Police Story - Sotto controllo

As a long time JC fan and movie buff, I found the fast paced editing too distracting. Why the editor decided to hack even dialog sequences into constantly shifting angles and tiny bits is beyond my knowledge of film making. The director and photography certainly covered ALL the bases, but editing tried too hard to evoke or imply action where it was not needed, or, at other times, cover for poorly directed choreography. I do understand JC is not a spring chicken and that plays a role in edits. Still...could be handled more concisely without jumping edits. Seemed as if the editor was a character at times. Hmmmm.

The story was fairly solid, production values were very high. Acting was spotty at times due to seemingly weak characterizations in the script. The premise had merit, though the finale was not entirely consistent to such.

Again, it was the frenetic editing and confusing camera direction that distracted from the core elements of the story/narrative and knocked two stars off the review. At the same time, two stars added for seeing JC in a serious role and incorporating family values regarding a single father trying to amend his relationship was great. There is, as always, tremendous talent there. As to those that criticize JC for this effort, I'd suggest they be more gracious toward a man that is evolving on personal levels, and one who strives to entertain at all costs. Go Jackie!!

I have watched many of Jackie Chan's films in the past. I am a fan of how he combines his awesome martial arts skills and stunt work with precise comedic timing. We see a different Jackie Chan in "Police Story 2013", he gets darkly serious here.

Sad to say, I have not seen any of the five other Police Story films of Chan before. Not even the first one, which Jackie himself considers his best in terms of the action. This Police Story is not really related to the other films, so it does not really matter if you have seen the others or not.

The film opens with a shocking scene of Jackie Chan actually pulling the trigger of a pistol to his temple. From there we will get pulled into a tale of Captain Zhong Wen, a man torn between his dedication to his duty as a policeman and his duty as a father.

Zhong's rebellious daughter May introduces him to her boyfriend, Wu Jiang, who runs a very popular avant-garde bar. What was supposed to have been a family meeting turned out to be an elaborately-planned violent hostage-taking drama borne out of a tragic incident that happened five years ago.

Jackie Chan is much older now, but his action skills are not diminished. He gets to fight with a champion mixed martial arts fighter in one very long and brutal one-on-one fight scene. Awesome fight scene. His dramatic acting skills are wrung out here as well because of the dilemmas and tough decisions his character had to face. There was no hint of comedy in this Jackie here. We only see the old Jackie Chan smile and laugh in the outtakes over the final credits.

His daughter May was played by pretty young actress Tian Jing, whom I just saw in "Special ID" just last week. Too bad she did not figure in a fight scene in this film. But she was much better here in terms of her acting because of her character's arc. Tian actually looked a lot like Filipina actress Kim Chiu in this film.

The villain is played by award-winning Chinese actor Liu Ye. He plays his disturbed and vengeful character with much depth, with so many intense confrontation scenes with Jackie.

The direction by Sheng Ding was a little sloppy, with a lot of off-focus shots left in the final print. The story-telling and the script were quite neat in terms of the details, considering this tale went back and forth from previous events interjecting into present scenes. There were some welcome moments of comedy but they were not from Jackie.

Overall, this is a very good action film held together by an excellent dramatic story, with just the right amount of comedy to keep things interesting. Jackie Chan is really still at the top of his game, even at this age (he turns 60 in April this year). He should not be retiring soon. We still expect a lot from this talented man.

Police Story 2013 follows Jackie's character in a Die Hard scenario. A bunch of cage fighting criminals have taken hostages in a fortified building, one of them is JC's daughter and he must find a way to save them all by himself.

The premise itself is pretty interesting but the execution is sloppy. The movie takes forever to begin and spends way too much time on introducing unimportant characters instead of building on Jackie's relationship with his daughter. Then it relies on flashbacks which seems at first as an interesting plot device until you realize that they're there just for show and don't contribute to the plot itself. When finally we discover what the bad guys were after, it seems highly unlikely and ridiculous.

Low production values and lack of action turn this movie into more of a drama, but with Jackie being the only credible actor the result is cringeworthy. This movie, just like last year's CZ 2013 are a sad reminder that Jackie has aged, long gone are the days of crazy stunts and wild fights. Jackie's fights are short, over edited, CGI'd and even it's apparent that he uses stunt doubles. I know that he's not young anymore, but it's apparent that he's still in great shape and could've done a lot more if the crew knew what to do with him.

