La vendetta del dragone

Jackie Chan's darkest film yet is a quality piece of drama exploring life within Japan's Yakuza gangs. It's a very atypical film for the star, better known these days for his kid-friendly fare in American family films. For fans of Asian thrillers, the gangster elements will be largely familiar, but they're introduced in a novel and interesting way; it's the first film I've seen detailing the plight of Chinese refugee immigrants in Japan.

The twisty-turny plot offers up many twists that are difficult to predict, and the on-screen action is never less than interesting. Jackie gets the opportunity to focus on his acting rather than his martial arts for a change, and he shines as the conflicted farmhand-turned-gangster. Although this isn't an action film per se, there are many memorable set-pieces, not least a large-scale climax that makes for riveting entertainment.

The film's well-shot, if a little dark, and features decent turns from actors in supporting roles (Japanese actors Naoto Takenaka and Masaya Kato are both excellent). Daniel Wu's character in the film undergoes a particularly frightening and believable transformation. The scenes of violence and torture may not be for every viewer's taste, but THE SHINJUKU INCIDENT is a rewarding experience for those viewers exploring Jackie's progression as an actor.

The stronger message in the story here, is how easily the Chinese get taken advantage of. As the adage goes, united we stand and divided we fall. It's very obvious that given the myriad of Chinese, from the Mainlanders with the different dialect groups to the Taiwanese to the Hong Kongers etc, the immigrants here are shown to exhibit solidarity when they are together, sharing whatever little spoils they have as they build their little community. But quick success would mean the opportunity for corruption to creep in, splitting up the unity established, and spawn plenty of infighting to make the community weak again and ripe for the picking by their enemies. Perhaps in not wanting to acknowledge this issue as highlighted in the film, would have resulted in making Violence an excuse for the Chinese censors to drag their feet in awarding a rating, since they put the people on the whole in some negative light.

One scene too was reminisce of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury, where Lee's character Chen Zhen rips apart a signboard that says "Sick Man of Asia". Here, lead actor Jackie Chan tears away a sign that says "No Entry to Chinese", but this is no action movie for the action star we're so used to see. In fact, if Shinjuku Incident was a typical Jackie Chan film, then we would see him kick everyone's rear with nary a scratch to himself. Here he drops his superhuman persona, wanting instead to take on a more dramatic, ordinary role as Steelhead, a simple man from Northeastern China who made his way to Tokyo in order to look for his lost love Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei).

He strikes an unlikely friendship with Japanese police inspector Kitano (Naoto Takenaka in a more dramatic role too, as I associate him with madcap characters he plays in zero-to-hero movies), and works his way around the new environment with the help of Daniel Wu's cowardly Jie, and with the likes of supporting characters played by Chin Kar Lok and Lam Suet. Together with his Chinese buddies, Steelhead embarks on a life of crime after seeing his lady love had already moved on in life, and a crime he committed back home meant his new one should begin in Japan, hence the desire to achieve instant results. It's almost quite an insult though to the Japanese's polite society manners that the Chinese sought to exploit for personal gains.

Derek Yee had fused some realism into his previous triad drama Protégé, and here he does the same in bringing on the Japanese crime lords, where their latest election of a new leader brought about unhappiness amongst the ranks. So the illegal immigrants got embroiled in the new turf war, in order to lead it to the second and very hurried act of witnessing how power could corrupt, especially when the person at the top, steelhead, decides to adopt a nepotistic approach in delegating power to friends out of pity, or out of having to repay favours, and didn't spell the out-of-bound markers clearly. All this just because of his rebound affection for Fan Bingbing's bar hostess Lily, who's severely underused here.

Surprisingly the many subplots cooked up for the film, got let down by the relatively fluffy narrative style. It had wanted to deal with multiple themes (like selfishness, unity, betrayal and doing deeds for the greater good at whatever the costs), but found itself introducing them quite haphazardly, jumping from one point to the other sometimes with disregard to time. While action sequences are very sparse and bordering on shock value with in-your-face type violence, the finale whack-fest brought to mind some Johnnie To classical stand off moments, but unfortunately was let down by the tight shots and poor lighting. And lo and behold, the guilty party in ruining the film experience is the trailer which basically spelt everything out in black and white terms, so if you haven't seen any clips of the film, don't.

Jackie Chan had limited success in taking on a more dramatic role, and a morally ambiguous character who's prime motivation may have seemed like a mechiavellian one masked by a very simple exterior, and looked clearly uncomfortable in not being able to unleash his usual repertoire of stunts when surrounded by thugs. Deniel Wu however upstaged Chan with ease with his Jie role, despite having to suffer bad hair days throughout the film with a ridiculous perm, and a Joker-esquire makeup in the latter half. And following the Jackie Chan trend, female characters are little to show for, and here both Xu Jinglei and Fan Bingbing's characters do nothing more than looking good and offer translator services.

Shinjuku Incident is a good effort, but nowhere near the ranks of Derek Yee's better films. This is not to say that this film is no good, but it could have been much better. A pity too that it had to end with a whimper.

The dark world of Film Noir, with its complex plots, shades of gray and evocations of unrelenting human evil, has long been one genre where Hong Kong cinema has lagged behind Hollywood. After "Infernal Affairs", however, things have changed, and Hong Kong cinema has finally gotten to this profoundly affecting and challenging genre.

