Critic Reviews
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Derek Adams, Time Out
The likeable and graceful Chan directs, sings and performs jaw-dropping stunts. Few of his American or Austrian rivals attempt a fraction of that.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
In the course of the story, about drug traffickers, Mr. Chan gets three separate birthday cakes thrown into his face, and participates in several elaborately staged gun fights and car chases.
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Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Algumas das gags (como a confusão com os telefones) caem no vazio, mas as seqüências de ação, como sempre esperamos de Chan, são formidáveis.
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Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Primo Jackie--excitement and laughs aplenty.
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Fred Topel, About.com
Solid Jackie Chan. More stunts than martial arts, but still cool.
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Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal
Chan is jumping everywhere, breaking through windows and using whatever he finds as a weapon. So, this ain't his best film, but you can't deny that he's an amazing performer, and the picture remains great entertainment.
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Elspeth Haughton, Apollo Guide
Not one of Hong Kong action giant Jackie Chan's greatest movies, but it's entertaining and provides loads of martial arts fights and dangerous stunts.
Read all 7 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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A solid 80's Chan flick that has all his trademark humor, great fight choreography, and some pretty amazing stunts. Some of it is slow-going, but the "wow" scenes (especially a near constant series of fights and stunts near the end) definitely make it worth seeing for… More
A solid 80's Chan flick that has all his trademark humor, great fight choreography, and some pretty amazing stunts. Some of it is slow-going, but the "wow" scenes (especially a near constant series of fights and stunts near the end) definitely make it worth seeing for any Jackie Chan fan.
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Highly entertaining classic from Jackie Chan. With a fearless team of stuntmen the action is spectacular and painful to see. There's also some quite funny sequences with Jackie showing off his comedic talent also. Never a dull moment to be had in this, it's very watchable no… More
Highly entertaining classic from Jackie Chan. With a fearless team of stuntmen the action is spectacular and painful to see. There's also some quite funny sequences with Jackie showing off his comedic talent also. Never a dull moment to be had in this, it's very watchable no matter what your mood.
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This has definately got to be up there in my favourites. Jackie Chan has never been better, the action is astounding and pulls of an award for one of the bets movies I have ever seen. Police Story delivers and has my eyes glued to the screen for the full 90 minutes!
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AWESOME! The best of the 1980's Hong Kong action-comedy movie with Jackie Chan. The film features opening and ending action sequences which are amongst the best done EVER. The climax features an incredible fight scene in a shopping mall which is a fantastic combination of martial… More
AWESOME! The best of the 1980's Hong Kong action-comedy movie with Jackie Chan. The film features opening and ending action sequences which are amongst the best done EVER. The climax features an incredible fight scene in a shopping mall which is a fantastic combination of martial arts, brawling and sheer destruction, and the final stunt - WOW!
Chan performs such dangerous stunts in <i>Police Story</i> that it's a testament to his strong conditioning and bravery. Because of his fearless attitude, Chan always recovers from injury to do more dangerous stunt work. Very few would do what Chan does and this is what makes him beloved in the eyes of his fans.
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THE GREATEST ACTION MOVIE EVER MADE!!<br/><br /><br/><br />When I first came on Flixster, they didn't have this movie in its database. WTF???<br/><br /><br/><br />Anywayz, about time!! This is Jackie's best action movie ever,… More
THE GREATEST ACTION MOVIE EVER MADE!!<br/><br /><br/><br />When I first came on Flixster, they didn't have this movie in its database. WTF???<br/><br /><br/><br />Anywayz, about time!! This is Jackie's best action movie ever, and he did it all as well - acting, screenplay, action direction and director. Oh, of course - the stunts as well. :-)<br/><br /><br/><br />Its a brillant piece of work - the definitive JACKIE movie - lots of action, a good plot, from which Jackie took fromm one if his dismal failures in the US, and made the idea into something legendary. Most of the action scenes from this movie has been copied time and time again into many other movies - a good example being the Shantytown stakeout car chase - which was copied into the climatic car chase in Bad Boys 2. <br/><br /><br/><br />Jackie is one of Hong Kong's finest, trying his very best to take down a drug dealer. But things go crazy when he has to babysit the beautiful witness to th chagrin of his girlfriend, the bad guys are out looking for him, and to top it off, he is framed for murdering another officer. Lots of emotion and energy from this film - the final fight scene in the mall SPECTACULAR. <br/><br /><br/><br />interesting facts - this movie was nicknamed GLASS STORY by the stuntmen - and if you watch it, you'll see why. And apparently so many people, including the main man himself, got injured and were rushed to hospital. And after this movie, no insurance company will work with Jackie - so pretty much he foots the medical bills and everything himself. <br/><br /><br/><br /><br/><br />And despite all that - this is one of the best movies ever made. <br/><br /><br/><br />A "watch this before you die" movie.
