JACKIE CHAN

By Nate Lee

BEST FILM:

Shanghai Noon...

Okay, it’s not “Crouching Tiger,” but it’s terrific in its honest entertainment as well as its stunning choreographed fights. Plus, it’s the one Jackie Chan film, including the “Rush Hour” franchise, that fully develops its characters

GREAT PERFORMANCES YOU MAY NOT HAVE SEEN:

Around the World in Eighty Days (Passpartout, the assistant to Phileas Fogg)

The Tuxedo (a chauffeur turned secret agent)

Police Story

Operation Condor

Supercop

Who Am I?

Dozens of early Chinese martial-arts films

BLOCKBUSTERS:

Shanghai Noon

Shanghai Knights

Rush Hour 1, 2 & 3

Around the World in Eighty Days

THE REAL JACKIE CHAN:

Hey, he’s a martial artist and an acrobat. He’s always the real Jackie Chan.

ACTING STYLE:

Chan puts the art in martial. Don’t for a second diminish the abilities of the guy, even though English is barely his second language. He does what he does and he does it better than anyone ever has – yes, including Buster Keaton. He’s also responsible for not just retooling the martial arts genre but the action/comedy genre as well. Prior to Jackie Chan, there was either not much action or not much comedy, but Chan made the action into comedy, and vice versa.

Not only that but his graceful style and imaginative choreography are the closest thing we have to dance on film. Chan’s fights don’t take place in some sterile room or garden. They are anywhere and everywhere, using virtually everything as a weapon. It is no wonder there is an early tribute to Gene Kelly in one of his films. One can’t help but see Kelly in all of Chan’s magnificently precise yet seemingly improvised moves.

BITS AND QUIRKS:

Other than the stunts themselves, there is the constant surprised look as yet another bad guy appears. The proud look when he’s survived or triumphed. Using whatever prop is handy.

GREAT SCENES:

SHANGHAI NOON: The drinking game with Owen Wilson > The saloon fight, particularly with the moose horns

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS: A tribute to “Singin’ in the Rain,” fighting with umbrellas

RUSH HOUR 3: Climbing the Eiffel Tower > A Chinese version of “Who’s on First?”

RUSH HOUR 2: A fight scene in a spa with everyone in robes and towels.

OPERATION CONDOR: Escaping the natives in a Zorb ball, and falling down the mountain in it.

POLICE STORY: A car chase down a mountain through a shanty town.

RUMBLE IN THE BRONX: The arcade fight, starting with the pool table.

 

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