Customer Reviews

Supercop (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Being an avid DVD collector I have made it a personal goal to collect every Dragon Dynasty release. This subsidiary of the Wienstien Company has gone to great lengths to release ultimate unedited editions of great Asian movies. Some of the films they are releasing were previously released on the Dimension home video label and are being re-released under the Dynasty label with more special features and..well most of the time...unedited versions of the Asian release. The Jet Li film Twin Warriors (as titled on the Dimension release) was re-released unedited under the title Tia Chi Master. I was hoping for the same with Supercop.

Sadly the the Dragon Dynasty release of Supercop is just a more special featured filled version of the earlier Dimension release because,for some reason unknown, Dyanasty has only released the American cut of the film. Where is my unedited 100 minute version of Police Story III: Supercop? Instead we get the same edited American release with a different score, added hip-hop soundtrack, and a lame title sequence. This is a shame because I have always been extremely happy with Dragon Dynasty's releases so far. Why not include both the U.S. and Asian version as they did with The Proctor DVD? Extremely disappointing.

Other than the fact that Supercop is the edited American version, the rest of the DVD set is a typical steller Dynasty release with great special features and another grand commentary by Hong Kong film expert Bey Logan.

Blah. That sums it up. After Dragon Dynasty did a FANTASTIC job with releasing uncut versions of Police Story parts I and II they did this to us... Yes folks, this is just the edited, American version of Supercop, re-released with different packaging. A huge disappointment!

There are a few good things to say about this. Some of the bonus content is interesting. In fact there's a great interview with Jackie Chan where he complains about how the American versions of his movies are edited and not as good as the original versions! Ha! After suffering through the disappointment of watching the edited version of Supercop it was quite funny to watch that interview.

The bottom line is boycott this. Pick up the Police Story (Digitally Remastered Collector's Edition) Trilogy DVD Boxset instead so that you'll have the uncut version of Supercop as well as the first two films in the series.

Supercop is the North American name given to the third installment of the popular Police Story series starring international action movie star Jackie Chan. It was the first film in the franchise not to be directed by Jackie but instead by Stanley Tong. It was also the last film in the series to feature actress Maggie Cheung as Jackie's girlfriend.

The first disc features an engaging audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. He talks about the differences between this version and the Hong Kong version. For example, there were different opening credits and musical scores for each version. This begs the question, why wasn't the Hong Kong version included on this supposedly "Ultimate Edition?" Logan provides brief biographical information on Michelle Yeoh and Maggie Cheung as well as a wealth of production details on this very informative track.

The second disc starts with a real treat: "Flying High: An Exclusive Interview with Star Jackie Chan." He talks about working with director Stanley Tong, who, at the time, was a young director. Jackie talks about working with Yeoh and speaks admiringly of her ability to do her own stunts. He also recalls how scared he was doing the helicopter sequence.

"Dancing with Death: An Interview with Leading Lady Michelle Yeoh." She had a background in ballet and only started doing martial arts when she did her first action film. She learned something new on every subsequent film. Yeoh talks about how she got into acting and speaks eloquently and warmly in this engaging interview.

"The Stuntmaster General: An Exclusive Interview with Director Stanley Tong." He talks about working with Jackie over five films and how they collaborate together. He talks about the challenge of doing the stunts in the film without CGI.

"The Fall Guy: An Exclusive Interview with Jackie Chan Bodyguard, Training Partner and Co-Star Ken Lo." He recounts his first meeting with Jackie when he was bouncer and the action star asked him if he would like to work in films. they have worked together for 20 years.

Supercop is a fun, exciting and entertaining film that you would expect from Jackie Chan. It has all kinds of cheesy jokes, top notch fight scenes and insanely choreographed chase sequences, all done without the assistance of computer technology. In this day and age there is something refreshing about that.

Well, it's my favorite Chan film from the 90's. I wish this DVD had the original Hong Kong version as well as the US release with the stupid "Everybody's Kung Fu Fighting" song over the credits, but still it was money well spent.

POLICE STORY 3: SUPERCOP features the dream team of Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, the only instance in which these two Hong Kong icons really teamed up (no, commercials and cameos don't count). The plot involves the Royal Hong Kong Police's top cop Ka-Kui Chan (Jackie) and Interpol's frosty Inspector Yang (Yeoh) infiltrating a crime lord's inner circle while pretending to be brother and sister. Expect some dynamite kung-fu stuff and also the two stars' performing their own stunts. Cue Jackie's patented humor, and maybe the funniest bit has Ka-Kui - in unfamiliar territory and accompanied by the bad guys - scrambling to adapt to the fake family the police had come up for him at the last minute. And what's a POLICE STORY without cute Maggie Cheung (who plays Jackie's girlfriend) inadvertently throwing a wrench into the works? Jackie and Michelle are awesome together.

I kinda figured this wasn't the uncut version when the real opening sequence didn't surface (the one with the big law enforcement conference in which the consensus was that it required a "supercop" to take on the vast drug dealing problem. I don't quite know why Dragon Dynasty went with this inferior version, when they went with the uncut editions for the first two POLICE STORY films. I blame broccoli.

I don't know that Michelle ends up hijacking Jackie's film, but she most definitely holds up her end, and this after around a four year hiatus from cinema. She refers to herself as a "tough cookie" in her interview in the bonus features, and I think she undersells herself. There's a gratifying element in that her Inspector Yang goes from being this stern, self-controlled figure into a more playful character as she masquerades as Jackie's character's sister. Juxtaposing her smooth, flowing fighting style is Ka-Kui Chan's more unorthodox street fighting moves, but both methods work and I just bet both styles are equally felt by Jackie's stunt group in lumps and bruises.

Maybe it's the purist in me but I wasn't entirely down with the Rambo sequence as Jackie and Michelle engage in a massive shootout in a renegade general's camp. I know that Michelle Yeoh, early in her career, played a bunch of gun-toting police officer roles, and Jackie's done similar roles, as well. But I say let Americans and John Woo characters do the gun thing. I'd rather watch Jackie wresting a gun away from a bad guy and then field stripping it in moments... Sorry, I can't help but feel that guns are beneath these two icons, and especially Jackie Chan.

This Dragon Dynasty release comes with two DVDs. Disc 1 has the feature presentation and an audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema know-it-all Logan Bey (but his stuff's always worth listening to). Disc 2 has these 4 interviews: Jackie Chan reflects on POLICE STORY 3, on Michelle Yeoh, on working with other directors, what it was like dangling dizzyingly off that helicopter, and his befuddlement over his pictures getting the serious edit treatment for overseas release (00;19:21 minutes); Michelle Yeoh talks about her time in the movie, on doing her own stunts, and how she wanted to do the helicopter stunt herself until the director asked her - and I'm paraphrasing - "Michelle, if you do that, what in the world is Jackie going to do to be able to top that stunt?" so she settled for the motorbike stunt (but, first, she had to learn how to ride a motorbike; 00:23:11); an interview with director Stanley Tong (00:19:32); and an interview with Jackie Chan bodyguard/training partner/co-star Ken Lo (with English sub-titles, 00:21:44).

As per norm, stick around for the outtakes during the closing credits. Michelle doesn't nail that motorbike stunt on her first try.

For my money, I did like the one alternate closing credits version in which Tom Jones sings "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting." But this isn't that version. Anyway, 5 stars out of 5 for the movie. 2 stars for the Dragon Dynasty presentation and for not having enough bonus material, all that averaging the thing to... well, I'm going with 3 stars.

SUPERCOP

**** Out of 5

Release Date- July 4th, 1992

Running Time- 91-Minutes

Rating- R

Screenplay- Edward Tang, Fibe Ma & Lee Wai Yee

Director- Stanley Tong

Starring- Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Kenneth Tsang, Wah Yuen and Billy Tung as Uncle Bill

Supercop is the 3rd installment of Jackie Chan's Police Story series and Supercop easily rates as my favorite of the series and quite possibly my favorite movie that Jackie Chan has made. Supercop is one of those movies you can sit back and just have a good time. The plot is simple and often takes a backseat to some truly amazing action sequence. We have some really excellent characters as well and again this is the type of movie you can just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Like most Jackie Chan movies Supercop features a lot of comedy and most of that comedy coming in the fight scenes. In one moment Chan can have you in awe at the fighting scenes and the next leave you laughing. It's really tough to pick what movie has the best action sequences in a Jackie Chan flick, but Supercop has to rate as one of his best though. And this time Michelle Yeoh is added to the series. And what I love is unlike Chan and Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh doesn't have the training like those two. Michelle Yeoh is nowhere nearly as trained as Chan or Li and yet she has done movies with both and held her own and in many ways possibly shines brighter than them. Even in her American movies in, which she worked along side some big stars she shines brighter.

