Police Story

Jackie is one of the key police officers in a bust that captures big time criminal Koo. As a `reward' he is told to guard Koo's secretary, who has turned states evidence. However Koo's men try to get to them before the trial - the least of Jackie's problems as his girlfriend May storms out when she sees him with Selina. When Koo is acquitted, he frames Jackie for the murder of a cop, forcing Jackie on the run to clear his name and get Koo.

The first film in the successful Police Story series is a fair example of a Jackie Chan film for those who have never seen one - reasonable plot, great action, average acting (potentially bad dubbing) and the comic scenes. However it is not as good as some of the sequels and, just generally, some of Chan's other films. Police Story opens with a great shoot out that culminates in a car chase through a shanty town and a fantastic series of stunts on a bus. From this point on it then focuses on the plot and quiet a few moments of comedy. This works reasonable well but it feels like the comedy and action have been divided up into separate sections. This takes away from the film a little bit.

The plot is pretty solid for a Jackie Chan film (by recent standards this is a masterpiece of writing!) although some of the dialogue doesn't quite fit. The moment where Jackie is forced on the run by the police is a bit hammy and the `you don't see us as people' rant just doesn't seem like Jackie. Of course part of the problem with this is the dubbing in the version I watched - I just don't understand viewers who would sooner see a really bad dubbing job than watch a subtitled version! The cheesy American voices here do detract from the performances and I found it difficult to judge some of Chan's comedy lines when they were being delivered by another person in a very flat way. However he still has presence and his physical work is great. Special mention to the stunt men here also, there are a lot of great falls (including a dive from a bus top) that must have hurt - I don't care who you are! Tung's Uncle Bill has fewer funny lines than I'm used to but he is still funny. The female cast are pretty wasted with both Lin and Cheung on screaming duty for the majority of the film (and most grating it is too!).

The film ends on a rather strange shot but set up an angry cop that Chan never really convinced me as - a personae that just seemed to be dropped in the later films in the series, but the overall film is still very enjoyable. The plot is good even if the acting isn't and the action involves plenty of amazing routines and stunts - it's just a shame that the action and comedy were very fragmented, it disjointed the film.

Probably Jackie Chan's best film in the 1980s, and the one that put him on the map. The scale of this self-directed police drama is evident from the opening and closing scenes, during which a squatters' village and shopping mall are demolished. There are, clearly, differences between the original Chinese and dubbed English versions, with many of the jokes failing to make their way into the latter. The latter is also hampered by stars who sound nothing like their Chinese originals. In fact, the only thing the dubbing has corrected is the court trial—at the time, trials in colonial Hong Kong were conducted in English, while the original has this scene in Cantonese!

Nonetheless, Chan's fighting style and the martial arts choreography inject humour where possible, so non-Cantonese audiences don't miss much. It's not, after all, the dialogue that makes a Chan flick, but the action and the painful out-takes. The story is easy to follow: Chan plays an incorruptible Hong Kong detective pursuing a gangland godfather (Cho Yeun), and assigned to protect a star witness (Brigitte Lin). The action is superb from beginning to end, and there's not much time to breathe in between. It'll never get you thinking, but what an entertaining, and well strung-together, film. Arguably, this is one of the best martial arts films out there.

Version: Universal / Hong Kong Legends R4 DVD release. Cantonese / English subtitles

Once upon a time, five years ago, the world was obsessed with 'The Matrix', and I was perhaps one of the few fifteen year olds left who still believed that 'Terminator' was better than 'Matrix'. I was but a simple teenage boy, looking for a good action movie, and then there was a shining light on a TV station I had never really watched, a little station known as SBS. One night I noticed in the TV guide that a movie starring Jackie Chan - 'Police Story' would be on later. Being fifteen, and having only seen 'Rumble in the Bronx' and 'Rush Hour', I said... "WOW AWESOME" and sat down to watch it, and continually shouted "WOW AWESOME" as the movie progressed. Two weeks later, after SBS had shown the 'Police Story' trilogy, I knew I had found my new favourite actor.

