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Throughout the duration of his decades-long career, Jackie Chan's name has become synonymous with outrageous stunt work served up with a splash of charm. While Chan is widely known in America for his Hollywood work - including the Rush Hour series and the Shanghai Noon/Knights films - the star's early Hong Kong efforts remain the most effective showcases of his spectacular talents as a stuntman. Among the most spectacular of his Hong Kong efforts is 1985's Police Story (a.k.a. Ging chat goo si). While not the action giant's greatest movie, it's a thoroughly entertaining romp which is pervaded by breathtaking martial arts fights and perilous stunts.
Jackie Chan's character here is dedicated Hong Kong police officer Chan Ka Kui. During a raid on a shanty town during the opening sequence that goes awry, Ka Kui manages to arrest drug lord Mr. Chu (Chor) as well as Chu's secretary Selina (Lin). Ka Kui's superiors force Selina to testify against her boss in court, and assign Ka Kui to act as Selina's bodyguard in case of attack. From here on in, Ka Kui works to protect Selina and take down Mr. Chu. And that's literally it - the plot is merely a string of vignettes, not unlike typical run-of-the-mill actioners that were all the rage throughout the '80s and '90s.
There are only a few reasons to see Police Story, and none of these reasons include plot or acting. Nay, the main attractions are the extraordinary martial arts action sequences and the stunt work, all of which was performed by Chan and his team of death-defying stuntmen. Chan could not move into Hollywood at this stage in his career because no Hollywood studio would agree to insure him! In the film's opening sequence, Chan latches onto a bus with an umbrella, and is seen trying to clamber inside the bus while criminals are attempting to knock him off. No stunt doubles are used here - Chan is clearly seen risking his life for the sake of his art. The climax in particular is a humdinger of an action sequence; an epic martial arts battle taking place in a shopping mall. In addition to the stunningly choreographed fights here (for which faces smash into display cases and shards of glass fly in almost every frame), there are some breathtaking stunts, one of which landed Chan in hospital. Chan has the eye of a great director, as well. He always lensed his chaotic action scenes from the most dynamic and artful camera angle. He even chose to repeat some of the biggest stunts from different angles just to show that it's real - and to show off.
Written by, directed by and starring Jackie Chan (who also sang the title song), Police Story is very surface-level stuff, since, like similar films, the script was clearly constructed around the action sequences. As a result, the plot is inconsequential and merely a flimsy excuse for Chan and his team to try to kill themselves. With this in mind, the explication scenes are predominantly boring, and the film is undermined by one-dimensional characters, a draggy narrative, and a lack of emotional conviction. Additionally, the entire cast was clearly overacting and there are far too many abysmal moments of goofy comedy. Police Story is never a great film due to this; it's barely a good film. Basically, you could just watch the first 20 minutes, the final 20 minutes, as well as the short fight scenes in the middle, and then happily call it a day.
Police Story is definitely recommended for fans of Jackie Chan as well as martial arts enthusiasts. The stunt work on display here is simply too incredible to miss and the film is undoubtedly enjoyable, even if there are severe problems in the script department. It's the pinnacle of Chan's Hong Kong career and it served as a launching point for his journey over to Hollywood, where his stunts got soft. Make sure you stick around for the film's closing credits, which are played over a reel of behind-the-scenes footage and ouchtakes showing several stunts that went painfully wrong.
6.2/10