As much as I love Supercop and Jackie Chan, for me it was Michelle Yeoh who clearly stands out here. I just loved her character and she also does her own stunts some just as dangerous as the ones Jackie Chan does and if she gets hurt she gets right back up and does it again. She's one tough chick and again she manages to hold her own here and steal the show. Maggie Cheung returns May and I just love her scenes with Jackie Chan. The two of them work so well together and Cheung and Chan together are really a highlight of the whole Police Story movies. And also add depth to Chan's character as well.

The screenplay by Edward Tang, Fibe Ma & Lee Wai Yee is well written in terms of action flicks; in general the movies Chan has done don't feature strong plots. In general the plot is just there as a way to get to the action scenes and you can actually at times possibly forget the plot. The script isn't poorly written at all; the characters are excellent and a lot of fun, but the story could have been touched up a bit, but even with the weak plot never once does it hurt the movie.

Director Stanley Tong does a solid job here; his scenes are well paced, often funny and always action packed. While Tong does deliver the standard type action movie and in many ways very Hollywood like, Supercop always remains fun. Any lulls in the action are made up for with funny moments. Stanley Tong keeps the pace moving forward and never lets things slow down and does deliver some excellent action scenes.

Supercop isn't a perfect movie like I said the plot is a bit weak, which doesn't hurt the movie but a stronger plot would have made the movie even better. Jackie Chan is one of my favorite action stars, but in general my only complaint with his movies is normally the weak plotting. I would really love to see him in a movie that features a strong plot like a lot of Jet Li's movies in Hong Kong. But again the weak plot doesn't hurt the movie and Supercop is highly entertaining and the movie runs at an excellent and steady pace and never gets too slow.

It's tough to say, which Jackie Chan movie is my favorite, but again I'd think I'd go with Supercop; Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh work great together and this movie totally made me fall in love with Michelle Yeoh.

The DVD from Dragon Dynasty is excellent; the picture and sound is top notch and the 2nd disc features interviews and they are really great. This DVD is a must own for fans of Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh.

Following Jackie Chan's major American breakthrough, Rumble in the Bronx, American distributors started sniffing around for other Jackie Chan films they might dub and dump onto the American market. It is no surprise that one of Chan's first Hong Kong films chosen for an American audience came from his most successful series, the Police Story movies. All they had to do was drop "Police Story" from the title and take it to a chop shop where parts of the movie could be taken out, seemingly at random. While I have seen the original cuts of both Police Story 1 and 2, this review is of the American cut of Supercop. Although I generally prefer to watch the original version of a foreign film, I do believe there's some value in seeing what parts of a movie are deemed necessary for American viewers. Besides, getting an original cut of this film is notoriously difficult.

Relaying the plot of the American cut turns out to be somewhat difficult, but I will give it a try nonetheless. Chan is brought in on a joint international assignment between Hong Kong and mainland China. His goal is to go undercover in order to infiltrate an organized crime syndicate. Chan's Chinese partner, Inspector Jessica Lang, is played by none other than female martial arts legend Michelle Yeoh who ably matches Jackie Chan move for move. In order to go under cover, Chan helps the imprisoned brother of an organized crime leader escape and later ingratiates himself into his association. Chan befriends his mark by hiding him in his hometown where Inspector Lang pretends to be Chan's sister. The end goal is to follow the brother all the way up the totem pole to his drug lord brother and finally to the coalition of weapons and drugs dealers that he belongs to.

At least, I'm relatively certain this is the plot of the film. It's a little foggy until about half way through the film. One of several scenes that the American distributors deemed unnecessary was an explanation of Chan and Lang's mission and why it was first necessary to break the brother out of prison in order to infiltrate the syndicate. It is only when the criminal syndicate is introduced that a viewer can reasonably piece together the point of all this subterfuge. Perhaps the American distributor thought that audiences don't go to see a Jackie Chan film for the plot, and while this might be nominally true, it would be nice to know exactly what MacGuffin Chan is after.

