The master of non-violent action films strikes again

Jackie Chan in a new role of Detective Zhong Wen, currently showing in Metro Manila is said to be a reboot of the Police Story series he made popular, except that this one has a darker tone than the others which were comedies. Billed Police Story 2013, this is the sixth installment of the Police Story franchise released last Christmas in the US.

The story begins when Chan as Detective Wen heads for the Wu Bar in search of his estranged daughter Miao Miao, who he finds is the current girlfriend of Wu Bar owner Wu Jiang. However, before Chan can do anything, he is struck in the head, regaining consciousness strapped to a chair with hands bound by metal wires. Quickly, Chan discovers that they are all prisoners of Wu, including his daughter Miao Miao and other bar patrons, and that Wu has asked for a ransom before they are released. Wu also demands to see a prisoner Wei Xiaofu, then leaves them all locked up in the room.

Chan manages to break free of his wires, escapes from the room and seeks out a local lieutenant. Before he can do anything, however, Wu has discovered his escape. There is a series of skirmishes and Chan is apprehended while Wu holds Miao at gunpoint. The re-captured Chan then offers Wu his assistance in finding prisoner Wei who, it appears is the target of Wu from the very beginning.

Wu agrees on the following conditions: Either Chan engages one of Wu’s henchmen in battle and be allowed to free three hostages, or admit defeat and find Wei alone. Chan agrees to the former and wins the battle. The next task is to bring out prisoner Wei to face Wu. This is not that easy, since Wei has been imprisoned so long that comfort has set in. But eventually Wei agrees.

 What follows is a series of encounters until we, the audience, discover the reason behind Wu’s kidnapping rampage which we shall not reveal. Let it just be said that the last 20 minutes of the film is the most exciting, as well as the most heart-rending in the entire movie.

This film, however, can be called typical in the way Jackie Chan approaches his filmmaking and the policies that he follows. In an interview, Chan once explained, “I love action but hate violence. In my movies, there is no love scene, no dirty words, no bloody encounters.” This winning combination of skill, courage, charm and showmanship has made Chan Kwong-Sang, Jackie’s real name, the most family-friendly action hero in the movies. Born in Hong Kong in 1954, Chan trained at the Peking Opera School starting at the age of six and for the next 10 years, studying singing, acting, jumping, kicking, stick-fighting, knife-fighting, gymnastics and acrobatics. It is no wonder therefore that he had been asked to sing the theme song of Police Story 2013 titled Rescue which plays over the credits in the finale.

Chan is best-known for his Drunken Master (1978) and Police Story (1985). As for other interesting stories involving his persona, there are also many.

The non-violent action hero that he is, Chan has a glib tongue and incited a backlash after he appeared in a Chinese talk show declaring the US to be the “most corrupt in the world.” When asked to explain his declaration, he continued, “Where did the Great (Depression) come from? It’s from the United States that it started.” These statements have elicited much criticism on the social media.

But he hasn’t spared China either, making the political comment saying, “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we, Chinese, need to be controlled.” He continued that without the necessary controls, the Chinese may just do what they want which is not good at all.

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