Jackie Chan-athon!

Jackie's best made-in- English-language film, and probably his last really good movie (still have to see The Myth & Forbidden Kingdom though.) Still could throw in some wow stunts - forest fight with Indians, horseshoe lasso, and belltower brawl best examples - and Owen Wilson makes an inspired offbeat partner. Nice mix of humor & action, giving the Western genre a swift kick in the chaps. Clever title too.

More Owen Wilson, less Chris Tucker - that's what makes an enjoyable buddy teammate for Jackie. Not bad for latter-day Chan.

'The Prisoner (aka Island of Fire)' Captures the Attention In Spurts

I knew going in this isn't typical Jackie, or even very good Jackie, but it is on my dwindling list of unseen Jackie. Basically he appears in it as a 'favor' to a shifty filmmaker named Jimmy Wang Yu and has about a quarter of the screentime. More heavy drama than humor, but you still get Sammo Hung and a host of other usual HK suspects, and you can play "spot the Cool Hand Luke scene" as a drinking game. Unique feature: Jackie gets gunned down, where else are you gonna see that? At worst, surely it's still a helluva lot better than any Van Damme/Chuck Norris/Steven Seagal greatest hits package.

Fights/stunts:
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with bags of money in bar with gangsters
1-on-1 prison fight

Groundbreaking kung-fu comedy that is more comedy than kung-fu. Some good slapstick and ridiculous sound effects, and a historical turning point for Jackie.

Fights/stunts:
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washing the floor (doesn'r sound like much but some great inventive agility)
old man moves Jackie's body through kung-fu motions like a puppet during street fight
final one-on-one where he breaks out the Snake in Eagle's Shadow style

Surprisingly heartfelt story as Jackie cares for his retarded brother Sammo Hung, who is kidnapped by a crime gang. Quite serious in tone with a few moments of comedy (like Jackie kicking away Sammo's soccer ball), rather overwrought and not enough action to make up.

Fights/stunts:
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a few minor brawls
battle with crime syndicate in parking garage

The last of the serious Lo Wei pictures (thank god), but does have a memorable final fight between the good and bad sides. Which one will Jackie choose?

Fights/stunts:
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a couple brawls
good guys vs bad guys mass battle, about a dozen people. key baddie uses stick weapon.

Watch only to inwardly scoff at a Hollywood that had no idea what they had in Jackie. Here he plays a gun-toting, foul-mouthed cop partnered with gun-toting, foul-mouthed Danny Aiello. Only redeeming value comes from Jackie's acrobatics and that the experience so disgusted him that he was inspired to make a cop movie of his own to show Hollywood how to make a REAL action movie. The result: Police Story.

Fights/stunts:
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wearing a towel in a spa
chasing a boat on foot over and through twisting Chinese canals
final battle in dockhouse and on crane

OK as far as routine 1970s kung fu flix go, but one star for promoting this as a Jackie Chan movie: he has a very minor role and gets killed 2/3rds the way through! That's a novelty I suppose. I soon learned after seeing this one to research his earlier film appearances before renting.

Fights/stunts:
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nothing memorable except when he kicks the bucket