Random Jackie Chan Viewings and Rambles

[Stay Puft]

http://i11.tinypic.com/7346ibt.jpg

I like Jackie Chan. A whole lot.

Take, for example, Police Story. Shot by shot, cut by cut, sequence by sequence, no movie from 1985 (or any other year) was more grippingly, cinematically exhilarating.

But, no - the purpose of this thread is not to discuss Police Story, or Project A, or any of his popular Hollywood stuff (Shanghai Noon, Rush Hour, whatever). Recently I went on a Jackie Chan binge. This is something I do every now and then. Having seen a lot of the "big stuff," I turned to anything with Jackie Chan's name on it, regardless of the size of his role. Big or small, if Jackie Chan was in it, I was going to watch it.

I proffer mere scribbling, rambles about random Jackie Chan movies I have been watching lately. As I view more I may add to the thread, but whatever. The "official" binge in question was a couple weeks ago. This is a project of no great significance. This is merely an excuse to scribble.

And to say that I like Jackie Chan a whole lot.

Even when the movies he appears in are cinematic vacuums where talented people go to die.

Such are the films I've been viewing:
1. Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978, dir. Chi-hwa Chen) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=16356&postcount=2)
2. Drunken Master (1978, dir. Woo-ping Yuen) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=16564&postcount=9)
3. City Hunter (1993, dir. Wong Jing) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=16812&postcount=14)
4. Gorgeous (1999, dir. Vincent Kok) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=17101&postcount=17)
5. The Twin Dragons (1992, dir. Tsui Hark / Ringo Lam) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=17339&postcount=18)
6. Young Tiger (1974, dir. Mu Zhu) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=17685&postcount=29)
7. The Twins Effect (2003, dir. Dante Lam) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=18391&postcount=32)
8. The Myth (2005, dir. Stanley Tong) (http://www.match-cut.org/showpost.php?p=18705&postcount=34)

[Stay Puft]

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Uncle Lung!

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu
(1978, dir. Chi-hwa Chen)

Set the wayback machine to 1978. The scene: Jackie Chan is only one year older than I am and has already accomplished more with his life than I ever will mine. Working under contract with famed producer Lo Wei, Chan finds himself doing what Chan does not do best. Flopping harder than a fish out of water, Chan finally gets a degree of creative control and alongside friend Chi-hwa Chen makes Half a Loaf of Kung Fu.

Chan has called this movie a practical joke. Indeed, it is designed to obfuscate. Be forewarned, prospective journeyman of martial arts cinema: For the first half, Chan and crew are having a laugh. By the time two martial arts experts confront each other and duel to death, complete with sloppy choreography and punches and kicks that are explicitly aimed at the wind more than the other opponent, you just might want your money back. Or maybe you’re already grooving to the film’s self-deprecating sensibilities.

The second half sets the record straight. The conventional martial arts formula now thoroughly dashed and trashed, Jackie Chan and Chi-hwa Chen set about defining the Martial Arts World According to Not Bruce Lee. Physical comedy and slapstick kung fu reign supreme in tandem with the serious skill and athleticism evident in Chan’s martial arts prowess. Simply put, the action in the latter half is a ton of great fun. Chan is all business and all play – having his cake and eating it too – joining forces with a young and almost unrecognizable Uncle Lung to do battle with that dude you always see in old kung fu films but whose name you can’t recall, or even what other movies specifically he had been in. Do you know that guy? I do. But I don’t remember him very well.

And just when you think it’s over this random guy appears and announces that someone has killed his son and now he will seek revenge, even though the guy who killed his son (I think it was the dude you always see but never remember) is also dead, so why not fight Jackie Chan? Am I right or am I right? Because that’s what I’d do. If I was stupid. Jackie Chan always wins.

Half a Loaf of Kung Fu is awesome. This is a defining film in Chan’s career. A nice surprise and one I will cherish, even if it is not Police Story.

[DavidSeven]

Take, for example, Police Story. Shot by shot, cut by cut, sequence by sequence, no movie from 1985 (or any other year) was more grippingly, cinematically exhilarating.

:lol:

Nice.

[D_Davis]

Sweet!

[MadMan]

I've seen very little of Chan's work (mostly his American films). I really must change that since he seems to be not only an awesome stuntman, but great at physical comedy as well (he admits that Buster Keaton was his main influence). Cool idea for a thread Stay Puft.

[Sycophant]

Awesome thread, Puft!

I'm gonna have to be checking this and some other out. The only non-Hollywood Jackie Chan vehicle I've seen is actually Gorgeous which was made after he'd already gone to Hollywood and is just about the most bizarre romantic comedy I've seen.

