International action film star Jackie Chan teams with director Kirk Wong for this gritty tale that's definitely not the typical Chan film. The martial arts don't come into it very often, and it's played very straight (however, that's not to say that there's NO comedy at all).
It's an incredibly energetic production starring Jackie as Eddie Chan, a police inspector who takes it upon himself to solve the kidnapping of a prominent businessman (Kar-Ying Law), and he takes on all comers, doing anything that he has to do to save the day.
The movie takes the viewer through a myriad of Hong Kong and Taiwan locations, and it's especially commendable the way that Wong and crew maintain a high intensity level. It scarcely takes a breath as it throws one challenge at Chan after another. There's no time to ponder if any of it is implausible; you just go along for the ride and enjoy the mayhem.
There's plenty of gunfire and some extremely impressive explosions and Jackie does get some opportunities to do the sort of risk taking stunt work for which he's famous. He does get to flex some acting muscles here, playing a mentally troubled cop who, near the beginning of the story, has a scene with a psychiatrist. He also has good scenes with the primary villain, who is not portrayed in a one-dimensional, moustache-twirling manner.
"Crime Story" is pretty violent, even gory at times, and benefits from a solid supporting cast including Kent Cheng as Detective Hung, Christine Ng as Lara, and Blackie Ko Shou Liang as Captain Ko. The women are frequently gorgeous and everything is done in style. The finale in a burning building is especially entertaining.
Recommended to fans of Jackie who want to see him in a film with a different sort of tone, this is highly enjoyable every step of the way. Admittedly, the dubbing isn't the greatest, but fortunately it doesn't distract too much from the entertainment value.
Eight out of 10.
It's an incredibly energetic production starring Jackie as Eddie Chan, a police inspector who takes it upon himself to solve the kidnapping of a prominent businessman (Kar-Ying Law), and he takes on all comers, doing anything that he has to do to save the day.
The movie takes the viewer through a myriad of Hong Kong and Taiwan locations, and it's especially commendable the way that Wong and crew maintain a high intensity level. It scarcely takes a breath as it throws one challenge at Chan after another. There's no time to ponder if any of it is implausible; you just go along for the ride and enjoy the mayhem.
There's plenty of gunfire and some extremely impressive explosions and Jackie does get some opportunities to do the sort of risk taking stunt work for which he's famous. He does get to flex some acting muscles here, playing a mentally troubled cop who, near the beginning of the story, has a scene with a psychiatrist. He also has good scenes with the primary villain, who is not portrayed in a one-dimensional, moustache-twirling manner.
"Crime Story" is pretty violent, even gory at times, and benefits from a solid supporting cast including Kent Cheng as Detective Hung, Christine Ng as Lara, and Blackie Ko Shou Liang as Captain Ko. The women are frequently gorgeous and everything is done in style. The finale in a burning building is especially entertaining.
Recommended to fans of Jackie who want to see him in a film with a different sort of tone, this is highly enjoyable every step of the way. Admittedly, the dubbing isn't the greatest, but fortunately it doesn't distract too much from the entertainment value.
Eight out of 10.