Rumble in the Bronx

Jackie Chan had never had a box office hit in America despite starring in Hollywood films such as 'Battle Creek Brawl' and 'The Protector' in the 1980s. 'Rumble in the Bronx' was a Hong Kong made film, but they wanted it to have international appeal and achieved this through its New York setting and American background characters. The film intended to introduce Jackie Chan to the West, and that's exactly what it did - but they didn't expect it to be a number one box office hit.

The story involves Keung (Jackie Chan) coming over to America to visit his Uncle who owns a grocery store in the Bronx. Soon enough a biker gang turns up and causes havoc at the store, so it's up to Keung to fend off the bad guys, uncover police corruption, and generally save the day in style.

This is a high energy film and the pace never lets up, there isn't one big set piece in this film there are many big set pieces, but the most impressive stunt has to be the one where Jackie jumps from the top of a multi-storey car park onto a small balcony across the road. The multiple camera set up shows us that there is no safety netting or use of wires - just Jackie entrusting his own life in his own abilities.

Naturally there are countless fight scenes where Jackie shows us his own brand of kung fu comedy, including the process of making inanimate objects become very animated indeed. Only he can turn pinball machines, trolleys and fridge doors into weapons! The only slight criticism I would have is that the fights are over edited, people like Jean Claude Van-Damme and Steven Segal might need a lot of cuts to put a fight scene together, but Jackie doesn't - he's an expert choreographer, and the cuts are needless. I'm not saying that the fight sequences are under par, because they're not, they are still very impressive - especially to people who haven't seen the man in action.

When the American audiences saw 'Rumble in the Bronx', they saw the real Jackie Chan not the shadow of a man struggling to gain artistic input under a Hollywood studios control. They were wowed by the death-defying stunts, frenetic fight sequences, and the sheer energy of the film from start to finish got word-of-mouth working overtime.

'Rumble in the Bronx' was the surprise box office hit of 1996, it made the West sit up and take notice of an exceptional talent they had long overlooked. The next time Jackie Chan would star in a Hollywood film he would be given the respect he had always deserved - and another box office hit.

Well here we go once again with the undisputed king of action comedy. The one and only Jackie Chan. While this is nowhere near Chan's best movie we can be grateful for the fact that this is the film that finally gave Chan his much deserved break in the USA. This is the story on Chan's character Keung who comes to the Bronx for his uncle's wedding and ends up caught up in a series of events that involve biker gangs, and diamond robbers. But really none of this matters this is just an excuse for Jackie to show of his amazing action skills (in the fight scenes which he also choreographed), and this he does to his usual amazing standards. There seems to be more edits in the fight scenes that is normal for Jackie but I suspect this might be down to one of two things. One making the film more palatable for a western audience. Or two that Jackie broke his ankle in the filming of this movie. Still tell me the last time you saw a western movie star leap from a roof on to the fire escape of the next building!!! Truly amazing stuff. On the down side the western characters and acting are very wooden but hey just enjoy Chan and hopefully then go seek out his Hong Kong movies.

Jackie Chan's fight scenes and stunts: 9 stars.

The incredibly corny dialogue and cheesy humor: 5 stars.

The mind boggles at Chan's abilities and charisma; he's in a class of his own and an international treasure. The mind also boggles at a film whose silly humor seems aimed at ten-year-olds also containing a grisly murder by wood chipper. Fun with hovercrafts, with Anita Mui's appearance an added bonus. As always, the behind the scenes stuff included at the end is half the fun, and Jackie Chan lays his body on the line for our viewing pleasure. Watch this one for him, not all the silliness.

Rumble in The Bronx plays out a lot like a b-movie. If you take away the incredible stunts, chases, and fight scenes, you are left with parts of a film that are so bad they're good. I mean that in the best way possible.

The movie sports a very inclusive, and colorful biker gang, mixed with the rich white gangsters that consist of only very tall white guys with ponytails. Then awkward weirdly dubbed side characters (at least on the New Line dub) a lot of moments involving stealing a cushion from a boy in a wheelchair, bared assed bad guys, and numerous shots of Jackie Chan's man camel toe...maneltoe?Jackie Chaneltoe? I think I am putting too much thought into a name for it. I laughed out loud when Jackie goes to meet his new GF Nancy at the strip dance bar she works at, where she dances in her underwear, and how it plays out like nothing is any different then the time they rode a tandem bike with a wheelchair hook up for Danny the aforementioned boy in the wheelchair.

That being said, the fight scenes are still as good as you can imagine. They were the reason why this movie worked for North American audiences. The plot doesn't matter, the fights are amazing, and the hovercraft chase scene is too fun not to enjoy. It's easy to forget all the weirdness that encompasses the rest of the film, the flimsy plot, and the odd way everyone dresses...I mean I lived through the mid-nineties, it didn't look like that. I wish it did though.

Still, this movie is fun. After the re-watch, I have decided that Rumble in The Bronx is a fun mix of bad movie charm with insanely good action stunts, and fights. If that's up your alley and you haven't seen this, then you're in for a treat.

Watch it for the great action, great stunts and hilarious comedy. You can attack this movie from many different levels. The acting ranges from bad to horrendous, and so is the dialogue and dubbing. But even things like that add to the film's comic elements. When you're not laughing with the film, you're laughing at it. If you're a fan of most of Jackie Chan's work, like I am, have fun! Plus, that Francoise Yip is really, really hot.

My score: 7 (out of 10)