[lovejuice]

you beat me to this thread. my father and i love chan. can't wait to read what you think about his "lesser-known" films.

[number8]

Word.

Incidentally, I was at Old Navy earlier today (don't ask) and they had a christmas light rope hanging from the top of the 4th floor to the basement beside the escalators. I immediately thought of Police Story and had the urge to try and jump on it.

[Stay Puft]

http://i16.tinypic.com/8ea4qjp.jpg

Drunken Master
(1978, dir. Woo-ping Yuen)

Okay, this is hardly “lesser-known,” but I had never seen it before. A friend lent it to me, and then I watched it. In that order. This is a fun movie, perhaps essential viewing, but I think it is relatively middling given the oeuvre of the talent involved. Chan is certainly no slouch here, and some of the action is inventive and exhilarating, such as the introduction of the Drunken Master and Chan’s rematch with the King of Bamboo. However, this is a far cry from what Chan will accomplish later (duh, Legend of Drunken Master) and perhaps that is an unfair comparison, but even in the context of the era, I think Woo-ping Yuen did much better (see The Buddhist Fist, and of course The Magnificent Butcher, one of his best). Simply put, Woo-ping Yuen delivered some knockout work early in his career, but Drunken Master is on the low end of the scale. Just the first fight scene in Buddhist Fist destroys everything here for sheer spectacle.

Yes, this is a fun movie. Chan is up to his now familiar antics, following the success of Snake in the Eagle's Shadow. This is one of his earliest breakthrough roles (Half a Loaf of Kung Fu was apparently unreleased for a few years because Lo Wei hated the results) and is an important step in his career as such. Uncle Lung is back again, a pretentious martial arts instructor finding himself on the receiving end of Wong’s practical jokes. A playful scene and the first in a series of a tug of war between humility and arrogance, the film’s central theme. Guess which character trait Wong Fei Hung needs to develop? No, seriously. Siu Tien Yuen is charming as the Drunken Master who instructs Wong Fei Hung and instills a sense of discipline. Jang Lee Hwang’s marvelous hair plays an arrogant villain that gets what’s coming.

But we’ve been here before, as I’m sure you’re aware. Watching this movie now made me realize that... well, this is easily the least interesting interpretation of Wong Fei Hung I've seen. That it lacks anything bearing a resemblance to the actual Wong Fei Hung is just for starters. Even Woo-ping Yuen’s later movie, Iron Monkey, is a much more interesting and enjoyable interpretation insofar as dealing with Wong's formative years. As a story about a youthful, mischievous Wong Fei Hung learning a few important lessons, this is conventional work, drawing on none of the flavor of the established mythos, and lacking any of the playful genre deconstruction of Half a Loaf of Kung Fu. The result is decidedly flavorless.

Addendum: What a weird experience, the R1 DVD. It is the longer cut but lacks the appropriate Cantonese audio, and so some scenes are suddenly English dubbed. A surreal treat, particularly when Uncle Lung begins randomly cursing in English.

[Morris Schæffer]

I like Chan, but find his flicks range from bad to decent to good (the exception). He seems like a really nice, down-to-earth guy and the stunts that he's done throughout his career are phenomenal, but I've rarely cared about his cinematic daredevilry within the context of a movie's narrative or the character that Chan plays. Harrison Ford might not have done the truck stunt in Raiders of the Lost Ark himself, but it's the kind of sequence that is fully in service of a great story and memorable characters even when I know Ford isn't putting himself in genuine mortal danger. With Chan, I often feel like I'm looking at a stunt reel. Perhaps his true devotees will respond with a resounding "DUH!" and that's allright by me.

[D_Davis]

I think Woo-ping Yuen did much better (see The Buddhist Fist...
Buddhist Fist is one of the finest shapes films ever. While it didn't make it on my top 100, it is, none the less, a remarkable mid-school kung fu film.

And I agree with you that Chan's portrayal of WFH is rather uninteresting. I understand that they were going for an irreverent depiction of a character that is usually highly revered, but it just isn't my thing.

[number8]

Yeah, I'll agree on that. His WFH is more interesting in Legend because of the relationship with his Dad. Here, it's basically just him training, and it's kinda boring.

About english dubs: for some reason, I really hate how Jackie dubs his own dialogue in english. It's just fucking weird.

[Stay Puft]

Sorry this is going slower than expected. I thought I'd have the weekend off but I've been called in to work every day. Anyways, another entry shall be ready shortly.


