[THE CHALK-OUTLINE]

Police Story 4: First Strike a.k.a. Ging chaat goo si 4: Ji gaan daan yam mo (1996)(The Kain424 Cut: Which Combines The Original Hong Kong Cut With The Heavily Edited American One): Breakdown by Rantbo

Jackie Chan fights for America in his biggest action film to come out the month of February 1996.

[THE EXECUTION]

It appears as though after Super Cop Chan Ka Kui defeated the evil drug lord with the help of uber-hottie Michelle Yeoh in the last installment, he has climbed a few more steps up the law enforcement ladder and he is now an international globe-trotting anti-terrorist super spy, working for the American government. Naturally. It’s official, Jackie Chan is Asian Bond. Ching-Ching—Ching-CHONG, Ching-Ching CHONG! OK, that was racist, and I apologize.

Known in the States as…

The film was dumbed down and re-edited to the point that the American cut is nothing short of butchered. The odd thing is that even with everything put back in, this film books. And making even less sense, the sequences that have been the most tampered with, were the ones featuring Jackie’s fight choreography. Why would you want to cut out the very thing that makes a Jackie Chan Film, a Jackie Chan Film—Especially when you’re re-naming the film, JACKIE CHAN’S FIRST STRIKE!? What the fuck were they thinking? Of course, now that I own a restored cut (thanks to Kain) this bothers me less, but what a cluster fuck of insane bureaucratic distributor bullshit.

While this installment of the Police Story Series pales in comparison to the last, it’s still a pretty entertaining entry. Made ten years after the first film, it’s understandable that Jackie wanted to try some new things, but in doing so, they came dangerously close to making something completely unrecognizable as a Police Story film. For starters, like I mentioned above AND they mention within the film, this is a 007 picture, starring Jackie Chan. Great idea, but they already kind of did that with his Armour of God Series, so this begs the question, wasn’t the character of Chan Ka Kui good enough already to warrant future semi-believable scenarios that maintain the feel and look of the predecessors? I guess not.

It may seem that I am really taking the piss out of this flick, but like I said, it’s still very fun. The action sequences are once again top notch and Jackie really goes all out to make this one unique and thrilling in a way not seen before…

The snowy-mountain escape sequence that more or less opens the film, is arguably better than any of the similar scenes from the James Bond franchise. It’s that good.

Later on he fights a stunt team in a warehouse with a table, brooms, some dragon-head masks, staffs and a ladder. The fight is classic Jackie, while still being inspired, fresh and filled with “Whoa!” moments.

Then in his grand finale, Jackie has an underwater martial arts extravaganza, that rivals the climax of THUNDERBALL.

Which alone is worth the price of importing a region 3 copy. And if you want to see this sequence as it was intended, that’s exactly what you’ll have to do. This fight, above all else was massacred in the region one release. Bastards. So, order a copy, check it out and watch Jackie Bond kick ass across the world. And under the sea.

[HOW BAD-ASS IS THE MAIN CHARACTER?]

Jackie Chan is Chan—Ka Kui, Chan

“Wow, now I’m double-o seven.”
“This guy can move like a monkey!”

His forth time out as the staple Hong Kong inspector, Jackie makes sure to mix it up a bit, while still maintaining the aspects that make Chan such a great character. Namely, performing insane stunts, jumping around like a circus freak and kicking mass ass.

-Barrels down a snow covered mountain in street clothes, with his ass strapped to a snowboard, whilst being shot at by machine gunning skiers.
-Jumps off a cliff onto a helicopter. Lets go of the helicopter. Falls a hundred feet into a literally ice cold lake. Holds his breath under the Hoth cold water while being shot at. Half dead from hypothermia and exposure, he pulls himself out of the lake. And he survives,  without even the slightest bit of frostbite.
-Shows his naked ass, cock and balls to a bunch of old Australian women.
-Gets kicked through a sheet of glass by human giant, Nathan Jones (FEARLESS, TOM YUM GOONG)
-Jumps around the narrow ledges on the outside of a 12(at least) story building, without cables.
-Fights off a team of stuntmen with a ladder.
-Fights off 5 Russian hitmen underwater in a shark tank for 15 minutes, without his own air tank.
-Drives a sports car off a ramp onto a moving yacht.