Jackie Chan stars as Iron Zhao aka Steelhead, a truck repairman from China's poor but happy Northeast who settles down as an illegal immigrant in Tokyo, and after a series of run-ins with the Yakuza, rises to power as the Don of Chinese illegal immigrants. However, things get out of control when Steelhead is foolish enough to believe in clean getaways in a world that offers none, and soon comes to seal his own fate. A superb supporting cast rounds up this tale of a man's tragic fall from Grace against an unstoppable tide of greed, corruption and evil.

Derek Yee creates a grandly atmospheric, neat piece of work evoking the grime and grit of Tokyo existing under the glittery clean streets, to bring out an immortal tale that has existed as long as there were cities: a tale of hard-luck immigrants who fight their way to the top against all odds in the world of crime, and for the pursuit of money and power, damn their souls to hell.

Contrary to many, at least outside the US, I was introduced to Jackie Chan through Rumble in the Bronx. It was his first big hit in the US, and it ushered in a bunch of other Chan films (i.e. Superop, First Strike) into theaters. It was invigorating to see someone with Chan's skills as a fighter, using martial arts like a dancer and doing it all (sometimes painfully) himself. Then audiences could dig in to one of two things: his previous catalog of work from Hong Kong (i.e. Police Story series, Drunken Master), or films like Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon/Knights and his stint in Hollywood. But now he's in his mid-50's, and one wonders if we might see the last of Chan as a real action-oriented star, especially considering forgettable drek like The Spy Next Door is still playing in theaters.

But there is perhaps some hope, and coming in part from Chan himself (for this film he's exec-producer). In The Shinjuku Incident, we see a step forward for Chan in being simply a dramatic actor, as opposed to doing tons of fights and martial arts. Sure, there's still a few stunts to pull in the film, but nothing more than hitting someone with a stick or chopping off a hand really "happens" in terms of the stunts (or, of course, running). Chan is at the service of the story as an actor, and maybe we'll see more of these thrillers or dramas with him as the star; whether they range from greatness to crap is left to be seen. Shinjuku Incident is a nice step in a direction quite removed from The Spy Next Door, and is worth seeing for Chan first, then as a decent Yakuza movie.

The premise has Chan, as a character nicknamed "Steelhead" for his work early on in the film as a laborer, coming to Japan to work menial jobs and find a girl he knew in his village. But he also needs to become a legal citizen (there's a lot of illegals coming into Japan, we learn, as it's the 1990's before China's economic boom), and soon becomes absorbed into a life of crime. Or rather, he does a couple of jobs- one especially for revenge for a friend whose hand was cut off- and ascends to become head of a triad. The story mechanics are a little complicated at times- you do have to pay attention to who is in charge where or who has a vendetta against someone else (in the last third it becomes clearer and more focused to understand)- and the characters are well laid out.

As far as being quite original, I'm not sure. These sorts of stories and ideas have been dealt with before, and none other than Takashi Miike has made a career in part on doing stories about Yakuzai and/or Triad gangs (his first film was even called Shinjuku Triad Society, and concerns a similar theme present in this film: China vs. Japan gangs). And by the end the drama is a bit forced, and a resolution involving a USB is a little circumspect, just as a contrivance really. But it's competently told and filmed by Tung-Shing Yee, who has a history with crime films, and he can always come back to his star when he needs a strong dramatic lead (not that some of the other actors, like the one playing the amputee with a facial scar who becomes a drug dealer, don't do their best too).

I was surprised by how moving Chan could be, if not as memorable as in his Drunken Master days, and it's a good sign of things to come as he goes on in years. It's a small, exciting movie with no big surprises and some interesting dramatic beats.

Jackie Chan has been known to audiences worldwide for his spectacular, comedic and stunt-filled martial arts. Well, now in this movie, Chan gets to show off acting chops as well, with a few kicks and punches thrown in as well.

The setting and story are surprisingly solid and well done. The movie paces along in a brisk pace (courtesy of director Derek Yee), and is gripping throughout. The cinematography is beautiful at times and gritty at others, showing Tokyo as a whole. And it's fun to see Japanese and Chinese spoken a lot in this film, really pulls you into the film further.

While the level of violence is the highest than any other Jackie Chan movie (there is graphic brutal violence in some action scenes), the total amount of violence is surprisingly little, with the majority of the film dealing with the characters' trials and tribulations. There are some fight sequences, but don't expect Chan to do his usual thing; at times he's down to earth and makes us genuinely feel for his character, at times he is directly brutal. This film is NOT for the easily disturbed.

The acting is above average. Chan delivers a standout performance, an illegal worker who tries to protect his kinsman by gaining respect by and protecting themselves from the Yakuza. Another great performance comes by Daniel Wu, a fellow immigrant who gets his innocence lost... the hard way. The two love interests and the detective also get props too.

For those of you expecting another Chan romp ala Rush Hour and Supercop, you may find yourself refreshed at Chan's sudden change of pace. For those who like crime dramas such as City of God, give this one a shot. This is definitely one of Chan's highest marks, and I hope to see more of the new, dramatic Chan in the future.

Overall rating: 8/10