And I agree with you that Chan's portrayal of WFH is rather uninteresting. I understand that they were going for an irreverent depiction of a character that is usually highly revered, but it just isn't my thing.

I don't even see irreverence as much as disengagement. The route it takes to that supposed end is just too easy, and made palatable through formula. This is evident even in the narrative structure, in which Wong Fei Hung is removed from context - seperated from his father and any historical or political background. The land claim conflict is relegated to background noise, as Wong simply learns drunken boxing and then sticks it to the assassin. All's well that ends well.

As 8 says, Legend just has more flavor.

[Stay Puft]

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"City Hunter!"

City Hunter
(1993, dir. Wong Jing)

Tsukasa Hojo’s serial manga City Hunter is brought to life via the prolific Wong Jing, with Jackie Chan in the lead role as Ryo Saeba. Sadly, Uncle Lung does not make an appearance. Now, I have no familiarity with the source, although my understanding is that Wong Jing’s movie bears no narrative relationship to either the manga or subsequent anime. Some character traits remain, however, such as Ryo’s womanizing ways and Kaori’s penchant for punishing Ryo by hitting him with a large mallet. The story here involves Ryo trying to find a Japanese tycoon’s missing daughter. He winds up on a cruise ship and must thwart the criminal activity of a bunch of nefarious Americans. At random moments, usually involving spur of the moment poses, someone will dramatically shout “City Hunter!” on the soundtrack. That’s probably my favorite part of the movie.

Outside of a couple decent fight scenes, and one awesome explosion near the end, the action and stunts are largely lacking in this movie, which focuses more on the comical misadventures of Ryo as his goofy sensibilities clash with supporting characters, good and bad alike. The supporting cast is unquestionably strong, featuring Joey Wang as Kaori, the irresistibly sexy Chingmy Yau as undercover cop Saeko Nogami, and Leon Lai as Kotetsu, who spends the entirety of his small role throwing playing cards like ninja stars. But a cast this awesome deserves a better movie. Even as a comedy, the movie is only intermittently funny, often more redundant and exasperating than genuinely silly and surprising. It’s a half-hearted attempt at a live-action anime sensibility, with Wong Jing aiming only for the easy and obvious. Exaggerated posturing and comical sound effects are hopelessly superficial and rote, opting for the predictable instead of the inspired. Wong Jing's directing isn't half as good as another of his 1993 films, Kung Fu Cult Master. But let's not forget we're talking about a guy who has no less than nine directing credits for 1993 alone!

What City Hunter does have going for it is an unbelievable and unexpected Street Fighter II parody. Jackie Chan is electrocuted by an arcade machine, or something stupid like that, and suddenly finds himself transformed into E. Honda, while his opponent is transformed into Ken. Two bumbling sidekicks appear as Guile and Dhalsim, and the ensuing fight is loaded with spectacularly awful special effects, sound samples ripped straight from the game, and a surprising faithfulness to the character moves. Just when you think it couldn’t get more absurd, Jackie Chan bounces back into action as Chun Li. You have to see it to believe it. The whole thing is some kind of absurd cosplayer nightmare, or perhaps a cosplayer’s wildest fantasy realized, though I find myself unable to appreciate the difference.

Despite my criticisms, this movie does have buried treasure. At one point, Chan finds himself in a movie theatre and attempts to protect the Japanese tycoon’s daughter from two very tall terrorists. At first the bad guys are able to keep Chan out of arm’s reach and slap him around like a toy. But then Chan suddenly notices the movie playing on the screen: Bruce Lee’s Game of Death, specifically the scene wherein he fights Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Taking notes from the master and mimicking his moves, Chan is able to defeat his opponents. Chan pays his respects to the master in a great moment of intertextual cinema, a scene that perhaps sums up the formative years of Chan’s own career, attempting to escape the pressure to be another Bruce Lee and make his own path. Chan succeeded, and now in his own comical fashion pauses to acknowledge the unmistakable influence the master nevertheless had on his career. You can feel the love.

[Li Lili]

I never really got into his films. I liked Drunken Master films though and perhaps a couple more. I can't stand his US films.
When I was in Changsha (capital of Hunan province in China), my friend and I wanted to see a movie at the theater of the university (much cheaper than the cinema, 10 yuans for 6 films, about 1 dollar for 6 films), it was supposed to be mainland Chinese art film. We were only 4, and still no film at the time it was supposed to be screened, 20 minutes later, a group of young students arrived (from the other screening room). They finally put the film on : it was Rush Hour 3 dubbed in Chinese!
Awful!!!! I mean really bad!

