27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
YES! THE BEST VERSION!, January 19, 2006
This is the best version of Thunderbolt out there. New Line Cinema finally got it! This version is UNCUT, has the original language, with English subtitles, and a good quality picture! This DVD is the original 110 minute version! UNCUT!
Also, there are three sets of English subtitles for this movie. The first set is an English dubtitle, which is when the subtitles follow the dubbed script (subtitles will also appear where no one is speaking every now and then). The second set are Spanish subtitles. The third set of subtitles is an English-translation subtitles, which mean they are a direct translation of the foreign dialouge. These subtitles, however, do not appear where English dialouge is spoken.
BUY THIS! Let American companies know that the only videos we will take are ones that are treated with respect like these!
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not your light-hearted Jackie fair, November 25, 2005
Dark Jackie. Yes, pretty much that sums it all up in Thunderbolt (A.K.A. Dead Heat), a not-so-easy-to-find film of Jackie Chan's. It was made right after his hit "Rumble in the Bronx" when his ankle was still broken and as I understand it (which could be wrong) Aaron Kwok, trained by Sammo Hung, did some of the stunt doubling. I like Aaron, so this is okay by me. Now, as the title states, this is not your average happy-go-lucky Jackie film. He smiles all of twice in this film, is angry and driven, and I love it!
Jackie works as a master mechanic in an autoshop his father runs. In his free time, Jackie helps the police with illegally upgraded cars. At one point, a bad guy named Cougar (What's with the animal bad guy names??) goes racing around, kills a cop at a blockade, Jackie jumps in a car to chase him down and, while not a racecar driver like Cougar, manages to best the baddie. The baddie is carted off to prison where his evil minions break him out not too long after. In the interim, a lovely female reporter stalks Jackie to get an interview about his brave act. Well, once Cougar is free, he wants revenge of course, and a rematch, so in one of the most brutal 6 minutes I've ever seen, Cougar tears Jackie a new one using a crane and Jackie's own house. Jackie's whole family is there as well, and all get the snot kicked out of them. One of his two sisters is kidnapped and one goes vegetable from shock and damage. His father, too, suffers a heart attack and Jackie rushes him to the hospital where only an injection, sneakily executed by a doctor, calms Jackie down.
Cougar kidnaps both sisters, using them as insurance that Jackie will take his challenge to race him in a high-profile professional race. (I am not a racing fan, so I'm not sure if it was grand-prix, or what.) Of course, obstacles get in the way: the reporter gets a crush on Jackie and messes a few things up even as she tries for a good story that would threaten Jackie's sisters' safety, Jackie doesn't have a car that will work for what he needs, he's in emotional turmoil over his father and sisters, etc... How does it end? Watch and find out! As an avid Jackie fan, I own most of his movies and this one is in my top fave 8. It's awesome and I love Jackie's darker, angstier side. (He's scary when he's mad.) Plenty of action, too, and one of the coolest fights scenes ever in a casino full of Pachinko games. Don't get this movie hoping for light and laughs, it's not like that. This is grittier, edgier and awesome. (Though many claim this is movie is just a shameless plug for one of Jackie's other passions, racing.) I don't even mind the small romance subplot. Get it!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
New Line gets it right, June 16, 2007
I have to agree with others that this is the definitive version of Thunderbolt. I first saw it years ago on TNT edited down to 90 minutes and dubbed. So I bought the Taiwan version years ago. The setback of that one (like most Asian DVDs of old films) was that everyone was dubbed over in Mandarin by different actors, the picture looks old, and the subtitles are so-so. With the New Line DVD, you get the entire film, original dialogue, and better subtitling. On top of that, the picture is clean. The only thing that has been replaced are the opening and closing credits (and that is understanable since the original credits are in Chinese).
It's a top notch DVD.
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