Overall, an interesting premise that is ruined by a lack of direction and relying too much on cheap tricks as flashbacks, CGI, Slo-Mo and fast cutting. Watch this only if you're a big fan of JC.

The reviews I have seen that rate this really low mostly have the same complaints. "Not enough action," Not enough humor." Personally I liked the fact that Jackie is going in a different direction. He is admitting that he's getting older. Instead of pretending he can still kick ass like when he was 30 ( *cough* Stallone, Schwarzenegger *cough* ) he is following more in the steps of Clint Eastwood.

In a way he reminded me of Robin Williams. When Robin gives up his clown persona and makes a movie like One Hour Photo, he shows he can really act. Well Jackie is moving away from his Kung Fu Clown persona and relying more on his acting. And he's showing that he has the chops.

I originally rated this movie higher, because I was unfairly judging it as a Jackie Chan movie.But I changed my score to a seven because I think that is a more objective rating. The movie does have some problems with the script, directing and editing. But it is by no means horrible. Perhaps some of the problems could have been fixed with a bigger budget. But then again, Hollywood size budgets are certainly no guarantee of quality either.

In short. If you do not require constant impractical martial arts action, or silly slapstick, then you will enjoy this for what it is. An action-drama, with enough action to satisfy your blood lust, but also an attempt at telling an interesting story.

Jackie Chan is back in what I would consider his best serious role to date.

New Police Story (2004) was a disappointment for many. It did not feature the same character nor have any continuity to the previous Police Story movies and left people wondering why it even carried the Police Story name. In hindsight, however, I think it wasn't actually that bad. It's on TV fairly frequently over here in Singapore and regardless of how many times I've seen it, I still find myself watching it to the end. Of course it pales in comparison to the gold standard set by the first 2 Police Story movies, but those 2 classics put most action movies to shame. But what New Police Story does deserve credit for is that it set the ground and expectations for subsequent Police Story movies. I went into Police Story 2013 not expecting Police Story 1 or 2 but something darker, grittier and more serious and that's exactly what I got.

Jackie has been hit and miss with his serious roles. Shinjuku Incident was just not that good a movie and although Little Big Soldier was good, it was not here nor there in terms of its dramatic tone – it still felt part serious and part comedy but never really embraced either genre completely. Police Story 2013, from Ding Sheng, the director of Little Big Soldier, hits the proverbial nail on the head and destroys it! This movie is badass!!

The movie starts with Jackie, a decorated police veteran, on his way to meet his estranged daughter in a nightclub in China (that's right – not Hong Kong). Ever since the loss of his wife, things have clearly been turbulent between the pair and his daughter (Tian Jing) appears to have become quite rebellious against the father she felt was never there for her.

Things take a quick and unexpected turn for the worst when the nightclub is locked down and Jackie, as well as other patrons in the club, are taken hostage.

Henceforth, the movie turns into a gritty cop thriller as we join Jackie in his efforts to try and figure out who the bad guys are and what their motives are. The plot is twisted and turned and intertwined, making for some pretty good and dramatic cinema. This is definitely not the Police Story we have come to know and love. It is, however, a darn good story about police.

Those expecting Jackie's trademark brand of ultra fast perfectly choreographed fighting will be left disappointed. This is definitely not a kung fu / martial arts movie. There are only a handful of fights and they are kept very real and visceral. Jackie, possibly for the first time in ages, looks like he can do serious damage. A cage fight in particular is very brutal but fits the tone of the movie perfectly.

Remember, first and foremost this is a cop thriller and it's a tense one at that, especially as the story turns into a 'who done it' sort of detective movie.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. A great story, a fine thriller and characters we grow to really care about as the story unfolds. Sure it's not for everyone. If you're an action junkie or have traits of ADHD then you should probably look elsewhere. Also noted that replay value is probably not that great.

But those looking for a tense thriller to sink their teeth into, something that will keep you thinking and on the edge of your seat, then you need not look any further.

A great night at the movies and Jackie's best performance in a serious role to date! Highly recommended! Check it out!

Rating 8 out of 10

Jackie is back!

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