Jackie plays Chan Ka Kui, a Hong Kong cop who busts a major drug-lord, Chu (Yuen Chor). Chu's secretary, Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin), is being held by the police as a witness against Chu, and Chan is assigned to protect her. Things go bad - reaaaal bad - when Chu's case is dismissed and he decides he wants Fong and Chan dead.

'Police Story' is one of the greatest action movies ever, and certainly one of my favourite Jackie Chan films. It starts off strong, and ends with one of the most incredible action sequences ever filmed. Everything in between is great. However, some of the funny parts may seem a little tasteless to more than a few people...

As a story, this is still one of Jackie's better efforts. For an action movie, the story is pretty good, and Jackie is a much better actor in this than he is in the acting & plot intensive 'New Police Story'. This isn't 'Miracles', but maybe that's a good thing.

'Police Story' is one of Jackie's finest works. It got me hooked on Jackie Chan movies, and should provide a nice start for any potential Jackie fans. The bad news for anyone who sees this first is that Jackie Chan movies don't come much better - 10/10

It is a great shame that Jackie Chan's eventual emergence as a fully -fledged Hollywood star did not happen much earlier when he was at his physical peak. Of course even now he is pretty amazing,but he IS around 50 now. The Jackie Chan of Police Story would have REALLY amazed the world.

Police Story may not be his best movie but it is possibly the one to watch to get an overview of his abilities and film-making style {one must not forget he directed many of his Hong Kong films}.It is a somewhat uneven but often exhilarating film which mixes cop drama,slapstick comedy and amazing action. The film features opening and ending action sequences which are amongst the best done EVER. The opening has a shoot-out in a shanty town,virtual destruction of the town by cars and Jackie hanging on to a bus with a walking stick. The climax features an incredible fight scene in a shopping mall which is a fantastic combination of martial arts,brawling and sheer destruction,and the final stunt-WOW!

In between the film concentrates more on comedy,some of which slows the pace a little but is simply delightful to watch,such as a scene where Jackie has to answer lots of telephones at the same time {cut from the slightly poor dubbed version which also has a far inferior score},a very funny courtroom scene and even the old pie-in-the-face routine! Some of the humour may annoy those wanting more action but it is as essential to an understanding of Jackie's art as his martial arts and stunts,and here he perhaps perfects his favoured 'everyman' hero,a normal guy who may have amazing martial arts skill but still has relationship problems and is as likely to lose a fight as to win it. Sadly female stars Maggie Chung and Brigite Lin simply exist to be knocked about!

By no means a perfect film,and possibly Project A,Drunken Master 2 or Dragon's Forever might be better films but if you want a sampling of Jackie doing everything he does best,than this is the film to see .It spawned 3 sequels,all of which add to and build on the first one.

Jackie Chan stars as tough police inspector Chan Ka Kui, who is determined to bring Hong Kong drug lord Chu Tao (Yuen Chor) to justice, but who finds himself having to clear his own name when he is framed for the murder of a corrupt cop. Helping Chan to put things right is Chu Tao's secretary Selina (Brigitte Lin), but her presence doesn't sit well with the inspector's jealous girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung).

Police Story is widely regarded as being amongst Jackie Chan's best films, but while it undeniably showcases some of the star's most incredible fighting and stunt-work—opening in spectacular fashion with the destruction of a hillside shanty town during a car chase, and closing with a jaw-dropping shopping mall showdown in which no pane of glass remains un- smashed—the simplistic plot and frequent Chaplin-esque comedy routines prevent it from being one of my favourites. Chan is renowned for his trademark blend of kung-fu and comedy, but in this case it seems out of place amidst the organised crime, murder and shooting.

6.5/10, rounded up to 7 for the eye-watering moment three men fly through the top window of a double-decker bus and hit the ground in a most painful manner.