Police Story 3 - Supercop

Jackie Chan is the "Supercop" of the title in Stanley Tong's martial arts caper. Forget about the plot and just sit back and enjoy the spectacular stunts, broad comedy, (it's even funnier in this dubbed version), and first rate action sequences including an absolutely terrific climatic chase scene involving a train, a helicopter and a rope ladder between the two while the redoubtable Michelle Yeoh proves to be every bit Chan's equal when the chips are down. Not a Chan classic perhaps but hugely entertaining nevertheless.

This is a really fun movie. Jerry Bruckheimer could learn a thing or five from Stanley Tong. I can only give it 8 out of 10 because it's not exactly deep, y'know? It is light as a feather, but it's also fun, fun, fun -- far more interesting and surprising than any "action" film I've seen out of Hollywood in a long, long time, all of which have seemed to me to be recycling the same script, plot, characters, and score to desperation. (Beats me how people could shell out eight bucks a pop to see Enemy of the State aka Mercury Rising aka Absolute Power...when they could rent Supercop for two bucks and actually see something unexpected.)

Of course, this film stars Jackie Chan being his usual goofy self, deftly making his extraordinary skills as a martial artist, stuntman, and physical comedian look as natural as breathing, but the other amazing talent in this piece is exhibited by the fantastic stuntwoman Michelle Yeoh (aka Michelle Khan), the same woman who for the first time blew away many Western moviegoers in Tomorrow Never Dies.

I think this woman is made entirely of rubber and springs. Most of her stunts in this movie are actually scarier and more daring than most of Chan's, and some of the most brutal took more than one take. And she did a lot of them in a dress!

Fortunately, she is also in the sequel to this, Supercop II. It's seven years old, and I can hardly wait to rent it. (When was the last time you were in a hurry to see an action flick almost ten years old?) Too bad I can't say the same for Rush Hour, which I had to click off after less than 10 minutes because Chan's co-lead character was such an obnoxious idiot.

I really hope Hollywood learns from Chan and his Hong Kong associates, and not the other way around. Indicators are not positive. Keep your fingers crossed. Meanwhile, watch Supercop and enjoy something fresh.

Great action scenes with a young Jackie Chan doing all his own stunts, including some pretty incredible ones. It is also a very funny comedy movie. Sure he's not an awesome actor or anything but he is definitely likable and a funny guy with an amazing level of talent for the physical fight scenes and stunt work. We really enjoyed this one.

Probably my fave Jackie flick so far, this has great story, GREAT stunts, great action, and great work from an awesome cast. The helicopter/train finale is an absolute rollercoaster. I'm fortunate enough to have scored a chinese-language DVD, and this cut is definitely better than the Americanized version, with more exposition, and probably more MICHELLE YEOH! She's the greatest, nearly upstaging Jackie every moment she's onscreen, and they work great together! And of course the terrific Yuen Wah always makes a good villain! All around a great, slick, fast paced action adventure, that anyone could enjoy! A blast all around! Oh, and let's not forget the gorgeous Maggie Cheung, pretty funny here...

After the dissapointing Police Story 2, Jackie steps off the director chair and let's Stanley Tong do the job. This entry in the series tones down the acrobatic fights trademarked by Chan, focusing more in vehicle chases, shoot-outs and regular (but well coreographed of course) hand to hand fights, and instead of Ka Kui running around Hong Kong, he travels from country to country while infiltrating a gang of drug dealers. Funnily enough this feels more of a natural sequel to the original than the jarring Police Story 2. The addition of Michelle Yeoh's Capt Yang brings a lot of freshness and contrast to Chan's Ka Kui wacky and hot-blooded persona, and steals the show for the most part. The only downside is that most of the secondary characters from the previous movies are either ditched or have just small roles. Still, you can go wrong with this one.