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Starring
:
Jackie
Chan
Richard
Norton
Gabrielle
Fitzpatrick
Barry
Otto
Action
:
Sing
Ga Ban
Cho
Wing
Producer
:
Choi
Laan
Director
:
Sammo
Hung
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MR.
NICE GUY (1997)
A.K.A.
- Mister Nice Guy; No More Mr. Nice Guy; Superchef
Reviewed
by Andrew Saroch
It's
a widely held belief that Jackie Chan will not match his
previous efforts like 'Police
Story', 'Project
A' and 'Miracles'
ever again. This may well be true, but the question needs to
be asked, will anyone ever make films like this again?
Perhaps, with the passing of the golden era of Hong Kong
film-making, the chances of any repetition of these is very
unlikely - especially from an aging Jackie Chan. His 1994
masterpiece 'Drunken
Master 2' gave clear evidence that he still had much to
offer audiences and that many of the traits that make him
unique still remain; to expect him to do what he did 15 years
ago, however, is highly improbable. With 'Mr. Nice Guy',
Jackie Chan reaffirmed his friendship with Sammo Hung and gave
the cinematic legend a chance to direct a big-budget picture
again. The finished product is a frustrating, yet strangely
infectious spectacle.
Jackie
Chan plays Jackie (!) - a celebrity chef who is stationed in
Australia. When a female reporter is attacked by a band of
burly thugs, Jackie is forced to step in and protect her by
using his sublime abilities. After involving himself in the
skirmish though, Jackie finds that he is targeted by the
villains as well and has little idea as to the reasons for
this. It gradually dawns on the innocent chef that he has
accidentally come into posession of a videotape which exposes
a local drug dealer. Needless to say that the various groups
looking for the tape make themselves known to Jackie; firstly
there's the dangerous criminals seeking to destroy the
evidence and then there's the female reporter who originally
shot the footage. All attempts by the reluctant hero to avoid
the conflict are in vain as, during a series of incidents, he
must take the law into his own hands and stand up against the
determined killers.
This
remains one of the most awkward Jackie Chan films to rate in
recent years, so bitterly opposed are the positive and
negative elements. The first impression of the film is just
how weakly constructed the actual storyline is; there seems
little in this department to hold anyone's attention. Some
attack Chan's films as plotless, but there is no doubt that
his best works are far ahead of 'Mr. Nice Guy' in these terms.
Such a woeful piece of narrative gives far too much fuel to
the aforementioned argument and detracts from the quality
films that he is certainly responsible for. The acting is also
fairly wooden throughout the whole cast with only a few
exceptions - namely Chan who does his best with the material
given. This severe fault affects the overall quality of the
film and is the main reason for the loss of one star off the
rating. It's sad to report that Sammo Hung's direction is
partly to blame for this; there seems to be only the faintest
sign that this was directed by the Hong Kong legend who
crafted films like 'Pedicab
Driver'.
It's
vital to remember that, putting these quite jarring faults
aside, this is still a very engaging film. The action is some
of the best that Jackie Chan has performed in recent years and
is a major highlight of 'Mr. Nice Guy'. When the master of
action is in full flow, fending off a number of assailants,
there is little in world cinema to match it. Of particular
note is the superb battle that takes place on a construction
sight; this ranks as another golden Chan moment.
After
this consideration, 'Mr. Nice Guy' is a film that is better
than its reputation, but still could have been much better.
The action and the winning persona of the lead are reasons to
give this four stars, but the obvious deficiencies means it's
only a three.
Rating:
 
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