New Police Story (新警察故事)

Cast: Jackie Chan, Nicolas Tse, Daniel Wu, Charlie Young, Charlene Choi, Andy On
Director: Benny Chan Mok-Sing
Synopsis:
Jackie Chan plays Wing, who were once HK top cop until one fateful day when his whole team was massacred in a mission to capture a group of punk robbers lead by Daniel Wu. One year later, he was no longer the man he was, he gets drunk every night, and he did not dare to face his girlfriend (Charlie Young) because he was deeply traumatized by that failed mission. It wasn't until a young cop came along to help him that he started to get back on his feet again to solve the case. But this time, the punk robbers would not let him off easily. Would he be able to stop the bad guys and bring them to justice? or most importantly, can JC redeem himself after the failure of Around the World in 80 Days (and also that piece of shit known as The Medallion)? can he return to form and win back his fans? - written by yours truly

Review:
Fate has not been kind recently to Jackie Chan. It seemed that it was a while ago that Rush Hour 2 became a huge hit that made him a star in america. Since then, however, he has been making one dud film after another like The Tuxedo, The Medallion (aka C.R.A.P), and Around The World in 80 Days. Many of his fans and the man himself have blamed the failure of such movies on the fact that they were made by Hollywood who do not understand Jackie Chan and try to "americanize" him. Hence, he decided to return to Hong Kong this time to make a 100% made in HK action film that he would be happy with. Initially, the prospect was promising: the film would be a re-invention of his successful Police Story series; Benny Chan, one of HK top commercial directors (responsible for the enjoyable Gen-X Cops and the unwatchable Gen-Y Cops) who has worked with Jackie in Who Am I was hired; and lastly, the casting of actress Charlie Young who has retired 7 years ago (she is my favourite HK actress even until now). Then, come the bad news: the movie would be financed by EMG (Emperor Multimedia Group), the company whose idea of a blockbuster is any movie starring their famous, manufactured artistes such as Twins and Boyz (i.e The Twins Effects !!!). Moreover, they are also the same company who financed the shithole known as The Medallion (why is that? well - the owner Albert is a good friend of Jackie). The casting of Charlene Choi + cameos by Boyz already raised some concern : Jackie Chan would have to satisfy some of his investor's demand which is casting crappy but "famous" cute young "actors" to draw the "youth market" - that would compromise his creative control. Still, as a big fan of Jackie, I try my best to give this movie a chance when I got to watch it (hey, I did that too for The Medallion). Sadly, a "Vintage Jackie Chan" this wasn't meant to be.

The signs that the movie is not going to turn out well can be seen in the opening scene showing a crying and drunk Jackie Chan. Words has already been out that this movie try to showcase a more serious and sensitive side of Jackie Chan. However, in that scene alone, I already feel that he is trying too hard to act out that scene - so hard he looks unconvincing. Then, after watching the film for a short while, a strange feeling came over me: for some reason, the Hong Kong in the film does not feel like the old Hong Kong of the old Jackie Chan films. Moreover, Jackie Chan was acting with a "new" cast that seemed unfamiliar to his old movies as well. I definitely felt like he was out of place in the movie. Not a good sign, and unfortunately, more problems is yet to come until the ending comes.

There is way too much bad melodrama and moralizing (except one) in this film. While it is not a surprise to find moralizing in a Jackie Chan film, the way it is done here is way too much that it was becoming ridiculous. Blame must be placed on director Benny Chan (and also the screenwriter) who has done bad melodrama directing (including his previous movie, Heroic Duo) so many times, he will never learn. Consider how many SLO-MO scenes where the characters scream out loud "NOOOO........!!!!" and how many scenes where the characters CRY. Yes, people do die, oops ... CRY OFTEN in this film ... including the man himself. There was so much crying that I was felt like exploding: what a bunch of CRYBABIES!!! This is supposed to be an action movie! a guy movie! for god's sake! It doesn't help that the characters are mostly cliched (the spoilt rich punks, the comedic sidekick, etc) and the acting by most cast including Jackie, ranges from mediocre to plain suck - how many times must we see Charlene Choi "act cute" in a HK movie?

Of course, most people unlike a failed critic like me do not care about such things in a Jackie Chan film. They want to see some Action! Sadly, while there are plenty of action to be found in it, you have probably seen most of them before in older (and better) Jackie Chan films: the bus stunt (the original Police Story), the walking down a skyscraper (Who Am I), and the sliding of a huge banner (Rush Hour!). It is because you have seen them before, the action sequences do not feel that exciting anymore, it's just like rehashing the same old thing. Standard action definitely cannot redeem whatever bad qualities the movie already possess.

All is not so bad, however. There is Charlie Young, she does not do much in the movie, but whenever she is onscreen the movie suddenly comes alive. Maybe it's just me, but she does not need to do anything; frankly, she can be in any bad movie and any moment in which she looks pretty will be the best moment in the movie. Her comeback actually feels more welcome here rather than Jackie's "comeback" and fortunately, she does not seem uncomfortable onscreen; clearly she has been missed. More seriously, the movie is at its best towards the end with moments such as Jackie's fight with Andy On (probably the best action piece the movie has to offer) and Daniel Wu acting like he is really a dangerous villain. But it was all too late; the ending could only save the film from being the worst film I've seen 2 years in a row starring Jackie Chan.

On the final note, I would like to say a few things about Jackie Chan.I feel that as a Jackie Chan film, this movie fails on a lot of levels, but it's not his fault mostly. In terms of acting, while he act rather badly in this movie, he has shown in the past that he can act better, especially in the original Police Story (which makes this movie somewhat unfortunate in comparison). Some people wonder if Jackie still have what it takes to perform the dangerous stunts well because he is aging. The movie shows that he is still doing fine; but the truth is stilll out there. However, the problem why Jackie has not made a great action movie for a long time is not whether or not he is too old/unfit or whether it was made by Hollywood or Hong Kong. I feel that ever since the spectacular success of Rush Hour 2, Jackie Chan's popularity has exploded so much that now everyone wants a piece of him. He has become somewhat like George Lucas and the Star Wars prequel; he has become a money making machine. Gone are the days when he was with Golden Harvest; when he has total creative control on his movie (he actually directed some of his classics himself such as the Police Story, Armor of God, etc). Now, either he had to be make kid-friendly movies for Hollywood, appear in "promoting" cameos for EMG financed movies (such as Twins Effects 1 and 2), or make a HK movie which try to satisfy him and his EMG investor that ended satisfying no one (ie this movie and The Medallion - the Edison Chen and Nic Tse cameos are definitely not cool). Maybe he needs to step back and think back about what made him great in the first place or maybe he needed to take total creative control of his films (like Mel Gibson's The Passion) again without compromising with investors (no EMG financing unless they promise total casting decision up to Jackie) before age really caught up with him. However, maybe it's all just wishful thinking. It's all up to the man himself. I'm just a fan and that's all just my opinion and I wish him all the best. I still long for another (possibly last) great action film starring him. However, after watching 1 bad movies after another including this, my anticipation for whatever he comes up with next is not like what it used to be.

PS: Interestingly, there are two locations shot in the movie which also appear in Infernal Affairs movies (Sam's Bar and Police Office building in IA 3). Are Jackie trying to reference those films too? Clearly, this film ends up only embarrasing itself when compared to those superior films.

Rating: 2 out of 5