I love the original Police Story movies, but this one is the reboot from 2004 with Jackie Chan playing Inspector Chan Kwok Wing.
This version of Police Story is a little different from the others, it surrounds a group of young criminals who play games and rob banks, leading to the inevitable pursuit by Chan and his men. Chan, being the upstanding officer, states that he’ll have them arrested quickly but instead he loses all of his men during the mission.
After surviving he hits the booze and spirals into a deep depression. Only when a young Police named Frank Cheng Siu-Fung shows up at his apartment does he slowly begin to step out of his depression and gain the strength to once again go after the gang and lock them up.
This personal mission proves more and more difficult as we learn that Frank isn’t really a Police Officer. He’s a good guy but we don’t know where did he came from and why he insists on helping Chan. The situation gets more dangerous as the gang takes things further and further – of course leading to some fantastic action.
This movie is no joke!
The original Police Story movies are Kung Fu comedies mixed with intense action, this movie just pure action & drama. This serious side is a hit as Jackie plays the role very well and you can’t help but get sucked into the story and the danger as his team is killed right before him whilst he fails certain challenges set by the gang. His girlfriend’s life is put in danger and so he’s trying to step out of depression and man up to his duties.
Gone are the jokes, just a serious cop movie that must be seen by Jackie Chan fans!
The movie unfolds as the gang makes things harder, more dangerous and seemingly more impossible for the Chan and Frank with every step, even leading to their own arrest at one stage. Backed up by Jackie Chan’s dramatic performance, it all just seems to work really well.
Nicholas Tse playing Frank is another good move. He adds a youth and innocence to the role which is explained in a very touching last minute scene at the end of the film. I won’t spoil it but it’s a brilliant way to end the movie and connect the audience even deeper with the characters.
What about the action?
This is modern day Jackie Chan at his best! Well, it’s over 10 years ago now but you know what I mean!
The action is top notch and the fights are hard hitting and creative. It even seems like they added a new mall scene as a nod to the original police story, getting all beaten up in a Lego shop by a young Andy On!
But what makes the action is not so much the fights but the monkey-like abilities of Jackie Chan and his dangerous stunt work – it’s as smooth an impressive as ever. Not bad for a man of 50 (at time of release)!
Nicholas Tse also steps up to the plate but has a little more of a wild swing behind his fight scenes, showing more of an instinctive method of fighting rather than precisely trained movements.
Overall, the action is among Jackies best – it’s fast, creative and entertaining. This is a movie for all fans of martial arts and action driven physical performances.
On Blu Ray –
Region A (US & Canada)
New Police Story [Blu-ray]
On DVD –
Region 1 (US & Canada)
New Police Story
Region 2 (UK, Europe, etc)
New Police Story
Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, etc)
New Police Story
