Starring :

Jackie Chan

Maggie Cheung

Brigitte Lin

Bill Tung

Mars

Action :

Jackie Chan

Producer :

Leonard K.C. Ho

Director :

Jackie Chan

POLICE STORY  (1985)

A.K.A. - Jackie Chan's Police Force

Reviewed by Phil Mills

Whilst on the trail of local crime boss Koo, the HK Police turn a routine bust turn into a catastrophe.  Thankfully, local supercop Chan Ka Kui (Chan) apprehends the suspect but his excessive use of force winds him in the middle of court proceedings.  In an attempt to rectify the situation, the police take Koo's secretary into custody in the hope that she will testify against her boss but she seems unwilling to divulge any information.  Ka Kui is assigned to protect her whilst enquiries continue so he decides to push proceedings into overdrive by staging a fake killer to scare the girl into giving evidence.  His plan backfires somewhat though when real killers turn up and force him to fight for real but at least it does the job of scaring the secretary into giving evidence.  However, Koo devises a plan to frame Ka Kui so that he is wanted by both sides of the law, destroying all credibility in any testimony.  Unable to prove his innocence and with no one at hand to help, Ka Kui takes the law into his own hands and goes after Koo in a spectacular showdown.

After his dismal attempt at an American cop movie in the form of 'The Protector', Chan decided that his next homegrown project would borrow the Police scenario to show certain directors exactly how it should be done.  The outcome was 'Police Story' - a mix of Chan's distinctive style of kung fu comedy with a very American genre that resulted in one of Chan's (and Hong Kong's) finest films to date.  Showcasing his unique brand of excessively dangerous stuntwork combined with his superb fight choreography, 'Police Story' set the benchmark for all of Chan's films to follow introducing numerous trademarks such as undertaking his own stunts and the infamous closing credit outtakes.  It also gave Chan a chance to bring his directorial skills to the forefront and prove to the audience that he could not only be responsible for action but also craft and mould an entire film production to meet his needs.

This is perhaps one of the best examples of Hong Kong cinema at it's peak as it really does have so many elements that make it the complete film, i.e. - an on-form Jackie Chan, outstanding action and top notch acting from all parties.  No doubt this is already one of the top movies for Chan fans and if by some odd twist of fate you are yet to experience it, then get it today and see why Jackie Chan is the biggest international action hero in the world.

Rating: 

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