A troubled detective investigates the kidnapping of tycoon.
Jackie Chan stars as Eddie, a member of Hong Kong's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, who's struggling to cope with a traumatic shootout he was involved in. Eddie is assigned to protect ruthless land developer Wong Yat-Fei (Kar-Ying Law), who believes disgruntled workers from his job site will kidnap him. Wong Yat-Fei is indeed kidnapped, but unbeknownst to Eddie, one of the culprits is working the case with him - respected detective Hung Ti-Bong (Kent Cheng).
Crime Story was directed by Kirk Wong, who's most well known for gritty Category III films like Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (1994) and Rock N' Roll Cop (1994). Crime Story is no exception, telling a depressing story about police corruption and the effects of PTSD. The screenplay went through five re-writes from five different writers, which does show somewhat in the final product (more on that later).
The film is based on the real-life 1990 kidnapping of businessman Teddy Wang, who was declared legally dead in 1999. Wang was kidnapped twice (also in 1983), and according to sources I've read, the film borrows elements of both kidnappings. These include: the kidnappers routing ransom money through multiple banks, the kidnappers hiding their victim at sea, and even (somewhat tastelessly) filming the kidnapping scene on the real spot where the actual event occurred.
The filming of Crime Story was reportedly troubled, and according to Kirk Wong, he and Jackie Chan haven't spoken since the film's release. The feud seems to be over edits Jackie made to the movie without Wong's consent. Additionally, Nina Wang - Teddy Wang's widow, and Asia's richest woman at the time - put pressure on filmmakers to reshoot the film's bleak ending to make it more positive.
Jet Li was originally slated to star as guilt-ridden cop Eddie, but he dropped out after his manager was killed by Triads and didn't want to work on a film about crime. Jackie Chan stepped in and gives the best dramatic performance of his career, winning Best Actor at the 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards. Jackie has to heavily rely on his acting in this one, as the film features zero comedy and the action takes a back seat to the story. There are a few good action set pieces, but the character of Eddie only has about 50% of the normal "Jackie Chan powers" audiences are used to seeing; he suffers both physical and psychological damage in this film.
Plot wise, Crime Story is not a mystery. The audience is informed from the first scene that Wong is a kidnapper, and the film then focuses on his attempts to sabotage the police investigation from within as Eddie frantically tries to crack the case. This way of telling the story works well, but some logic flaws - likely as a result of numerous writers - pop up once or twice. The most egregious of which is when Eddie figures out Wong is dirty, he doesn't notify his team soon enough, which allows Wong to continue working on - and sabotaging - the case longer than necessary. I might be making it sound worse than it is because it's only a small slice of the movie, but it's worth noting.
Overall, despite trouble behind the scenes, Crime Story is a solid police drama. It's recommended for moviegoers in the mood for something dark, or those interested in seeing Jackie Chan break type with a great dramatic performance. As a rare Category III/Rated R Jackie Chan film, this one isn't for all audiences. Following the huge success of Rumble in the Bronx (1995) in the USA, Miramax wanted to release this movie theatrically to American audiences in the late 1990's; Jackie advised against it, and recommended Police Story III: Supercop (1992) instead. However, Crime Story did get a VHS release, which my parents erroneously allowed be to buy from K-Mart when I was way too young. I could tell something was wrong when Jackie's character spends more time visiting a therapist than he does doing something "normal", like back flipping off a helicopter.
Jackie Chan stars as Eddie, a member of Hong Kong's Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, who's struggling to cope with a traumatic shootout he was involved in. Eddie is assigned to protect ruthless land developer Wong Yat-Fei (Kar-Ying Law), who believes disgruntled workers from his job site will kidnap him. Wong Yat-Fei is indeed kidnapped, but unbeknownst to Eddie, one of the culprits is working the case with him - respected detective Hung Ti-Bong (Kent Cheng).
Crime Story was directed by Kirk Wong, who's most well known for gritty Category III films like Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (1994) and Rock N' Roll Cop (1994). Crime Story is no exception, telling a depressing story about police corruption and the effects of PTSD. The screenplay went through five re-writes from five different writers, which does show somewhat in the final product (more on that later).
The film is based on the real-life 1990 kidnapping of businessman Teddy Wang, who was declared legally dead in 1999. Wang was kidnapped twice (also in 1983), and according to sources I've read, the film borrows elements of both kidnappings. These include: the kidnappers routing ransom money through multiple banks, the kidnappers hiding their victim at sea, and even (somewhat tastelessly) filming the kidnapping scene on the real spot where the actual event occurred.
The filming of Crime Story was reportedly troubled, and according to Kirk Wong, he and Jackie Chan haven't spoken since the film's release. The feud seems to be over edits Jackie made to the movie without Wong's consent. Additionally, Nina Wang - Teddy Wang's widow, and Asia's richest woman at the time - put pressure on filmmakers to reshoot the film's bleak ending to make it more positive.
Jet Li was originally slated to star as guilt-ridden cop Eddie, but he dropped out after his manager was killed by Triads and didn't want to work on a film about crime. Jackie Chan stepped in and gives the best dramatic performance of his career, winning Best Actor at the 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards. Jackie has to heavily rely on his acting in this one, as the film features zero comedy and the action takes a back seat to the story. There are a few good action set pieces, but the character of Eddie only has about 50% of the normal "Jackie Chan powers" audiences are used to seeing; he suffers both physical and psychological damage in this film.
Plot wise, Crime Story is not a mystery. The audience is informed from the first scene that Wong is a kidnapper, and the film then focuses on his attempts to sabotage the police investigation from within as Eddie frantically tries to crack the case. This way of telling the story works well, but some logic flaws - likely as a result of numerous writers - pop up once or twice. The most egregious of which is when Eddie figures out Wong is dirty, he doesn't notify his team soon enough, which allows Wong to continue working on - and sabotaging - the case longer than necessary. I might be making it sound worse than it is because it's only a small slice of the movie, but it's worth noting.
Overall, despite trouble behind the scenes, Crime Story is a solid police drama. It's recommended for moviegoers in the mood for something dark, or those interested in seeing Jackie Chan break type with a great dramatic performance. As a rare Category III/Rated R Jackie Chan film, this one isn't for all audiences. Following the huge success of Rumble in the Bronx (1995) in the USA, Miramax wanted to release this movie theatrically to American audiences in the late 1990's; Jackie advised against it, and recommended Police Story III: Supercop (1992) instead. However, Crime Story did get a VHS release, which my parents erroneously allowed be to buy from K-Mart when I was way too young. I could tell something was wrong when Jackie's character spends more time visiting a therapist than he does doing something "normal", like back flipping off a helicopter.