Customer Reviews

New Police Story

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After the disappointing `Around the World in 80 Days,' Jackie Chan went back to his roots in Hong Kong film industry. What is amazing is that Jackie (who is over 50 years old) can still do the death-defying stunts, as is seen in this film. The fact that his best films are made in 1980s cannot be denied, but `New Police Story' delivers its goods with Jackie and some of the new faces from Hong Kong.

The story is given a new touch in `New Police Story.' This time Jackie plays a veteran Hong Kong police officer Wing, whose overconfidence leads to a botched raid. Feeling guilt deeply, Inspector Wing, now disgraced, is given to drink until a young `police detective' named Fung appears before him. With a help from Fung, Wing again begins to hunt the culprits responsible for the deaths of his men.

[NEW BREED OF VILLAINS] As in his `The Myth,' Jackie's answer to the recent boom of wuxia (Chinese period martial arts films), in `New Police Story' Jackie Chan clearly intends to do something different. The baddies of the new film are a bunch of masked young gangsters, who can rob and kill as if it is a video game. As a fan of Jackie's actions, I can swear that this is very unusual choice. For in many cases the villains of his films may have been assassins or gangsters, but they never acted like spoiled kids. It is certain that deaths are sometimes depicted, but not in this violent way. Violent, in this case I mean, for Jackie's film. The decision of director Benny Chan (`Who Am I?') would divide the viewers' opinions, but it is certain that he and Jackie are trying to seek a new direction.

[ACTIONS] But you want to know the actions. Good news is that Jackie is still alert and agile, and can move like when he was in his first `Rush Hour.' Considering the fact that he is now over fifty, this is just incredible. There are two outstanding scenes here; one is Jackie climbing down the vertical wall of a tall building in a very unique (and dangerous) way, followed by Jackie hanging on the roof of a runaway bus in the street of Hong Kong. The other is in a Lego showroom, where he shows a bone-crunching fighting against one of the baddie.

[ACTING] This may not interest you, but Jackie does another new thing, and that is acting. Well, of course he must have been doing that for long, I know, but what I mean is he takes more time to reveal the complex nature of the character he plays, to show his ability as actor. There is even a love interest for his character.

[SUPPORTS] Some of Jackie film fans seem not to remember the names of the supports, or you just don't care. For `New Police Story' Jackie assembled great cast. Nicholas Tse as mysterious Fung is a standout among them, and so is Daniel Wu as the leader of the gangs. Among the fighting scenes, Andy On shines who was wasted in deplorable `Black Mask 2.' As to the female players, after the 8 years' retirement Charlie Yeung comes back as love of Jackie's inspector, giving the rather generic story a human touch, and very busy (and very cute) Charlene Choine from the popular duo Twins also appears.

`New Police Story' may not be the right place if you are going to see Jackie Chan films for the first time. It is overlong, sometime unnecessarily serious and violent, and Jackie's stunts, thrilling as they are, are not his best. Having said that, I must say it is a welcome addition to the works of one and only Jackie Chan, far better than any recent English-speaking films of his.

Longtime fans of Jackie Chan -- that is, those of us who were fans pre-Rush Hour -- know that his craziest stunts have always been reserved for his Hong Kong productions, no doubt due to the conservative nature of American films' insurance companies.

However, in recent years, Jackie has been trying to lay the groundwork for his post-action career by taking on roles with minimal action so that he can display his acting prowess, which has often been overlooked by "pure" action fans. He has shown great depth from time to time, and recent films like "Gorgeous" eschew almost all martial arts action in favor of real acting.

In "New Police Story," Jackie appears to pass the baton to his young costar, Nicholas Tse. I compare this film to "Drunken Master" or one of Jackie's other early films in that it is a master/student story, except that here, Jackie is the master on his way to retirement.

Jackie is Hong Kong inspector Wing, a 'top cop' who is disgraced when he leads a raid against a gang of rich punks that goes horribly wrong. After falling into a drunken depression, the younger brother of on of the fallen cops from the raid (Tse) steps in to help Wing find revenge -- and peace with himself.

Jackie has a number of dramatic scenes in this film and he carries them well -- I almost forgot it was Jackie Chan and not Chow Yun Fat or another Hong Kong actor known for drama. Jackie has a few action sequences, but he seems to allow Tse to carry out a lot of Jackie-style "goofy fights" in his stead (using his own coat as a weapon, etc.). I should mention that this is a very dark, violent film, quite unlike the usual Jackie Chan fair. Of Jackie's prior work, only "Crime Story" comes close, and this film is far darker.

