Written by Craig E. Miller (HongKongFury.com)
Photo Credit: Sensacine.com
Jackie Chan, Break-neck action, a compelling story of a hero-turned-disgraced police-inspector seeking redemption, incredible stunts, and a gang of thrill-seeking criminals, hell-bent on killing as many cops as they can. Benny Chan’s ‘New Police Story’ (2004) takes the series in a new direction, opting for a far more serious tone (to some degree of success), yet still retains the iconic action and entertainment value of Jackie’s original from 1985.
Jackie Chan’s moments of slap-stick comedy and his portrayal of the, somewhat goofy, yet determined, ‘Inspector Chan’, from the original ‘Police Story’ (1985) and the following three sequels, act as a sharp contrast to Benny Chan’s 2004 reboot – ‘New Police Story’.
Jackie plays ‘Senior Inspector Chan Kwok-wing’ of the Hong Kong Police Force. Held in high esteem and reputable for his efficiency in dealing with crime, the Inspector’s life is going fairly well – made even more ideal by his seemingly imminent marriage to love-interest, ‘Sun Ho-Yee’ (Charlie Yeung – ‘Fallen Angels’), whom happens to have a brother under Chan’s command. However, Inspector Chan’s life is turned upside down when he encounters a new breed of criminals, not satisfied with other forms of gaining their adrenaline fix, these young criminals, led by ‘Joe Kwan’ (Daniel Wu – ‘Into the Badlands’), play a sadistic game of ‘whoever kills the most cops, wins!’.
Responding to the gang’s violent ambushes on police, Chan’s ego gets the better of him, vowing to apprehend the gang within three hours, he and his unit go to the gang’s hideout to bring them in. Grossly underestimating the callousness and brutality of these criminals, Chan and his men proceed into their warehouse-hideout, which is fully kitted-out with vicious ‘Home Alone’ style booby-traps. The gang proceed to systematically incapacitate Chan’s men (including his soon to be brother-in-law), leaving Chan himself to confront the gang, whom proceed to make him compete in a series of challenges (testing his hand-to-hand combat and gun assembly skills), for which a certain number of his men will either live or die, depending on the outcome of the challenge. Odds against him and the blatantly rigged outcome of each challenge, result in Chan having to watch in horror and anguish as each of his men is killed, culminating in a determined, last ditch effort to save his future brother-in-law. Eventually succumbing to his wounds, his brother-in-law dies, resulting in a distraught Chan trying hopelessly to get the bodies of his men out of the hideout as it explodes around him.
In the events that follow, we see Chan fall from grace, as his negligent actions as Senior Inspector, falling under heavy criticism from the force and public alike. Overcome with guilt, Chan becomes reclusive and turns to the booze, making him a frequent visitor with the gutter. Following an unlikely encounter with a young man named ‘Frank’, (Nicholas Tse – ‘Gen X Cops’) – posing as a newly recruited police constable – a reluctant Chan is led back on the trail of the gang of violent criminals, all the while, Chan struggles to reconcile with his bride-to-be ‘Sun Ho-Yee’, and confront the demons of his recent mistakes.
Benny Chan’s ‘New Police Story’, holds no punches when striking an emotional chord with the viewer, made possible with an excellent performance from the cast and a score comprised of some upbeat, high-octane tracks, finely balanced with some more sombre tracks, evoking feelings of melancholy. Jackie Chan delivers a moving performance as the grief-stricken, disgraced ‘Inspector Chan’, portraying the character in a very human way, quite different from the near indestructible characters Jackie has played in the majority of his previous films. We don’t see a happy-go-lucky ‘super-cop’, flawlessly roundhouse kicking his way through ruthless triads by the truck-load, with intermittent moments of comic-relief. Here, we see Chan as a venerable, flawed and reluctant, ‘fallen-hero’ character, struggling to come to terms with the death of his men, for which he feels solely responsible. Jackie’s performance acts a breath of fresh air from his (much loved by this reviewer) more comedic-action roles. His chemistry with on-screen love interest ‘Sun Ho-Yee’, played by Charlie Yeung, is very convincing, playing well off each other in each of their scenes. A particularly moving scene would be their first encounter following the death of her brother, something that Chan blames himself for – the delivery of their dialogue is spot on here.
Nicholas Tse and Daniel Wu also succeed in delivering outstanding performances, as the young PC, mysteriously linked with Chan’s past and as the sadistic, yet conflicted, leader of a violent gang, respectively. Frequent collaborators with Jackie and his production team, the two young actors carry with them a tremendous amount on of onscreen charisma, lending well to their performances. Wu’s performance was so well received following the film’s initial release, he was nominated for best supporting actor at the 24th Annual Hong Kong Film Awards and the 41st Annual Golden Horse Awards – going on to win the latter. The sub-plot of the film, surrounding Wu’s ‘Joe Kwan’ and his turbulent relationship with his parents, particularly his emotionally abusive father (whom also happens to be the Hong Kong Police Superintendent) which eventually reveals the root reason for his disdain of law enforcement. Wu’s performance presents a character that is both calculated and sinister, yet also, conflicted and volatile. Though quite different from the Triad boss foes of old, Wu succeeds in being a formidable onscreen opponent to Jackie. During the climactic scene of the film, Wu’s character and Chan finally face-off, making for a very tense, heart-pumping sequence, sure to keep the viewer on the edge of their seat.
Benny Chan’s use of cinematography appropriately accommodates each scene, to particular affect with action sequences – framing each shot to best show off the stunts and meticulous fight choreography produced by the Jackie Chan stunt team.
Being a Jackie Chan flick, and bearing the ‘Police Story’ title, as you can expect, tremendous action is plentiful here. The film boasts numerous exciting action set-pieces, and of course, it isn’t short on some decent display of the martial arts.
Check out this awesome fight scene between Jackie and one of Joe’s gang – played by Stephen Fung (Gen X Cops).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZtDZdzULgY
A standout action sequence includes Chan trying to bring an out of control double-decker bus under control – jumping onto the roof and having to gain entry, while the bus smashes through a busy Hong Kong shopping district, a visual treat, leaving you thinking “how did they do that?!”. The use of a double-decker bus, may have been Benny Chan’s way of paying homage to the original ‘Police Story’ (1985), which includes the famous scene where Jackie chases, and clings onto a bus (hijacked by gangsters) with an umbrella.
Benny Chan succeeds in providing a fresh approach to the much loved ‘Police Story’ series, yet still manages to retain certain classic aspects of Jackie’s original. Despite being considerably darker in tone to some of Jackie’s previous roles, his stellar performance, coupled with that of the rest of the main cast, solidify his versatility as an actor. The action is satisfying, the structure and development of the plot is well-paced, and the performances are great across the board.
Benny Chan’s ‘New Police Story’ (2004), gets 5 Stars!
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