[Stay Puft]

but I've rarely cared about his cinematic daredevilry within the context of a movie's narrative or the character that Chan plays.

Something to say about this - I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this - but the draw is often Chan himself, and the other talent he works with on various projects.

Something that has always stayed with me since I've seen it is the Holy Moment scene in Waking Life, when Caveh Zahedi is talking about Bazin and the specificity of cinema. It's about that guy in that moment in that space. I love when Caveh says Hollywood is "almost right" to have a star system, because movies become events about a person or thing. Tom Cruise is the last samurai. Will Smith is the last man on Earth.

I mean, in how many movies does Jackie Chan just play a character named Jackie? There's almost a self-aware coherency in his films - Jackie playing Jackie, every character a variation on the same - Jackie Chan has always been a character. This is his star power. So, yes, I think it's actually appropriate you might feel his films are often more stunt reels than anything, like they're built around a performer and his set pieces. Jackie Chan's movies are about him in a given moment and space.



They finally put the film on : it was Rush Hour 3 dubbed in Chinese! Awful!!!! I mean really bad!

A practical joke, no doubt!

Obviously, given the first part of this post, you can guess I voluntary went to see Rush Hour 3 in theatres. For me, Rush Hour 3 was an event. The story is meaningless. After three movies I can't even remember the name of Chan's "character" - that's hardly important. Jackie Chan versus Hiroyuki Sanada, that's the appeal, that's the draw. I love Hiroyuki Sanada. He has powerful screen presence. Althought the climactic fight was hardly great, it contained extra-narrative power, an explosion of pure performance. Two awesome stars, athletic and skilled action stars, going toe to toe.

This is also why I watched Shanghai Knights, to see Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen. Nevermind that these are two awful movies we're talking about. Rush Hour 3 in particular was just atrocious. But you shrug and move on. To dwell on that is to miss the point entirely.

[Stay Puft]

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Gorgeous
(1999, dir. Vincent Kok)

Smile! So sayeth the Chan before kicking some white dude’s ass. The action in Vincent Kok’s Gorgeous is minimal and mostly focuses on Jackie Chan and Bradley James Allan challenging each other in a couple matches of competitive sportsmanship. Bradley beats Chan, who is depressed as a result, but learns, with the help of Shu Qi, to just be happy and have fun. This gives Chan the edge he needs to come back and win. Guess what? I'm saving you two hours.

Gorgeous is a romantic action comedy, or some such nonsense, in which Jackie Chan winds up stuck with Shu Qi in a case of misadventure. Shu Qi, you see, has come to Hong Kong after having found a love letter in a bottle, signed by Tony Leung Chiu Wai. Only it turns out Tony Leung is gay and the message was for another man, and so Shu Qi doesn’t know what to do, but then she meets Jackie Chan and falls in love. And maybe Jackie Chan falls in love with her, too! But Chan’s old friend and rival is a bastard and causes all sorts of trouble. Oh no!

The action, what little exists, is fun. The rest is embarrassing. This is the kind of troublesome romance fantasy in which supposedly lovelorn individuals go about finding that ideal other, one man for every woman on the planet. The promises of romantic love – instant happiness, eternal happiness, whatever – are mythical, but reproduced. The entry point, of course, is monogamy. Chan seems perfectly capable of multiple intimate interpersonal relationships and yet keeps his partners in a neat line. One after another, you know, looking for that one. Looking for Shu Qi, of course. Tony Leung makes the assist, a fabulous homosexual whose sole purpose on this planet is to help straight people get their shit together. His reward: the disinterested companionship of a drunk, Shu Qi’s garbage, no less. The homosexual facilitation of heterosexual development. A world in which women are “stolen” from one man by another and gay people are accomplices in the crime. I spent the entire movie trying to pull my hair out. I have lost hair because of this movie.

One positive note: The scene in which Tony Leung vandalizes Chan’s apartment and tries to escape in an elevator is marvelous. I almost cried with laughter. Tony is just bloody perfect in the scene, proving that even in the worst material he can come through with the goods. I love this man.

Another negative note: Can you believe Stephen Chow’s scene is removed from the TriStar DVD release? Who would do that? Who in their goddamn mind would cut Stephen Chow out of a movie? I have spent many sleepless nights pondering this. It has threatened my very sanity. I lost even more hair in the process.