According to the great sage Wikipedia, scenes illustrating cultural differences between Hong Kong and China were also excised, perhaps because the distributor assumed that culture clashes from half a world away mean nothing to an American audience. This, of course, is not the case. If an American audience is coming to a foreign film, whether it's a French new wave or Chinese martial arts film, then they are likely interested in taking in a quick glance of another culture. Likewise, the film's American soundtrack is littered with bargain bin hip hop and second hand covers that do the movie no favors.

Police Story 3: Supercop finds the series pivoting from gritty urban action to James Bond intrigue. This shift in genre is spelled out for us in the opening minutes of the film when Chan's boss, Uncle Bill, suggests that Interpol needs James Bond for their newest assignment. The first two Police Story movies were somewhat confused in tone, attempting to be both a goofy comedy and a Dirty Harry type rogue cop film. At times I did miss the way that the earlier films made use of enclosed urban spaces, but it is competently replaced by international vistas, shoot outs and car chases. The new genre and setting changes the action as well, which focuses less on hand to hand martial arts than it does on tremendous stunts involving as many vehicles as they could fit into the movie.

Supercop's greatest contribution to the series may have be the introduction of Michelle Yeoh who provides the first instance of a strong capable female in the entire franchise. In the tradition of the buddy cop film (from which this movie is also borrowing), Yeoh's character, Lang, performs the role of the buttoned up, by the book professional who clashes with the freewheeling, undisciplined Chan. By including a second hero who can also use her hand and feet as weapons, the movie not only adds something new to a Police Story movie, but it also allows for several interesting action sequences, including one where Chan must help Lang, who has been strapped with an explosive vest, avoid being shot lest both of heroes, as well as anyone else in the general vicinity.

Of course, Chan's girlfriend, May, does show up in the film, albeit in a much smaller capacity than in the other films. Poor, poor May. Not only is she nearly forgotten for most of the film's running time, only to show up at the end to fulfill the role of a hostage, but she is also pushed into a pool, mistaken for a prostitute and shoved out of a helicopter. In many ways Supercop's shift in genre means, except for some familiar faces, it could have easily stood on its own (perhaps one of the reasons why it was released in the U.S.). And yet I can't help but admire the decision to mess with the formula, to keep the series fresh.

In Police Story 3: Supercop(1992), Officer Kevin Chan Ka Kui(Jackie Chan) is sent to Mainland China to infiltrate a gang of drug dealers. Michelle Yeoh plays Chan's sidekick, Officer Yang. Chan has a habit of casting pretty girls who can't act. Michelle Yeoh is not only a good actress, but she matches Chan in the stunts and fight scenes. The producers of the James Bond movies saw Supercop and they cast Yeoh as a Chinese spy in Tomorrow Never Dies(1997). In Supercop, Chan doesn't slack off. There's a scene where he hangs from a helicopter as it flies over Malaysia. There's no visual effects or camera tricks! The Hong Kong version of Supercop is longer. It has a scene where a girl dies from a drug overdose and a scene where Officer Yang teaches Chan Ka Kui Cantonese slang words. Maggie Cheung returns as Chan's girlfriend May, but she isn't given much screen time. In the Hong Kong version, we can hear Cheung speak perfect English. Cheung played "herself" in the French art house movie Irma Vep(1996). There was a semi sequel to Supercop called Project S(1993) with Officer Yang chasing a gang of thieves. Jackie Chan made a cameo in the film in bad drag. Chan hired Stanley Tong to direct the film so he could focus on acting and the action scenes. There's a neat action scene where the villain's gunmen attack a general's camp. You can see explosions and stuntmen hurled into the air! There's only enough plot and character depth to hold the action scenes together, but the action scenes are excellent! Police Story 3: Supercop(1992) is a keeper for Jackie Chan fans!

Classic outstanding Jackie Chan moive with Jackie Chan is doing own great stunt and acting. I just love Jackien Chan Police Story 1-3 series.

The lack of complex fight choreography, humor and interesting characters makes this movie one of the few of Jackie Chan's that I don't really care for all that much. I would so much rather watch The Legend of Drunken Master than this film again.