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Jackie is one of the key police officers in a bust that captures big time criminal Koo. As a `reward' he is told to guard Koo's secretary, who has turned states evidence. However Koo's men try to get to them before the trial - the least of Jackie's problems as his… More
Jackie is one of the key police officers in a bust that captures big time criminal Koo. As a `reward' he is told to guard Koo's secretary, who has turned states evidence. However Koo's men try to get to them before the trial - the least of Jackie's problems as his girlfriend May storms out when she sees him with Selina. When Koo is acquitted, he frames Jackie for the murder of a cop, forcing Jackie on the run to clear his name and get Koo.
The first film in the successful Police Story series is a fair example of a Jackie Chan film for those who have never seen one - reasonable plot, great action, average acting (potentially bad dubbing) and the comic scenes. However it is not as good as some of the sequels and, just generally, some of Chan's other films. Police Story opens with a great shoot out that culminates in a car chase through a shanty town and a fantastic series of stunts on a bus. From this point on it then focuses on the plot and quiet a few moments of comedy. This works reasonable well but it feels like the comedy and action have been divided up into separate sections. This takes away from the film a little bit.
The plot is pretty solid for a Jackie Chan film (by recent standards this is a masterpiece of writing!) although some of the dialogue doesn't quite fit. The moment where Jackie is forced on the run by the police is a bit hammy and the `you don't see us as people' rant just doesn't seem like Jackie. Of course part of the problem with this is the dubbing in the version I watched - I just don't understand viewers who would sooner see a really bad dubbing job than watch a subtitled version! The cheesy American voices here do detract from the performances and I found it difficult to judge some of Chan's comedy lines when they were being delivered by another person in a very flat way. However he still has presence and his physical work is great. Special mention to the stunt men here also, there are a lot of great falls (including a dive from a bus top) that must have hurt - I don't care who you are! Tung's Uncle Bill has fewer funny lines than I'm used to but he is still funny. The female cast are pretty wasted with both Lin and Cheung on screaming duty for the majority of the film (and most grating it is too!).
The film ends on a rather strange shot but set up an angry cop that Chan never really convinced me as - a personae that just seemed to be dropped in the later films in the series, but the overall film is still very enjoyable. The plot is good even if the acting isn't and the action involves plenty of amazing routines and stunts - it's just a shame that the action and comedy were very fragmented, it dispointed the film.
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This is the best kind of Jackie Chan movie: Jackie Chan in control of all elements of production. If you were wondering about his true acting ability, he shows his talent here. This is a definite must-see for all Chan fans.
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A very emblematic film from Jackie and from HK cinema, the one that started a solid fusion between MA and urban crime movies. Ripped off by Tango & Cash and Bad Boys 2, but of course, without the charisma and charm of good ol Jackie. Plus, Maggie Cheung is just too damn lovely.… More
A very emblematic film from Jackie and from HK cinema, the one that started a solid fusion between MA and urban crime movies. Ripped off by Tango & Cash and Bad Boys 2, but of course, without the charisma and charm of good ol Jackie. Plus, Maggie Cheung is just too damn lovely.
Jackie went on to improve himself with other films, but this one certainly still stands even with the brick cell phones and such. Movies where the main character jumps to a pole filled with lights inside a shopping mall are not something that comes out every day. Screw CGI and over blown budgets, just hardcore actors doing hardcore stuff. The whole final sequence in the mall is insane.
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A breakthrough film with relentess action-scenes from JC!
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Classic Chan with all the ingredients that make his movies so enjoyable; hectic fight scenes, spectacular set pieces, knockabout humour and painful out-take reel. One of his best, but I'm with-holding half a star until I see it without the crappy dubbing...
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Very few action films can stand the test of times and even less can compete with contemporary actions films with the used of CGI to showcase bigger action set pieces. The action genre is no doubt not what it used to be with more of them being influenced by comic books (a hero… More
Very few action films can stand the test of times and even less can compete with contemporary actions films with the used of CGI to showcase bigger action set pieces. The action genre is no doubt not what it used to be with more of them being influenced by comic books (a hero can't simply good guy anymore in this genre), a lack of any new action heroes, and even sequels that often aren't as good as the original. Police Story on the other hand remains as the genre finest example of a action movie done right.
