Police Story (movie)
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Police Story is a 1985 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by and starring Jackie Chan.
It is the first of a series of Hong Kong films featuring Jackie Chan as a police detective. The Police Story series includes:
- Police Story (1985)
- Police Story 2 (1988)
- Police Story 3 (1992, also known as Supercop)
- Police Story 4 (1996, also known as First Strike)
- New Police Story (2004)
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Police Story (1985)
The original Police Story (警察故事, lit. Police Story) was released to Hong Kong cinemas in 1985. Considered by fans to be one of Chan's best films, it was a massive hit in Asia and also won Best Film at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards.
Plot
The film begins with Chan's character, Inspector Chan Ka Kui (Kevin Chan in some versions), almost single handedly capturing a drug lord named Mr. Ku. The sequence in which he does so involves a spectacular car chase that cuts literally through a shanty town, followed a footchase in which Kevin hangs onto a moving double-decker bus using only an umbrella.
Chan is then assigned to keep an eye on Mr. Ku's secretary Selina Fong so she can later testify against Ku. However, the drug lord is soon released on bail and plots revenge on Chan by framing him for the murder of another policeman. It is up to Kevin to bring down Mr. Ku and the corrupt officers in league with him whilst avoiding arrest and trying to stop his girlfriend (who believes Fong is his new lover) from leaving him.
Trivia
- It is claimed that Chan started work on the film because of his disappointment with The Protector, an American cop movie he starred in the previous year.
- The conclusion of the famous bus stunt sequence, where Chan causes the vehicle to stop by threatening to fire upon it with his tiny service revolver, was later "borrowed" in the movie Tango and Cash, which starred Chan's friend Sylvester Stallone.
- The shanty town chase also inspired a similar sequence in Bad Boys II.
- The crew nicknamed the movie "Glass Story" because of the number of panes of glass broken during the final action sequence, a sprawling martial arts fight scene in a shopping mall.
- A stunt during this last sequence, in which Chan slides down a wire from seven storeys up, one that was connected to a live electric chandelier and left him to crash through a glass roof, resulted in Chan suffering serious injuries to his hands.
Cast
- Jackie Chan
- Brigitte Lin
- Maggie Cheung
- Charlie Cho
- Chor Yuen
- Mars
- Bill Tung
Police Story 2 (1988)
Police Story 2 (警察故事２, lit. Police Story 2) is the 1988 sequel to the original Police Story, and featured many of the same actors reprising their roles from the original. This time, Chan has been busted down to traffic cop for causing so much damage in his apprehension of Ku.
On top of that Ku has been released from prison for the fact that he is dying. However, Ku and his clan continue to harass Chan and his girlfriend May as Chan gets reinstated to the detective unit when criminal bombers begin extorting money from businessmen.
Police Story 3 (1992)
Police Story 3 (AKA Supercop, 警察故事３超級警察) is the 1992 sequel to Police Story 2. In this film action star Michelle Yeoh joins Jackie Chan as a cop from the Chinese mainland. Police Story 3 is also notable in featuring the last appearance of Maggie Cheung as Chan's girlfriend May before she moved on to be a more serious actress.
The film concerns Chan teaming up with Yeoh and going undercover in mainland China to try break up a drug smuggling ring. Sent off to Malaysia, after May is kidnapped Chan is forced to help pull off a jail break for her captors.
Michelle Yeoh went on to reprise her role in Project S, a sequel to this film which most consider not to be part of the official Police Story series. New Line Cinema also released Police Story 3 to American theatres in 1996 under the name of Supercop with some edits to the film and English dubbing.
Police Story 4 (1996)
Police Story 4 (AKA First Strike, 簡單任務), makes a change from the previous Police Story films. Apart from being the only film in the Police Story series made in English, the film also shift its main location away from Hong Kong and Asia, taking on a more international feel with a globe trekking espionage plot, lending the film the air of a Chinese James Bond adventure.
The American New Line Cinema release further removed connections to the previous Police Story films by changing the title to Jackie Chan's First Strike and renaming Chan Ka Kui to simply "Jackie".
Filmed on location in Ukraine and Australia, the film also marks the last appearance of Bill Tung, who plays Chan's uncle in the series.
New Police Story (2004)
New Police Story (新警察故事) is an attempt to update the Police Story series by featuring Jackie Chan acting alongside popular up and coming Hong Kong actors such as Nicholas Tse and Charlene Choi. The story also features a more dramatic focus, taking a darker and more serious tone to the film and being only connected to the earlier series in name only.
Chan plays Wing, a disgraced detective who's loss of his entire operations team to a gang of teenage cop killers leaves him as a drunken has-been. However, when a young detective takes on the case he brings Wing back from the brink and joins forces with him to track the gang down.
External links
- IMDB: Police Story (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089374/)
- IMDB: Police Story 2 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095403/)
- IMDB: Police Story 3 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104558/)
- IMDB: Police Story 4 aka First Strike (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116704/)
- IMDB: New Police Story (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386005/)zh:警察故事