Classic Chan: The Accidental Spy (2001)

Classic Chan concludes today on a bit of a downbeat, as The Accidental Spy is not one of Chan's best. Regardless, it's been a real pleasure bringing you this series on one of our favorite performers. Chicken Man and I have enjoyed this chance to revisit some of the key films in our history, films that somehow escaped our critical eye. Stick around for more Chan coverage coming your way on Code Redd Net.

Even when Jackie Chan is at his most mediocre, he still brings the goods. To wit: though The Accidental Spy is pretty pedestrian stuff, there's an excellently choreographed fight in a Turkish* bath that saves the film from totally descending into Tuxedo territory. But first, the evergreen wacky plot: Jackie is an exercise equipment salesman who foils a robbery. Some strange old man then approaches Jackie about another strange old man, this one wealthy and on his deathbed. He sends Jackie off on a globetrotting quest for clues of some sort or another, all the while unknowingly working for a shadow American intelligence operation. By even the loosest narrative standards of the genre, The Accidental Spy makes no sense. Why Jackie goes to certain places, why certain clues are deemed important, and why certain characters show up at certain times and do certain things, barely any of it is adequately explained. I suppose it's a bit of a throwback to the oddball political affiliations Jackie dealt with in First Strike, but for all the James Bond-lite intrigue and exoticism of locales, it doesn't add up to anything substantial, let alone anything really comprehensible. Still, though, there's nothing like Chan acrobatics to distract you from the confusing story. The aforementioned Turkish bath bash is a true highlight, as Jackie not only defends himself from his assailants, but also defends the dignity of his naked body from exposure. It's a subtle technique of layering the choreography that Jackie is particularly adept at executing. He doesn't simply fight an opponent or a mob of opponents: often, he also has to contend with the elements, with the environment, with physical restraints (such as handcuffs or that odd rope apparatus in Mr. Nice Guy), with notions of decorum and cultural heritage (recall the complicated vase choreography in Shanghai Knights), and so on. Unfortunately, the dynamism of the Turkish scene isn't present in all the fights, as some of them are fairly bland and lack that trademark Chan structuring. If it's your kind of thing, there's plenty of vehicular stuntwork going on here, especially the impressive tanker sequence that concludes the film. Nevertheless, The Accidental Spy should be ranked fairly low in Chan's oeuvre. I recommend checking it out for the Turkish bath fight scene, but you can snooze through the rest and not miss anything important.

*"Oi, did someone say Turkish? One of me many names it is."

Classic Chan: Mr. Nice Guy (1998) Video Review

Classic Chan continues this week with something new for Code Redd Net: a video review! It's a key part of our strategy to provide you with increasingly dynamic content across our various platforms. In this pilot test, Thrasher pays tribute to Mr. Nice Guy, one of our favorite action films and undoubtedly the spark for our lengthy Chan-o-philia. Also, look out for Chicken Man's upcoming review of Who Am I?, yet another classic Chan flick with some history for us.

As soon as Jackie starts asking questions, things explode.
Must be frustrating.

Classic Chan: Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996)

Jackie Chan fights for 'Murica! Perhaps even more exciting is the upcoming review of one of Jackie's works that is nearest and dearest to our hearts: Mr. Nice Guy! Thrasher will demonstrate just why we're really good at cuttin' things off.

 I'm a bit confused why this movie is called Jackie Chan's First Strike. The cover of my DVD says, "The world's most explosive action star fights for America for the first time," yet none of the movie takes place in the US and he worked with the DEA in Supercop. Also confusing is the plot itself. Even Jackie asks, "Why does the CIA need me? They have so many people." Yet, for some reason, a Hong Kong police officer is sent to track a woman to the Ukraine. That is supposed to be the extent of Jackie's involvement, yet he inevitably finds himself tangled in stopping a scheme to sell uranium to the Russian Mafia. He then is somehow working for the Russian Federal Security Bureau ("the new and improved KGB") rather than the CIA, only to find out that the FSB is involved in trying to secure the uranium and have blackmailed a CIA agent to do their bidding. It seems to be a mystery why a CIA agent would have a greater ability to obtain uranium from a former Soviet satellite than the FSB and Russian Mafia would. But, thankfully, an intricate plot is not why we like to watch Jackie Chan. He is an action-movie star and I think First Strike demonstrates his visionary choreography ability as well as any of his other films. He seems to be perfectly comfortable in any environment, whether it's in the Ukrainian snow or on stilts in Chinatown. It was exactly this that struck me most: the variety of action scenes in which we get to see Jackie perform. He seems to be a very capable snowboarder (though the cuts seem a bit sketchy where he will be riding goofy-footed in one shot and then regular-footed when he is cut back to), shows off his impressive capability in bearing the cold, has one of his most iconic fight scenes involving a ladder (I surely hope that The North Face paid handsomely for the best product placement that a pair of winter overalls have ever received), creatively demonstrates how to fight with stilts, and has an underwater fight scene almost as epic as Thunderball (though maybe not quite). Viewing it is a very quick 85 minutes. To me, this is because of Jackie's wide range of talent. He really pushes the boundary of what an action star can be. Can a Steven Seagal do half of what Jackie can? Would you consider Sylvester Stallone athletic? In comparison, he is simply a guy who carries big guns and flexes and has a speech impediment. Not nearly as entertaining. Not nearly as funny, either. I now feel a bit silly in pointing out the light-heartedness of Police Story. First Strike is definitely one of Jackie's most cartoony movies in terms of the humor (though City Hunter takes the cake). He sings while being stripped-down to his koala bear undies. He plays made-you-look in a shark tank. And so, yet again, I think this also demonstrates the wide array of emotions Jackie can elicit. He can be silly and he can be serious. He can be a secret agent and a cook. This is why he was able to perform in scores of films without becoming stale. Though I wouldn't consider First Strike one of his best films overall, it definitely has one of the top ten fight scenes and makes us unable to see step ladders in the same way ever again.

