New Police Story

New Police Story (2004)
By Chris Almeda

From: Hong Kong
Notable cast: Jackie Chan, Nicolas Tse, Daniel Wu... ugh.... Charlene Choi
Director: Benny Chan Muk-Sing

Short Description: It's really unfair, why do North American viewers get to see Jackie Chan only when he's funny? Is it becasue that's what he wants? Is it cause he thinks that's what NA people want? Or is it cause his accent sounds too funny for us to ignore and we can't take him seriously? Anyways, all that doesn't matter as Jackie Chan reunites with Benny Chan to makes his big return to Hong Kong in this great movie that borrows the name of his other great movies Police Story (Just add in new and you get New Police story).

Full Review:

So Jackie Chan makes his big return to HK and it doesn't really disappoint. However, don't put this up on your list of "Best of Jackie Chan" as it may be entertaining but the rest of the cast just seems to come out of EEG (Empire Entertainment Group). First, we got Nicolas Tse, the badboy of EEG, then we have Charlene Choi of twins and of course Kenny Kwan and Stephen Cheung of Boy'Z. Cast aside this movie is still highly entertaining... especially if you don't know who those people are.

The story starts off with Wing (Jackie Chan) in a drunken state, as about a year ago he vowed to catch some crooks within the span of three hours. When he finally meets them, Wing along with the rest of crew (that are supposed top of the line officers) get separated and one by one Wing's men get their asses whooped. Wing is left alone and makes his way to an area where the rest of his men are (in an interesting way) and gets challenged by the leader of this gang, Joe (Daniel Wu). The challenge is to arm a gun faster than the other person. The cost of losing: a life of an officer. Of course, Wing loses, and BANF one of the officers die. This continues on as Wing watches each of the officers (who are close friends) die. This makes Wing all sad and starts to cry which actually, wasn't badly done by Jackie Chan. So the crooks get away and the entire experience leaves Wing in an emotional wreck.

Flash-forward a year later: Wing is now drinking away his days not caring about a thing, especially his soon to be wife or soon not to be wife. Sometime later he meets up with Frank (Nicolas Tse) who is given the task to straighten up Wing, put him on the right path and get his revenge for his fallen comrades. So the question remains if Wing will actually sober up and get back on the right track? The answer is pretty obvious... OF COURSE HE WILL. Which leads to more action sequences that are highly entertaining.

The acting in the movie is also not bad. We see Jackie Chan being drunk, Jackie Chan being sad and much other stuff. Of course sometimes he may seem a bit overacting but this is by far one of the better roles he's played over here in the West. Instead of trying to be funny and young he actually plays the role of an older man, being out of his prime and burnt out, which is quite a relief. For the comedic side we are left with Nicolas Tse. He is cocky, cool, and also funny. Tse takes a break from his usual "Bad Ass" roles and delivers another side of him which he actually played pretty well. The bad guys overplay their parts way to much. From flailing their arms around to cheering stuff aloud ("We're the Bomb! (it's not really Bomb but that's with it says in the translation)). Daniel Wu plays the arrogant, whiny brat who has a twisted side from his childhood past. He plays his part well but while it isn't the best I've seen it is still quite good. Of course we can't forget about Charlene Choi of the twins. She has a mediocre role that is mainly filler for Frank to have a girlfriend. Yes, she has her whining spots but they're so far and few between that it doesn't really matter.

The action scenes are very, and I mean VERY cliche. From hand to hand combat to car chases (sort of but not really), to something I haven't seen in a long time... A BOMB SCENE!! While all these are old and done, New Police Story shows how to do them correctly.

While it may not be as good as his old ones and the huge cast of EEG may be a bad idea, New Police Story takes you back to what Jackie Chan was all about before he made his entry to NA. This movie is easily entertaining and could be Jackie Chan's best movie in a long time.