Synopsis
Includes:
Dragon Lord (1982), MPAA Rating: PG-13
Jackie Chan's Project A (1983), MPAA Rating: PG-13
Jackie Chan's Project A 2 (1987), MPAA Rating: PG-13
Operation Condor 2: The Armour of Gods (1987), MPAA Rating: R
Operation Condor (1991), MPAA Rating: PG-13
Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), MPAA Rating: R
Twin Dragons (1992), MPAA Rating: PG-13
The Accidental Spy (2001), MPAA Rating: PG-13
Dragon Lord
International martial arts superstar Jackie Chan directed and choreographed (along with veterans Corey Yuen and Fung Hark-on) this action-packed follow-up to The Young Master. Chan also stars as Dragon, a rebellious young man who is always getting into trouble along with his best friend, Cowboy (Feng Sing). The friends soon meet Tiger (Michael Chan), a desperate man in hiding from the Chinese Imperial Guardsmen who conspired with him to steal a number of priceless artifacts from the Forbidden City. Tiger's fellow guardsmen were intending to sell the treasures to foreign interests and divide the money, but Tiger left before the transaction could be completed. What neither Tiger nor Cowboy knows is that the Captain of the Guards (Whang Ing-sik) is working in collaboration with the latter's corrupt father to pull off the illicit deal. Tiger goes back and purloins some of the artifacts, escaping with the guards in hot pursuit, as they need a complete collection to maintain their agreement with the buyers. Dragon and Cowboy remain blissfully unaware of the situation and give Tiger a place to seek shelter, only to face the wrath of the Captain and his men when their hiding place is discovered. Stand-out sequences include the final battle between Dragon and the Captain inside a large barn and a scene in which the precariously perched Dragon tries to keep from falling off a steep roof as the guards stick sharp spears through it from below. Dragon Lord also inaugurated Chan's practice of including clips of misfired stunts and injuries at the end of his films. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
Jackie Chan's Project A
Jackie Chan directs himself and fellow martial arts superstar Sammo Hung in the action film Jackie Chan's Project A. Chan plays a 19th century Coast Guard office who must defend Hong Kong's borders from a variety of smugglers and undesirables. As is usually the case, Chan performs all of his own stunts during the film. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Jackie Chan's Project A 2
This slapstick martial arts film is often regarded as superior to the original Project A. Dragon (Jackie Chan) runs against the pirates he defeated in the first film and also gets in trouble with corrupt cops, and a revolutionary group that includes popular Hong Kong actress Michelle Cheung. Many of the acrobatic fight sequences in this installment are legendary, including a scene where Dragon runs down the wall of a collapsing building in the style of Buster Keaton. ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, Rovi
Operation Condor 2: The Armour of Gods
Jackie Chan takes a break from police thrillers featuring kung-fu and wild stunts to star and direct this action-adventure yarn featuring kung-fu and wild stunts. Chan plays Jackie, aka the Asian Hawk, an Indiana Jones-style adventurer looking to make a fortune finding exotic antiquities. After discovering a mysterious sword in Africa, a band of Satan-worshipping monks kidnap Jackie's ex-girlfriend Lorelei (Rosamund Kwan), demanding as ransom the sword and other pieces of the legendary Armour of God -- a reportedly magical outfit dating back to the Crusades. He manages to get the objects in question from wealthy collector Bannon (Bozidar Smiljanic), and together with Bannon's daughter May (Lola Forner) and, of course, Hong Kong rock star Alan (Alan Tam), the three head out to rescue Lorelei. When they do, they discover too late that she has been brainwashed. She drugs Alan, taking him and the armor back to the monastery. Jackie is forced to take on an army of satanic monks single-handedly. This film is perhaps best remembered as the shoot that almost killed Jackie Chan. While jumping from one tree to another, he slipped and plunged almost 40 feet landing on his head. True to hallowed Hong Kong tradition, that outtake along with dozens of others is included at the end of the film. This film was released in the States under the misleading title Operation Condor 2: The Armour of the Gods, even though the supposed original Operation Condor was made four years afterwards. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Operation Condor
Jackie Chan returns to his adventuring Indiana Jones-esque Asian Hawk character with this rollicking action-adventure yarn. In this go-around, Jackie (aka the Asian Hawk) is looking for 240 tons of gold stolen by the Nazis and buried beneath the Sahara. Along the way, he teams up with a stuck-up archeologist named Ada (Carol Cheng), a Japanese tourist named Momoko (Shoko Ikeda), and Elsa (Eva Cobo De Garcia), the granddaughter of the Nazi captain who originally hid the booty. Opposing them is various groups of blackguards and mercenaries along with Adolf (Aldo Sanbrell) -- the last surviving soldier from the original company -- who is hell-bent on getting the gold himself. Soon, two of Jackie's companions find themselves sold into slavery while Jackie battles the baddies in a massive WWII-era wind tunnel. This film ran 100 percent over Chan's already lavish -- by Hong Kong standards -- budget, making it one of the most expensive films that industry has ever produced. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi
Police Story 3: Super Cop
Even for viewers who can take or leave martial-arts films, the work of Jackie Chan bears special attention. Chan is quite simply the hardest-working movie star in the world, regularly participating in the sort of death-defying stuntwork which would make most American action heroes cringe in fear. Combining his daredevil heroics with an almost goofy brand of self-effacing humor, Chan is one of the genre's most entertaining and engaging personalities. In this film, third in the Police Story series, Chan plays a Hong Kong detective working undercover with the Chinese police to nab a Malaysian druglord. The usual hair-raising gamut of stunts follow, and numerous shootouts, fights and explosions surround the plucky cop as he combats bad guys atop a moving train, a bus, a motorcycle, a speedboat, cars, and trucks, eventually being swung through the city at high speed on a rope-ladder suspended from a helicopter. For the kind of fast-paced exotic thrills that make James Bond look like a wimp, this film is the place to go. There are some amusing comedy bits too, as when Chan's superiors all go undercover as his long-lost family, and the story zips along at a feverish clip. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
Twin Dragons
International action star Jackie Chan stars opposite knockabout comedy sensation Jackie Chan in this story about identical twins separated in childhood who are unexpectedly reunited years later. While on the run from a Hong Kong hospital, an escaped convict takes an infant hostage, leaving the baby's identical twin brother behind. While the criminal is soon back behind bars, the police can't find the baby, who was hidden in the woods. The child is found by a well-meaning but hard-drinking woman who raises him on her own, while his brother moves to the United States with his parents. Years later, the brother raised in America, John (Jackie Chan), is a world-renowned classical musician, while the other, Boomer (Chan again), is a rough-and-tumble auto mechanic who likes to race cars and start fights. When Boomer's best friend hatches a dubious scheme to win the freedom of a nightclub singer (Maggie Cheung) in dutch with gangsters, he finds himself involved and in danger, just in time for John to arrive in Hong Kong for a concert appearance. The two brothers soon meet by accident, and suddenly finds themselves mistaken for each other. On one hand, both are pleased with the romantic possibilities, as John takes a shine to the nightclub chanteuse and Boomer discovers John's girlfriend is turned on by his more physical personality. On the other hand, John finds people are shooting at him, while Boomer is now expected to conduct an orchestra. Two of Hong Kong's leading directors, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark, teamed for this action comedy, which was a major hit in Hong Kong in 1992, but didn't receive a wide theatrical release in the United States until seven years later. The 1999 American release was dubbed into English (with Chan doing his own voice) and trimmed to 89 minutes from the original running time of 100 minutes. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
The Accidental Spy
Jackie Chan tones down the martial arts action but turns up the international espionage in this globe-trotting adventure. Buck Yuen (Jackie Chan) is a sporting goods salesman from Hong Kong who daydreams of living the exciting and dangerous life of an international spy. One day, Buck makes the news after he accidentally stops a gang of bank robbers from getting away with the loot, and his brief moment of celebrity attracts the attention of Many Liu (Eric Tsang), a low-rent private detective who's looking for help with a missing person's case. One of Many's clients is looking for his long-lost son, and Many thinks Buck is just the guy to help track him down. Buck signs on, and is sent to Korea, where he meets a mysterious man named Mr. Park; Buck doesn't think he's the man Many wants, but he wonders if he might be his own father, who disappeared when he was a child. Buck makes the acquaintance of Carmen (Kim Min-jeong), an attractive journalist who tips off Buck that Mr. Park is actually an infamous North Korean espionage agent; Buck confronts Mr. Park, who has suddenly fallen ill, and Park on his deathbed tells Buck a riddle that, if properly decoded, could lead him to a great fortune. As Buck and Carmen try to unravel the mystery of Mr. Park's final words, their adventures lead them to Istanbul, where the fate of millions is suddenly put into Buck's hands when he discovers a deadly biological weapon coveted by Mr. Zen (Wu Hsing-kuo), a ruthless Chinese crime boss. One of Jackie Chan's most lavish Hong Kong-based vehicles, Takmo Mai Sing was a massive commercial success there, where it did impressive business opening on the Chinese New Year. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