[Stay Puft]

http://i6.tinypic.com/6kgifpi.jpg

The Twin Dragons
(1992, dir. Tsui Hark / Ringo Lam)

I know plenty who have seen this. I know few who ever bring it up. I suggest that this is one of Jackie Chan's best. Certainly, the most effortlessly enjoyable film I watched during my recent binge. A conceptually simple film, with the most readily obvious conceit, but executed with joy and aplomb. Superb entertainment! I challenge anyone to name a greater cinematic pleasure than watching the legendary Lau Kar Leung send a bumbling Wong Jing through a wall. No, it does not get any better. Unless we're talking about Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam as car mechanics playing cards and trying to see each other's hand, even when a fight breaks loose.

Awesome and gut-busting cameos are just the start. The Twin Dragons is a movie of sheer playfulness, with Jackie Chan in top form playing two different characters with sincerity and self-awareness. This is a movie of sheer cinematic hijinks, Chan maneuvering through scenes twice, often occupying the same space twice, negotiating with himself, directing himself – undoubtedly this is Chan at his most self-reflexive and playful. The twin dragons, separated at birth, have a bizarre relationship in which the actions of one can affect the other, leading to outright absurd scenes such as an incredible boat chase being intercut with Chan bouncing around like an idiot in a restaurant, splashing his water on his female companion and apologizing for "making her wet."

Chan finds himself surrounded by an attractive cast. He is reunited with Maggie Cheung, his girlfriend from the Police Story series. This is another of her "cute" roles (omg the blue hair!), but she is a treat in any movie. Joining her is Nina Li Chi, an actress whose career is best described as disappointingly brief. What a beautiful woman! Send me to Hell right now because I'm coveting Jet Li's wife like you wouldn't believe. Jackie Chan also finds an idiotic sidekick in Teddy Robin Kwan, perhaps not as attractive as his female co-stars so I won't dwell on that point. Chan's chief adversary is Guy Lai, whom I spent the entire runtime mistaking for The Guch. A superb 'stache, sir!

The action is fantastic. Although there are few set pieces, they absolutely shine, serving as the perfect punctuation to the film's overall narrative antics. An opening brawl in a club has the usual Chan trademarks, a wonderfully executed opening, but of course the climax is where you'll find the money. An extended sequence with self-contained structural complexity, Chan finds himself (both of him) in a mechanic shop in a final showdown with The Guch. The film makes excellent use of the environment, the drama developing, the action building, as the characters negotiate their surroundings. The scene is loaded with wicked stunts and fast, exciting, playful martial arts. It's no Police Story, but what is? The Twin Dragons is awesome and that's enough.

[Sycophant]

Gorgeous
(1999, dir. Vincent Kok)
Okay, this movie isn't very good, but I absolutely loved Emil Chow as Chan's financial nemesis in this movie. He doesn't want to hurt Chan badly, just humiliate him. And he's so emotionally vulnerable. I've never seen him in anything else, but he was spectacular in this.


Another negative note: Can you believe Stephen Chow’s scene is removed from the TriStar DVD release? Who would do that? Who in their goddamn mind would cut Stephen Chow out of a movie? I have spent many sleepless nights pondering this. It has threatened my very sanity. I lost even more hair in the process.
:eek:

Thank God my disc is from Hong Kong.

[D_Davis]

Twin Dragons is, indeed, pretty awesome.

[Sycophant]

Twin Dragons is, indeed, pretty awesome.
Stay Puft's write-up makes it sound ridiculously awesome. I'm gonna have to see this. Please tell me the violin actually plays a part.

[D_Davis]

Stay Puft's write-up makes it sound ridiculously awesome. I'm gonna have to see this. Please tell me the violin actually plays a part.

Well, one of the "twins" is a composer or something.

I believe this is the film made in support of the Hong Kong film industry as they were being faced with the ugly effects of rampant film piracy. It was kind of a big to do, hence all the cameos and what not. I think it was some kind of "charity" film, where a ton of people pitched in to make something special.

I think it is one of the better, rarely mentioned Chan outings.

[Sycophant]

Well, one of the "twins" is a composer or something.
I can't put my finger on why that sounds like the most awesome thing in the world to me.

[D_Davis]

I can't put my finger on why that sounds like the most awesome thing in the world to me.

On paper, this film sounds like a total dud, but it is quite good in execution. Not great a "great film" by any means, but totally enjoyable, endearing, and highly entertaining.

[Sven]

Yeah, I have to say that Twin Dragons is one of the more enjoyable Chan films I've seen. Definitely stellar.

[Stay Puft]

Please tell me the violin actually plays a part.

I don't recall a violin. I don't even know why it's on the poster. He's a conductor and a pianist, and doesn't know martial arts. Rest assured, however, that you will not be in want of a violin when watching the movie.

...

