Spia per caso

Apparently there are two versions of "The Accidental Spy" in circulation, the most commonly found cut one (which runs about 90 minutes) and the harder to find long one (which runs about 110 minutes). This certainly offers a reasonable explanation as to why the plot of this movie in its cut form seems so disjointed. But it does not fully explain why it is so dull. The tone swings wildly from light spy comedy to serious spy drama - the movie never seems sure of itself. The fighting is unremarkable if you've seen any of Jackie's previous outings, and some of the action scenes have a "been there, done that" feel to them. The climactic "Speed"-like sequence of a tanker that must not slow down or it will explode is spectacular, but has nothing to do with the main plot. On the bright side, there is at least one amazing stunt (Jackie jumping from the roof of a building to the road below using three umbrellas as parachutes!), there is a nice international flavor (the locations include Hong Kong, Seoul and Istanbul), there are two pretty Chinese women, and of course there is always Jackie. (**)

If one of the earlier reviewers is correct, then the Dimension release (which I saw) must have butchered a passable original, for I can't imagine Chan being in anything this poor. The Accidental Spy was beautifully photographed with some excellent fight and car-chase sequences, but whomever redid the dialogue for the English-language market had little idea of plot or continuity. The sound quality was additionally horrid, making the film even harder to follow.

Hopefully one of these days I'll get to see the Chinese original. In this form, The Accidental Spy fares very poorly in comparison with Police Story or Drunken Master II.

As a vehicle for Jackie Chan action sequences, this movie is decent. There are some clever scenes, and while some, particularly one in which a naked Jackie tries to cover himself while his enemies seem determined to keep them off, make no sense, they are amusing.

Unfortunately, the story is an absolute mess. None of it makes any real sense and it's often unclear what on earth is going on. The movie just jumps from scene to scene with little thought for the sense of it all.

The movie also ends, not with a typical Chan action scene, but with a highway scene that uses none of Chan's talents, is confused and lacks any sort of excitement or suspense. It is a huge misstep in a film full of small missteps.

A worker in an athletic equipment store (Jackie Chan) saves the day when a robbery is going down. With a bit of fame, he attracts the attention of a dying Korean man who believes the hero is his long lost son. But, after traveling to Korea to meet with his supposed father, Jackie learns he may have a large bank account in Istanbul and his dad may have been involved in drug trafficking, too. Even as Jackie jets off to Turkey and fills a suitcase with his new bank-vault fortune, various groups of bad guys are out to get him. One of them dangles a beautiful young lady as bait for a trap. Will Jackie fall for it? Also, is the CIA involved in some respect? This is a fairly exciting movie which sports Jackie's patented and imaginative martial arts talent. Watching him get away from his pursuers by squirting shampoo in their eyes, among other things, is fun, no doubt about that. There is also a great scene in an open market where a disrobed Chan covers his vitals with tambourines and other handy items. Chuckle, chuckle. This dubbed film from the Hong Kong filmmakers also offers an excellent visual tour of Istanbul and its surroundings, something very rare and attractive. Jackie's castmates are well chosen, also, with two beautiful women gracing the screen for the viewers' vast enjoyment. If you love Chan movies, don't miss this one. Although it may not be his best work, it still has plenty of humor and action to keep the audience watching until the credits start to roll.

"Buck Yuen" (Jackie Chan) is an employee of a small exercise equipment shop in Hong Kong. One day he happens to see some suspicious people nearby and follows them. When they attempt to rob a jewelry store he springs into action and this gets his picture in the news. Then, as luck would have it, this attracts a private investigator to discern if he is possibly the heir to a client of his who just happens to be involved in drugs and espionage. Now rather than reveal any more of this rather complicated plot I will just say that, as usual with movies involving Jackie Chan, this film had more than its fair share of martial arts action. It also had some pretty good comedy too. Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, the plot was somewhat complex and the movie itself seemed heavily edited which certainly didn't help the overall cohesiveness of the film. Additionally, the sound quality wasn't very good either. In short, although this was an enjoyable movie for the most part it definitely had some flaws and for that reason I rate it as only average.