Crime Story (1993)

This Jackie Chan film, inspired by a real story, sees Chan playing Inspector Eddie Chan of the Royal Hong Kong Police. He is put on the case when a local business tycoon reports that he is being targeted by kidnappers. The police are initially sceptical, putting his fears down to the fact that he was kidnapped before... then he and his wife are snatched in an attack that leaves one police officer dead and another seriously injured. The wife is quickly released but the kidnappers demand a US$50,000,000 ransom for the tycoon. Chan is teamed up with Detective Hung Ting-bong, not knowing that he is involved with the kidnappers. Their investigation brings up links to Mainland China and takes them to Taiwan before they return to Hong Kong and Chan learns the truth about the man he is working with.

This film is one of the grittiest Jackie Chan films that I've seen, his character is somewhat conflicted and since it was inspired by real events the danger feels more real. That doesn't mean that this is without Jackie's trademark superbly choreographed action and fight sequences. These included some slightly amusing touches without feeling too unreal. They also include some unpleasant moments, one involving a fan on fire might disturb some viewers. The action includes the exciting kidnap sequence; a great fight in Taiwan, fights on a ship and a final confrontation in an exploding building. Jackie Chan is on top form, showing he can be more serious when needed and Kent Cheng impresses as the corrupt Detective Hung Ting-bong. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to fans of Jackie Chan and Hong Kong cinema.

These comments are based on watching the film in Cantonese with English subtitles.

Fmovies: This movie rocks. It is about a man who is kidnapped and his wife is forced to pay them millions of dollars. The twist is that one of the kidnappers is a police officer who is constantly causing the hero, Jackie Chan, problems. There is no theme and the plot is pretty shallow, but who cares because we watch Jackie Chan movies not for cool plots or deep themes but purely for the action, and much of the action in a Jackie Chan movie leaves American Cinema for dead. There is very little to say about this movie other than if you love Jackie Chan movies then you are going to like this one because it is just purely Jackie Chan. He does his cool stunts with cool comedy and one of the best police raids I have ever seen. If the Taiwanese Police force is really like that then they are incredibly effective.

What seems strange is that Jackie Chan has a cult following, more so than somebody like Van-Damme. It is interesting how Chan just seems to always deliver the good movies (at least when he was in Hong Kong). We know what we want from Jackie Chan and we usually get it. Van-Damme on the other hand, has his following, but either you love him or hate him. He has no acting skill in my opinion and people only watch him for martial arts. Jackie Chan though seems to just draw people to him. I have not really seen anybody that hates Jackie Chan who does not hate the genre. Even a friend of mine who detests television and movies has a soft spot of Jackie Chan and Hong Kong cinema. What more can I say? Just watch it (but if you can get it on some other release that is not Chinatown then do so because I simply do not like how Chinatown Video do their subtitles).

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.

Crime Story fmovies. Despite still showing great skill, it's almost a shame that in recent years Jackie Chan has concentrated almost entirely on slapstick martial arts and incessant mugging. Of course, this is Chan's trademark, but in his earlier days he would sometimes attempt a change of pace. Crime Story, based on a true story, is such an example.

Crime Story plays like Police Story with most of the comedy and outlandish elements removed. It's a gripping film with a realistic feel ,although there is still room for plenty of action, including an incredible sequence when Chan runs for his life for real as a wall is demolished right behind him, and a climatic fight which is reminiscent of the brutal Chan action in Heart Of The Dragon.

Chan fell out with the director of the film and added the occasional more typical Chan scene, such as a fight on trampolines. Also, some elements of the story, such as Chan's relationship with his psychiatrist, are introduced and then thrown away. Still, this is a generally well plotted, very tight film in which Chan gives a really strong, serious performance. Maybe, as he gets older ,we will see more of this kind of thing from him.

I'll tell you what, I was not expecting this! I had never known about Crime Story before I came over it in my local video store. This was about 3 years ago, and I was a big Jackie fan , but I hadnt seen all his films yet. So I rented this, thinking it would be a funny slapstick action flick. Boy, was I ever wrong! This is the most serious Jackie movie ever! Even more serious than pre-Drunken Master movies! This is as dark as Jackie comes. But was it any good? Hell yeah! This movie was awesome! Jackie plays the part of a troubled cop perfectly and the film focuses more on the story than the action. Not a bad thing, and a nice change of pace for Jackie. He should take more roles like this to broaden his horizens, cause this movie ruled!

Being a fan of Chan's work for about 20 yrs now, i think i have FINALLY got hold of a movie which i can say is my favourite from his line of work. Not that he hasn't impressed with his work earlier, this one kinda stands out. No trademark slapstick/light motif spread all over the movie. The direction is very good for most part and so is Jackie Chan. The action is very much there, and in just the right quantity and 'type' that should have been there. People might say this is offbeat, but according to my humble opinion.. this is JUST THE KIND Jackie really should have attempted majorly. He is def not a bad actor, and such movies would have given him enough chance to exhibit his talent the audiences haven't seen enough of.

Recently Chan has been saying that he would like to concentrate on non action films, films which have more 'acting' in it than action alone.. I think movies like Crime Story would have made him even more popular! It's a shame that nobody recommended/mentioned about this one and it took me so long to reach out to this one, but i am glad i have finally watched it. Def worth treasuring!