Also, for anybody with a morbid enough sense of curiosity, I found the City Hunter SFII parody on YouTube. The quality isn't great, and it appears to be from an English dub, but you'll get the idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itwdoFvQH3E

Just remember, if you click on that link, you will see Jackie Chan as Chun Li. It cannot be unseen.

[lovejuice]

i love love love twin dragons. as you mentioned, the two female leads are extremely attractive. i don't know Maggie Cheung's the girlfriend from police story, but she looks way better here.

somehow i remember its being pretty moving too. although i can't exactly pin down why and when. i even remember crying a bit. weird, isn't it? haven't watched the movie for a long time. is there a scene that can be marginally described as "tear-jerking"?

[Stay Puft]

somehow i remember its being pretty moving too. although i can't exactly pin down why and when. i even remember crying a bit. weird, isn't it? haven't watched the movie for a long time. is there a scene that can be marginally described as "tear-jerking"?

I don't recall any tear-jerking. Perhaps you were crying tears of joy because the movie was too damn awesome. This is perfectly logical.

Next entry in a couple minutes!

[Stay Puft]

http://i10.tinypic.com/86fezjo.jpg
I'm a cop, you idiot!

Young Tiger
(1974, dir. Mu Zhu)

Jackie Chan has only a small role in this one, and surprisingly, plays a low life thug. Sporting a fake mole the size of a pepperoni slice, Chan commits random acts of violence, bitch slaps women, and even blows a guy up with a car bomb. Having grown up watching the venerable Mr. Nice Guy commit heroic deeds and routinely save the day, Young Tiger (which also goes by alternative titles such as Rumble in Hong Kong and the hilariously literal Police Woman Versus Jackie Chan) was an odd experience.

The star here is Charlie Chin, a cab driver accosted by thugs after a woman dies in his cab. The woman was carrying a purse, now missing, and the thugs want it. The problem is that poor Charlie Chin knows nothing about the purse. Pursued and attacked by the thugs, and the police offering no help, Chin takes matters into his own hands. The dead woman’s sister shows up to lend a helping hand, a police woman played by a young and gorgeous Qiu Yuen, who would go on to star as the Landlady in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle. Shit hits the fan. Happy ending.

This is a routine and forgettable crime flick with the usual twists and unsuspecting heroes. The first fight scene with Qiu Yuen is probably the best, though the ending has a couple moments. By and large it is substandard, however, offering only lackluster diversions. A poorly directed film to boot, too literal with its awful reaction shots, too lazy with its blocking (and some of the actors simply cannot sell a scene). The plot is even interrupted for groan inducing diatribes about the representation of violence in the media. Interestingly, the worse violence (rape, murder, etc.) in Young Tiger appears through flashbacks, as if in response to these diatribes, to place emphasis not on the action but the consequence. “Here is a film that deals with violence, that is socially responsible,” it says. But the original thesis is uncritical, too easy to blame media glamorization, too naïve to assume art is a one way street. Art is dynamic, unstable – its audience unpredictable. Here now is Young Tiger, a film disingenuously advertised as a Jackie Chan vehicle to capitalize on his success. “Come see Jackie Chan abuse women and murder people,” it says. You can lead a horse to a violent action scene, but you can’t control what he takes away from it.

[number8]

Heh. This thread rules.

[Acapelli]

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The Twin Dragons
(1992, dir. Tsui Hark / Ringo Lam)
Your review makes me really want to see this with him. Other than the classic American movies (Die Hard, Predator, etc.), Jackie Chan movies owned my childhood. Me and my dad would just go to Blockbuster and pick out any movie with his name on it. We even saw the first and second Rush Hour movies when they were in theaters. So I'm pretty close to knowing how you feel Stay Puft. I even watched The Medallion and The Tuxedo because I love the guy (on Hbo though).

[Stay Puft]

http://i2.tinypic.com/6k5trlv.jpg
Lulz.

The Twins Effect
(2003, dir. Dante Lam)

Jackie Chan’s role in The Twins Effect is brief, amounting to one wedding scene with Karen Mok and one brief action scene featuring vampires attacking an ambulance. I think that covers it. This is unquestionably one of the worst movies I have watched on account of Chan. For a movie featuring Donnie Yen as action director, there is a surprising lack of good action. There is one awesome fight scene in the middle of the movie, between a vampire and a vampire hunter in an alley. The rest is middling, including Chan’s scene. Maybe it has something to do with combatants who are not proficient in the martial arts. Maybe it has something to do with all the attempts at infusing really bad humor. Maybe I hate this movie a lot.

