Delayed Reaction: Police Story 4: First Strike

Premise: A Hong Kong officer goes on a special mission in Australia.

 

At some point I'm going to watch a Hong Kong Jackie Chan movie that I don't like, right? There must be bad ones. Or perhaps that's the charm. They are all bad in a silly way. The fights are intricate but not necessarily believable. The comedy is slapstick, not subtle. Much of the comedy of this movie for instance involves the sight gag of Jackie Chan fighting giant Russian men. If Jackie Chan's movie were earnest, they be a lot worse.

 

This movie is quite nuts. The amount that Jackie fights against and around a shark is crazy. I can't think of many other movies that could have something that broad and not be derided for it. Some of the stunts from atop the hotel are impressive too. It so freaking unsafe. That's my opinion about all these movies, really. I hate to think of all the accidents that occurred because Chan makes it look so easy here that someone decided to try at home, but I sure do love the commitment to complex and insane choreography that looks effortless.

 

The closing credits with the blooper reel remain a highlight of the movie, simply because they give perspective to how hard those stunts really are. Not that I wish for this to happen, but surely there's been a Jackie Chan movie over the decades that has been shut down for an extended period of time because he was too badly injured.

 

I was a little sad to see this lose aspects of the first 3 Police Story movies. I enjoy the mix-ups and misunderstandings with his girlfriend. It was a shame to see her simply disappear by this movie. It's disappointing that Michelle Yeoh didn't become recurring either. I'm really curious to see these next two movies in the franchise. While the Police Story franchise has never been that concerned with interconnectivity, the 30 years between the first and last movie is going to be an interesting study in the evolution of the Hong Kong film industry. Like, I wonder how much 2004's New Police Story will ape the style of Infernal Affairs rather than the absurd energy of First Strike.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend