Police Sory

Director; Jackie Chan
Starring; Jackie Chan; Maggie Cheung, Brigitte Lin
Genre; Action, Martial Arts
Year; 1985
Release; UK HK Legends

Ok folks, this is pretty much it, everything you see made in HK after this, owes something to it (action wise anyway), as does western cinema. Pissed off with attempts to break into the west, and being hamstrung by restrictive conditions, resulting in the pitiful Battle Creek Brawl and the damn awfulness of The Protector, Chan fucked off home, to make something he had complete control over. And this is it. The action is insane, right from the off. From the cars destroying the hillside shanty town, to the bus chase, to the various smaller fights, to the climax in the mall, the action, stunts and fightwork are nothing short of incredible. Many of Chan's stuntteam (his own crew that he uses, he was one and stays true to his roots by running his own crew) wound up in hospital, as did Chan himself. Chan can no longer get insurance in HK after this, and you can see why. The mall fight is an example of how Chan dreams up fight scenarios in unusual places, then fits the film around them. He may have a scenario worked out months, or years, before he has a film to put it in. The weak point is the storyline. Rudimentary, cheesey and a little naieve, it's obviously only there to tie the action scenes together. Cheung is as lovely as ever though, and Lin looks cute too.
Absolutely essential viewing, for anyone with the remotest enjoyment of action films. Watch it dubbed, if you really have to and cant cope with subtitles, just watch it.