The Twins Effect (also known as Vampire Effect) is about vampire hunters and a bunch of European vampires who are after… something? I kind of forget now. It’s something you eat. After you steal it from other vampires of a specific family tree. And it makes you a super vampire. Even though that sounds redundant. Which it apparently is. Unless you were not a vampire before ingesting it, then you become one. I think. Or did it have something to do with being able to go out in the light? I can see why vampires would want that.

This movie is a vehicle for Charlene Choi and Gillian Chung, who form the pop duo known as Twins. As such, it is focused on them being cute and silly, at first being not nice (oh look they have a fight scene!) and then finally being nice (Twins power activate, form of terrible movie, etc.). All the while they attempt to find boyfriends - and then one falls in love with a vampire! I did not see any of this coming! Hilarity ensues, such as a vampire wearing sun lotion to go out in the day and a daft Charlene Choi baking muffins with the vampire antidote (which prevents you from becoming a vampire if you take the vampire poison... thing... which makes you stronger so you can fight vampires? And what was the thing they were all after again?).

Apparently these two are popular. They are pop stars who now have their own movie, anyways (and a sequel of some kind). Gillian Chung lives in Hong Kong with her younger sister and started out as a model. Charlene Choi hails from Canada (Represent!). Twins is a product of corporate engineering. This is all information I would have been comfortable living without. And now you have an idea of the kind of unfortunate places following the Jackie Chan trail can take you.

http://i7.tinypic.com/8avh0mg.jpg

If you are looking for my face, you will find it planted in my palm.

Seriously, how can you go wrong with Anthony Wong Chau-Sang hamming it up as a vampire named Prada? Fuck this stupid movie.

[Stay Puft]

I even watched The Medallion and The Tuxedo because I love the guy (on Hbo though).

I think The Tuxedo is the only Chan movie I started watching and never finished. I just felt bad for the guy while watching it for some reason. Like, I was actually getting depressed and had to turn it off.

I did, however, sit through all of The Medallion. It might actually have been worse than The Twins Effect. At least Twins Effect had one awesome fight scene and Anthony Wong playing a vampire. Medallion had nothing memorable and Anthony Wong playing a regular human mortal, which is boring.

[Stay Puft]

http://i16.tinypic.com/6k6jtag.jpg

The Myth
(2005, dir. Stanley Tong)

Jackie Chan accompanies Tony Leung Ka Fai on an archaeological quest for an ancient artifact that allows you to defy gravity. Meanwhile, he dreams of General Meng-yi of the Qin Dynasty, who is escorting a Korean concubine, played the beautiful Hee-seon Kim, back to the capital. Could it be that General Meng-yi is Jackie Chan in a past life? The answer is yes. Such is The Myth, the latest film from Stanley Tong, who has directed Chan numerous times (see Police Story 3, Police Story 4, Rumble in the Bronx). This latest collaboration is not on par with previous work, but is an entertaining enough diversion with a couple classic set pieces.

First, those set pieces. The first is a fight scene between Jackie Chan and two guards in the Dasar tomb, location of the artifact Tony Leung Ka Fai is after. This is just a fantastic, old school Chan scene, with exhilarating and playful choreography matched with a clever sense of humor. After a recent string of crap (Medallion, Twins Effect, New Police Story, Rush Hour 3, etc.), this scene is a breath of fresh air. While the movie itself is middling at best, it’s practically a relief given the movies I just listed, and for the first time in a while I found myself laughing and having a good time with a contemporary Chan film. And if there was any doubt whether or not Chan still had “it,” along comes a fantastic fight scene in a glue factory, with combatants attempting to maneuver along a conveyer belt, losing articles of clothing in the process. Again, just a playful and humorous scene. This is classic Chan. I couldn’t help but grin like an idiot.

The narrative is dopey business, with Chan bouncing back and forth between past and present, and Tony Leung looking to get rich with his amazing discovery, the gravity defying treasure he finds being a piece of a meteor or some such nonsense. The light the meteor fragment emits makes you fly, and this is used as an explanation for the wuxia genre. The myths were true, you know! Martial artists actually knew how to fly because of meteorites! It’s all silly, but harmless fun, I suppose. Eventually the characters find themselves on a quest for the tomb of the Qin Emperor (I forget the plot details here – I think it was because the Qin Emperor was rumored to have been buried with the original meteor). Chan finds some help from Indian actress Mallika Sherawat (who you may remember from films such as Murder and Kis Kis Ki Kismat, or maybe you don’t) and then goes face to face with his arch-nemesis, Zhou Sun, whose only other acting credit is the Prince of Yan in Chen Kaige’s The Emperor and the Assassin. He is otherwise a director, with four credits spanning eighteen years. What keeps this guy busy? How does he choose his projects? He is an enigma.