Classic Chan: Rumble in the Bronx (1996)

Classic Chan rolls on with Rumble in the Bronx/Vancouver, also known as Rumble in Vancouver or Rumble in the Vancouver Bronx around these parts. Take your pick; Thrasher thinks it's a fine action film any way you slice it. Next time around Chicken Man takes up Jackie Chan's First Strike, so get your ladders ready now.

As Chicken Man hinted at in the introduction to his review of the always super Supercop, we affectionately refer to this film as Rumble in Vancouver primarily because of the charmingly discordant NYC skyline:

The awe-inspiring and majestic beauty of the Bronx Mountains.

There's plenty of other equally wacky aberrations spread throughout Rumble in the Bronx, including our favorite high-strung, cushion-loving Sega Game Gear enthusiast, Danny, and his unstoppable, perpetually cheerful magic-out-of-mire disposition:

He's got no game, but at least he saves a lot of money on batteries.
"It's powered by my imagination!" says the stupid, positive child.

These "goofs", to speak like IMDb, become something more to us Chanphiles. They become markers of our fascination with his cinematic exploits, the attention to (and eventually love for) these mistakes an unmistakable result of repeated viewings.

Like many others new to Chan, Rumble was one of our key introductory texts. It has since become one of the yardsticks used to judge the success/failure of subsequent films. It's not his best film, not even close, really, but it's everything you could possibly want or expect from a film of this kind. Jackie plays Keung, visiting the Bronx nee Vancouver to help his Uncle Bill sell a supermarket. Keung hangs around to help out its new owner, Elaine, while Uncle Bill goes off on his honeymoon. Soon enough, Keung runs afoul with a local gang and from then on it's on. The admittedly poor dubbing adds another layer of humor to the film, and at least Jackie dubs himself rather than letting some other doofus do it. Sappy as the story may be, it takes us where we need to go, often hilarious so: supposedly hardcore gangsters turn over a new leaf following a lukewarm moral browbeating from Jackie; yokels easily fall for the old "I'm with the FBI because I'm wearing a nicely-tailored suit and have the build of an ex-pro wrestler" bit; and wholesale destruction of both public and private property in the name of justice is, well, justifiable (aesthetically if nothing else). Yet, as always, it's the stunts that matter most. Rumble scores fairly high in this regard, though few stand out as especially noteworthy. I suppose the pool-pinball fight would make a career highlight package, but everything else is merely serviceable, particularly in comparison with the showstealing numbers that make First Strike and Who Am I? truly memorable. That said, there's nothing at all wrong with Rumble. In fact, it has a rightful spot among his most significant, solid, and truly enjoyable films.

Classic Chan: Police Story 2 (1988)

It's axiomatic: for every good action movie, there bound to be a sequel or three. In that vein, join Thrasher as he follows Chicken Man's lead with a look back at Police Story 2. Keep checking in with Code Redd Net for more Classic Chan.

Police Story 2 is something of a lost classic, at least in North America, as it lacks both the critical sway of the original and the mainstream theatrical release afforded to the subsequent entries in the series Supercop and Jackie Chan's First Strike. It's a pity, as PS2 features some fine stunt work. In this one Chan plays the same cop as before, only this time he's been demoted to highway patrol duty as a result of his propensity for property damage. His obligations as a police officer and as a boyfriend are challenged when the mob boss he put behind bars in the previous film returns, determined to draw out the subdued Chan. Cornered, Chan retaliates and consequently resigns from the force, only to be reinstated when his former colleagues realize just what kind of results he's capable of producing. In something of a strange move, the film begins by recapping the most spectacular moments from the original before beginning this story in the proper manner. In a certain sense it works to set up expectations which this film seeks to supersede, but in another sense it doesn't work because it's a pretty high bar to meet. Nevertheless, Jackie continues to perfect here the action-comedy formula that has served him well throughout his career. As Chicken Man noted in his review of PS1, in these pre-watershed, pre-Rush Hour films, Chan does indeed get to play goofier characters that more effectively underline his immense talent for physical comedy as well as, and often totally in step with, his peerless athletic prowess. The choreography here is splendid, especially one of my all-time favorite fights, that being the playground brawl between Chan and a bunch of thugs. If, as Chicken Man suggests, the original's fight scenes impressed because they were "nearly believeable," PS2 is a bit of a lateral, pushing towards the ridiculous but not really going there. Jackie's films have a history of walking a narrow tightrope between the possible/probable and the pull of spectacle, and for the most part Police Story 2 keeps its balance.

Finest Fights: Jackie Chan's Thunderball

Still bringing you the best fight scenes available on YouTube, only now, we bring 'em intermittently.

While working on my review of Thunderball for our ongoing James Bond retrospective, I was reminded of this (partially) underwater fight scene from Jackie Chan's First Strike: