Director: James Glickenhaus
Stars: Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, Sandy Alexander
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama
MPAA Rating: R (Strong Graphic Violence, Sexual Content, Nudity, Drug Use and Profanity)
Running Time: 91 Mins
Format: DVD ( Keep-Case Edition)
Tagline: "Now, New York has a new weapon - A cop with his own way of fighting crime"
Not many know this, but Jackie Chan had a tough time breaking into the North American market. Sure, back home in Asia- Chan was considered the greatest star known to man; down in America it was a very different story. Jackie's first early attempt was in 1980 with "The Burly Brawl" a film directed by Robert Clouse, who is best known as the director of Enter The Dragon. Clouse, at the time, wanted to turn Jackie into the next Bruce Lee. As we all know, the style between both Martial Artists is very different to say the least. Bruce Lee's style was an authentic mix of the traditional art infused with his own techniques of Jeet Kune Doe. Whereas Jackie Chan is more known for frenetic and erratic style of fighting and moving; so much so that Jackie has made his name for his wild stunts. Ofcourse, his recognition here in the states wouldn't be recognized until much later.
So, after the failure of " The Burly Brawl" Jackie Chan continued to work home back in Asia. His first attempt, while forgotten in America, would be a hit back home. However, Jackie wasn't about to give up breaking in to the good old USA. Four years after, Chan was offered the part of Billy Wong- a no nonsense cop with a bit of an attitude. The part would have him play a cop who is out to find a kidnapped wealthy young girl named Laura Shapiro; Along with his partner (Danny Ailleo) they will search for the missing girl and bring down the biggest chain of narcotics that extends from Hong Kong to America.
The final edits made by Jackie helped made the film a success in the Asian market. But, back here in North America, the results were not so well. The film was considered a failure upon release, making this film the second failed attempt for Jackie Chan. He would not get another opportunity until 1995's Rumble in The Bronx and 1998's Rush Hour (both of which were great hits)
As a fan of Jackie, I can understand why alot of people don't like this film. It heavily deviates from his style..so much so that even the director admitted that he didn't want a Jackie Chan film, he wanted a crime action film. Usually, I wouldn't agree, but I have to give credit to the director who gave a great fun action film that never bores you. Again, sure, it's a silly movie, but the style of hard hitting action with cheesy one liners worked quite well for this film.
Stars: Jackie Chan, Danny Aiello, Sandy Alexander
Genre: Action | Crime | Drama
MPAA Rating: R (Strong Graphic Violence, Sexual Content, Nudity, Drug Use and Profanity)
Running Time: 91 Mins
Format: DVD ( Keep-Case Edition)
Tagline: "Now, New York has a new weapon - A cop with his own way of fighting crime"
Not many know this, but Jackie Chan had a tough time breaking into the North American market. Sure, back home in Asia- Chan was considered the greatest star known to man; down in America it was a very different story. Jackie's first early attempt was in 1980 with "The Burly Brawl" a film directed by Robert Clouse, who is best known as the director of Enter The Dragon. Clouse, at the time, wanted to turn Jackie into the next Bruce Lee. As we all know, the style between both Martial Artists is very different to say the least. Bruce Lee's style was an authentic mix of the traditional art infused with his own techniques of Jeet Kune Doe. Whereas Jackie Chan is more known for frenetic and erratic style of fighting and moving; so much so that Jackie has made his name for his wild stunts. Ofcourse, his recognition here in the states wouldn't be recognized until much later. So, after the failure of " The Burly Brawl" Jackie Chan continued to work home back in Asia. His first attempt, while forgotten in America, would be a hit back home. However, Jackie wasn't about to give up breaking in to the good old USA. Four years after, Chan was offered the part of Billy Wong- a no nonsense cop with a bit of an attitude. The part would have him play a cop who is out to find a kidnapped wealthy young girl named Laura Shapiro; Along with his partner (Danny Ailleo) they will search for the missing girl and bring down the biggest chain of narcotics that extends from Hong Kong to America.
The film on it's own is a great action martial art mash up, I don't exaggerate when I say that I view this movie several times a year. Sure, it's corny at times, and yes there is very little realism in terms of police procedure and politics..but, so what? this movie is not meant to be taken that seriously. It's just an action packed buddy cop movie. Now, I do agree this movie has a little to much drug content, and some unexpected swearing from Jackie Chan. These two main complaints were some of the concerns Jackie Chan had with the film when planning to releasing it back home in Asia. His concerns were so high, that he fought to have the film re-edited and re- shot for the Asian market. Thus, resulting in a very different alternate cut of the film. The Jackie Chan cut of the film, while interesting, feels very out of place with the tone of the actual film. He inserts more humor, two other characters, changes alot of the fight scenes and minimizes the drug content. While I am glad the drug use was lowered, the fight scenes just don't work in his cut.
The final edits made by Jackie helped made the film a success in the Asian market. But, back here in North America, the results were not so well. The film was considered a failure upon release, making this film the second failed attempt for Jackie Chan. He would not get another opportunity until 1995's Rumble in The Bronx and 1998's Rush Hour (both of which were great hits) As a fan of Jackie, I can understand why alot of people don't like this film. It heavily deviates from his style..so much so that even the director admitted that he didn't want a Jackie Chan film, he wanted a crime action film. Usually, I wouldn't agree, but I have to give credit to the director who gave a great fun action film that never bores you. Again, sure, it's a silly movie, but the style of hard hitting action with cheesy one liners worked quite well for this film. 
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