I don’t want to spoil the end because I think it’s kind of cool. When I was studying the Qin Dynasty last year I was inspired by some of the legends surrounding its history and developed what I thought would be a cool idea for a story. As it turns out, The Myth is totally a rip off of my idea. Only my idea was better, because The Myth, as a part romance narrative, reproduces some stupid romance myths (undoubtedly part of its whole “the myths were real” shtick). Again, I don’t want to spoil the ending, so while it is kind of cool, it is also patently stupid, which perfectly sums up the movie. Silly and stupid nonsense, but it manages to be fun, too.

[Lasse]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itwdoFvQH3E

Just remember, if you click on that link, you will see Jackie Chan as Chun Li. It cannot be unseen.

Jackie Chan just raped my childhood. I loved it. :crazy:

[monolith94]

Oh man. That Street Fighter parody. So awesome!!!!

[Sycophant]

There's a part of me that wants to see Twins Effect really, really badly. It's the part of me that isn't the part that agrees with every word of your review even though I haven't seen it yet. It's a morbid curiosity inherited by a keen interest in Hong Kong pop culture, the fan I have with the Twins plastered on it (that I bought to pad out an order to get free shipping once), my appreciation of Gillian Chung (and I think Charlene Choi) in a couple other things, and, uh, this picture:

http://whatnot.bombdotcom.net/shit/twinsgirlpower.jpg

[Thirdy]

Gorgeous is indeed atrocious.

[Sxottlan]

I rented The Myth a few weeks ago. I had to take the discs back twice because they wouldn't work in my DVD player or PS2 or my laptop.

I finally get it to work and it was...okay. I seriously thought I had missed a chapter or two though because I really didn't understand what they were looking for after they got to that Indian temple.

Maybe it wasn't properly explained in the English dub track, but I really don't think it was ever said what they were looking for except early in the film and then it wasn't mentioned again. That's why when they get to the tomb, I thought what they were looking for was already found. So that was a bit confusing. The background on the friend and his company's motivation was also very murky. It's like they were desperate to create any kind of actual conflict.

I agree that a couple of the action scenes were classic Chan, namely the glue factory scene. That got a lot of laughs from me and that's something that hasn't happened in awhile for me with a Chan film.

[Stay Puft]

Maybe it wasn't properly explained in the English dub track, but I really don't think it was ever said what they were looking for except early in the film and then it wasn't mentioned again. That's why when they get to the tomb, I thought what they were looking for was already found. So that was a bit confusing. The background on the friend and his company's motivation was also very murky. It's like they were desperate to create any kind of actual conflict.

Yes, exactly. I did not watch the dub so I don't know what it's like, but I doubt anyone would be better off with subtitles in this case. The narrative is just dopey, undeveloped nonsense. It's not worth paying attention to what little is there. Just take it on a scene by scene basis and enjoy it when it's kicking some ass, which is frequently enough.

And I think I'm out of movies to ramble about. I can't remember if I watched anything more, but of course I do have more sitting next to me that I could watch so as to add to the thread. We'll see...

[Sxottlan]

Yes, exactly. I did not watch the dub so I don't know what it's like, but I doubt anyone would be better off with subtitles in this case. The narrative is just dopey, undeveloped nonsense.

Yeah. I swear the whole point for their trip is explained in just this offhanded comment by his friend early on. Something like, "Help me find this legendary tomb." Then they just show up at this tomb and I'm thinking, 'well that was easy.'

So when he finds the actual enormous tomb, I'm thinking what the heck is this?


And I think I'm out of movies to ramble about. I can't remember if I watched anything more, but of course I do have more sitting next to me that I could watch so as to add to the thread. We'll see...

I rented some recent film of his awhile ago that dealt with race cars and I can't for the life of me remember anything about it. I remember it being pretty unimpressive. They had a scene set in another bizarre waterfront apartment that gets destroyed. Where do they find these locations?

[Li Lili]

The Myth was pretty awful, and badly acted. Tony Leung Ka Wai was rather bad, I don't think he's good in this kind of action films or in comedies, well apart in The Eagle Shooting Heroes...

[D_Davis]

Well, Eagle Shooting Heroes is just a damn amazing film!

I don't understand the outright hate for Twins Effect. It's fun, has some pretty descent new-school, wire and CGI-assisted action, and it is totally harmless. It's a solid B-effort that can be really fun to watch. It's not great, nor does it ever pretend to be.