[THE BODY COUNT: 30ish]

Chan reverts to being a non-lethal wiener, but seeing as how this is a Jackie Chan Bond homage, there are still plenty of Russians and Asian Stuntmen being slaughtered pointlessly. So, while this doesn’t come close to the macabre massacre of SUPER COP, there is still plenty of bullet-laden corpses strewn about the various locales, (so long as you have the uncut version, that is).

[MOST SATISFYING ASS-KICKING]

Chan vs. The KGB Mafia Hit-Squad

Chan fights off the communist hitmen to save the film’s annoying estrogen-emitting sidekick. And he does it—on stilts.

That’s a new one. The fights that follow aren’t particularly awe-inspiring, but it is a hellova lot of fun to watch Jackie kicking guys in the face and stepping on their chests with giant metal poles attached to his feet.

[DUDESWEAT AND MACHISMO]

Well, it’s about time Chan showed his ass again. And I think he must have known how much we’ve been missing it, as before he delivers the moneyshot, he shows off his cute little koala-hammock underoos.

[EXPLOITATION AND MISOGYNY]

Chan: “I feel like James Bond, only I don’t have the gorgeous girls!”

Yeah, what the fuck? May—? Gone. Never mentioned. They didn’t even bother to give her one of those bullshit BOURNE SUPREMECY or ALIEN 3 killed in the first 10 minutes deaths. I guess being kidnapped for the 17th time and thrown out of a helicopter, face first onto a car was the last straw. Some chicks just don’t know how to stand by their man.

But, not all is lost as Chan meets a pretty little lady named Anne, who gets kidnapped and almost eaten by sharks. So, it’s nice that they remembered to cater to the fan’s of Jackie’s comedic misogyny, despite the absences of his punching bag (ex)girlfriend.

[EPIC MOMENT AND BEST ONE-LINER]

[flashvideo filename=videos/PoliceStory4.wmv.FLV /]

Copyright owned by Golden Harvest

[Hidden within what is assumed to be his father’s coffin, Tsui springs out to meet his adversary]
Gregor: “You even share the same coffin as your father.”

“The coffin is for you.”

[THE MORAL OF THE STORY]

When brawling in an underwater tank filled with sharks, remember to remain calm.

[THE GIST OF JACKIE: 5 outta 5]

[X] Breaks Into Someplace Or Escapes By Way Of Acrobatics
[X] Has An Annoying Tag-Along Companion
[X] Makes The ‘OW!’ Face And/Or Rubs A Soar Spot
[X] Performs A Ridiculously Dangerous Stunt
[X] Uses A Random Object To Defend Himself

[THE CHECKLIST: 16 outta 25]

[X] Athlete(s) Turned “Actor”
[X] Clinging To The Outside Of A Moving Vehicle
[  ] Crotch Attack
[X] Dialogue Telling Us How Bad-Ass The Main Character(s) Is/Are
[  ] Ending Featuring An Ambulance, A Blanket or A Towel
[X] Factory/Warehouse
[X] Giant Explosion(s)
[X] Heavy Artillery
[X] Improvised Weapon(s)
[X] Macho Mode(s) Of Transportation
[X] Main Character Sports Facial Accessory(s)
[  ] Manly Embrace(s)
[X] Notorious Stunt-Man Sighting
[  ] Passage(s) Of Time Via Montage
[X] Politically Fueled Plot Point(s)
[X] Senseless Destruction Of Property
[X] Shoot Out(s) and/or Sword Fight(s)
[  ] Slow-Motion Finishing Move(s)/Death(s)
[X] Stupid Authoritative Figure(s)
[  ] Substance Usage and/or Abuse
[  ] Tis The Season
[  ] Torture Sequence(s)
[X] Unnecessary Sequel [New Police Story]
[X] Vehicle Chase(s)
[  ] Vigilante Justice