All in all, this film is well worth seeing, although I suspect only Jackie and/or HK cinema fans will truly enjoy it. 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Jackie Chan has always used the original 'Police Story' series as a kind of safety net whenever his career hits a rough patch. The original was his response to his disastrous US cop movie 'The Protector' while the third entry was his attempt to recapture local audiences after a few high-profile failures. With his recent Hollywood outings scraping the concrete beneath the bottom of the barrel (The Tuxedo, Around the World in 80 Days, Rush Hour 2) he's gone back to Hong Kong and basics again. However, this time round he takes a few more chances, abandoning his old comic character and supporting cast (Maggie Cheung, Uncle Bill) for a comparatively darker outing as a broken-down cop drinking his way to oblivion after some thrill-seeking rich kids led by a typically OTT Daniel Wu kill his entire team. Naturally redemption is on the menu, but the stunts aren't quite as over-the-top or as plentiful as before, while the (intentional) comedy is kept to a minimum.

It's not up to the standards of his best work in the past, but it's light-years ahead of his US pictures and is a welcome return to form even if Chan's fight scenes fall short of his former glories (that said, there is a good bus sequence and an imaginative chase down the side of a building).

I have a few good things. It is nicely filmed and the side kick got in a few funny lines. The rest of it, the swearing, the bloodshed, the cgi graphics. All of this is against what he always stood for. If this was the only Jackie Chan movie I had seen I would never watch another. I have seen almost all of his films, where are the morals here? Where are the life lessons. This movie left Me in a dark mood. Crime Story shows that Jackie can play a straight role, but why make a Chinese version of a Steven Segal movie. Hope he never tries this type of thing again. This has nothing to do with the other Police Stories, and should not be marketed this way. Every one of the Police Stories were progressively worse but the first three still hold up, and the initial one is near perfect. Yet even the clichéd feel good number four that perhaps went too far in the other direction of being too cuddly has so much more to offer. Jackie can do more roles suited for his age, tired of him using his once forbidden special effects to be who he was 20 years ago.

I've long been a fan of Jackie's films. He breathed new life into the genre like no other with his humorous style of combat; and it's inspiring to still see him move like he does at his age. The action in The New Police Story were just as fun as most of his lighter films; and the stunts were typically incredible, just as you expect from a Hong Kong production that isn't stiffled by Hollywood politics and/or insurance. And despite the more dramatic seriousness of Police Story, with a little Drunken Master mixed in, I found myself laughing much more than I expected. Aside from a few sequences that demand a little further explanation, The New Police Story was about as much fun as my favorite Chan films. The only real disappointment of the Blu-ray was that Lionsgate didn't include a lossless track for the original language. A lossless audio option is provided for the dub track; but only lossy audio is included in the original Chinese. That said, since I had a guest that doesn't like reading her movies, I opted for the dubbed track when we watched it and was surprised at the fidelity. The translation was word-for-word the same as the subtitles in the approx 5 minute portion of the film I compared the two. And the harmonics sounded very natural and dynamic. That Jackie did (most) of the voice dub for his character himself, further helped to make sitting through the dubbed track, not only bearable, but enjoyable.

This movie is great action movie ever. This movie shows great of jackie chan's actions. I do have this dvd. I agree with the people to buy this movie, also this movie is the best action movie. I want you know this movie is awesome. They do hardcore actions. Even Jackie chan sliding on big builing in HONG KONG. I am big fan of jackie chan. I have all of his dvds but this movie is best action movie since rumble in the bronx or supercop. You have to watch that movie!!!!

Don't ask questions, just buy this movie. If you are a fan of Jackie Chan, you have to own this one. This Ain't no Rush Hour. This is NOT an American action film. This is a Jackie Chan Action Film with all of Jackies crew. This movie has it all, good fights, good action, and good acting.

Finaly An American Release Does Justice To A Great Film. First Off The Movie Is Great And Jackie Has Barely Slowed Down If He Has At All! THe Fight Scenes Are Great And It's Interesting To See Him In A More Serious Movie. That Aside The Dvd Release Is Great! Great Picture Great Sound And Also It Has Either Overdubbed English OR CANTONEESE YES! Belive It Or Not You Get Both On Here And It Has 2.1 Or 5.0 Dolby Digital So It Sounds Great Too. So Overall It's One Of Jackie's Better Movies The Best He Has made In A Long Time And It Gets An Extra Star For The Great DVD Options.

Have the Hong Kong version; it's terrific!! Non-stop action and a great story. This is Jackie at his best. Just hope the US/Canada movie has not been cut as so many of his films have before reaching us. I know Jackie has done the dubbing for his own voice, and it will nice to just watch the movie without having to read the sub-titles. Can't wait to get it!

Wow! finally this movie is coming to the US!
My friend let me borrow his import version ,
and I was blown away!
This movie is has it all. Shoot Outs, Jackie Chan going all out in hand to hand combat, chases and yes a good story!
the music and camera work are great too! And Jackie Chan is not doing comedy here..
he is all out COP! so dont worry about a action/comedy.
This is what yo've been waiting for!
You won't get your eyes off the screen once you start watchin!
get some drinks and snacks and crank up the volume and enjoy!