guest appearance, but it was still a good movie.

The Forbidden Kingdom is an American movie in which Jet Li and Jackie Chan finally meet, though only as temporary enemies, it doesn't have the same Jackie Chan style to it and the special effects are all over the place. It's a good movie, but I was still a bit disappointed with everyone flying all over the place and throwing rays of light here and there. It's the raw oldskool action I look forward to in a Jackie Chan movie.

House Of Fury doesn't really have anything to do with Jackie, except that he directed it. It's a comedy about a family of martial artists who don't always get along too well, but when the dad gets kidnapped they get together and beat the bad guys and everything ends happily. It's a hilarious movie, lots of comical moments, worth the watch.

I've been watching a bunch of Johnny Woos movies as well, such as God of Gamblers, the 'A Better Tomorrow' series and Hard Boiled. His movies have a style of their own as well. They are brutal and amazing, and in an odd exaggerated way - realistic. The good guys just might get shot up and die full of bullet holes, but you always know they'll go out with a worthy bang. If you like Hong Kong Action, Johnny Woo is the king of this genre, but if you liked Hong Kong Action you probably already knew that, right? On a side-note, if you like Action, you won't get it served any better and lower budget than in Hong Kong, on the screen I mean.

So woah, there, I won't be watching movies this intensely again till the year ends at least. That was a looot of movies...