Police Story follows a virtuous Hong Kong police officer who must clear his good name when the drug lords he is after frames him for the murder of a dirty cop. The plot is as simple as a Chan movie can get, but with an added Chan signature sense of humor on top of the great crime story. It effectively balances between its comedic moments and gritty plot to make this one of the more enjoyable outing in not just the Police Story series but in the action genre in general. While the plot does thrills, it does have its slow part as some of the comedic scene feel padded out. Plus, I think you wouldn't miss much if didn't see Jackie Chan do the moonwalk in one scene. The plot does have a nice balance of story and violence, you'll feel like you enough plot and will be satisfy with what this movie has to offer in terms of action. It contains of the best actions scenes ever recorded in any movie, a personal favorite of mine is when Chan chases down a drug lord who's escaping on a bus and Chan chases it down with an umbrella (which he actually did). The other action scenes will make your jaw drop, especially the climax in the mall where Chan does some of his most impressive fight choreography. What ultimately makes Police Story stand the test of time is Jackie Chan. Not only does he perform his own stunt in the movie, but also plays his role as an actor very well. He's not your typical hero like Stallone or Schwarzenegger where you know the outcome, Chan plays an every man here making him more vulnerable and more relatable to the average person. Everything else here is bonus, the supporting cast are just as good as our main man, Chan direction is perfect for the action genre and knows how to the entertain his audience.
Police Story might not be hailed as one of the best in its genre, but it should be for being fun and having jaw dropping action that's still impressive even with the possibilities of CGI. If you haven't seen Police Story or any action movie in a while, go checkout Jackie Chan Police Story as a prime example of the genre it most entertaining.
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Jackie Chan rarely gets enough credit for what he was able to accomplish at the height of his career/abilities. His films are marvels of stunt-work and raw physical gifts, much like what Buster Keaton was able to accomplish decades prior. Police story is the film, I feel, where this… More
Jackie Chan rarely gets enough credit for what he was able to accomplish at the height of his career/abilities. His films are marvels of stunt-work and raw physical gifts, much like what Buster Keaton was able to accomplish decades prior. Police story is the film, I feel, where this stunt work reached its absolute pinnacle. Several scenes will make you put down your drink and hit the rewind button because you simply cannot believe what you just saw. The early car chase scene where the police car roles down a hill through an entire village! demolishing everything it its path (shot with little editing too) starts off funny but as it continues for the next several minutes you stop laughing and simply gawk at how simply remarkable the scene is. The ending stunt where Jackie descends a pole through florescent lights, wires, and numerous panes of glass is so gripping that Chan decided to show it in a loop back-to-back-to-back because he knew audiences would hardly believe what they were seeing. Loaded with more plot than you'd expect and some damn good scripted comedy moments Police Story ranks high on the crowded pantheon of memorable Jackie Chan films.
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The bestest one of 1980's Hong Kong action-comedy film with Jackie Chan and his awesome stunts. The whole final sequence in the mall is insane.
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Oh, you will surely like this film, esspecialy if you are into action films.
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This is my favorite Jackie Chan movie. This thing is EPIC. This is one of my favorite movies all because of the stunt work. You got Jackie directing the movie and then you got Jackie's stunt team directing the choreography of the fights. You got Chan as a police detective and… More
This is my favorite Jackie Chan movie. This thing is EPIC. This is one of my favorite movies all because of the stunt work. You got Jackie directing the movie and then you got Jackie's stunt team directing the choreography of the fights. You got Chan as a police detective and from right the start the action begins. The police set up for a big take down which erupts into a fairly realistic shootout and chase scene. The village on the side of the hill that the cars go through is just so great. This is the scene Michael "I can't direct shit" Bay tried to imitate in 2003's Bad Boys 2. Needless to say Chan and team did it far far better and didn't need some lame hummers to do the trick. The story is reminiscent of something you'd get out of Die Hard or Lethal Weapon but the action is better because, as we all know, Chan does all his own stunts. The story is easy to follow and fun to watch and you can't help but get sucked in with how the flow of it carries you. Needless to say if you love Jackie Chan's movies or love action movies you have to watch this end of.
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See Jackie Chan do some outrageous stunts and gain new respect for the man.
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My favourite Jackie Chan film. The stunts in this one are jawdropping and Jackie is a great leading man, with great charisma and an excellent sense of humour. Jackie Chan is awesome!
Read all 17 featured audience ratings
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