NEW POLICE STORY - DVD review

The majority of American audiences are probably most familiar with Jackie Chan through gimmicky buddy film franchises like, "Rush Hour" and "Shanghai Noon." None of them really show what Chan is capable of. They're more like appetizers before a hearty main course made of "Drunken Master II", "Project A", and "Young Master."

The death of Bruce Lee left a hole in Hong Kong cinema that many others were eager to fill. Rather than fall in with the numerous imitators popping up, Jackie Chan carved a niche for himself mixing in spectacular action with copious amounts of light-hearted comedy and death-defying stunts inspired by silent film actors such as; Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton. The highlights of Chan's early work include, "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow" and the original "Drunken Master", both collaborations with master choreography Yuen Woo-Ping ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "The Matrix").

Then, there's the "Police Story" series which spanned three films, of which the original is surely the best. The first "Police Story" has it all fights, chases, slapstick comedy, and some crazy stunts. The best are Chan's ode to Chaplin where he hitches a ride on a double-decker bus with only an umbrella and one where he slid down a huge pole wrapped in Christmas lights. The latter stunt practically burnt all the skin off of Chan's hands.

Now that he's in his fifties, Chan has gone on record saying he'd like to pursue more dramatic roles. "New Police Story" is a step towards that direction and has no connection at all to the previous "Police Story" films. Here, Chan plays Inspector Wing who must deal with a youthful gang of hi-tech crooks. The villains are rich kids heavily into extreme sports and violent video games. They also hate cops and even assign each other points for killing them.

Wing boldly claims he'll bring them to justice in just three hours. The arrest goes horribly wrong when Wing's team are all captured and killed right before his eyes. Wing is shattered and can only find comfort in the bottle. It's up to Fung (Nicholas Tse), an overly exuberant, rookie cop to pull Wing out of his funk and catch the bad guys.

"New Police Story" is definitely one of the best films Chan has put out in years. "Rush Hour" and "Shanghai Knights" are certainly fun fluff, but not very satisfying. There have also been plenty of clunkers, "The Tuxedo" and "The Medallion" come to mind. Then, there are Chan films where I find myself skipping huge sections to get to some good action ("Who Am I?", "Gorgeous"). "New Police Story" is solid all the way through. No, there isn't that one jaw-dropping scene that makes you fear for Chan's life. But, there's plenty of good stuff to be found, before building up to a rousing finale.

The new film does sometimes emphasize the drama, but there are touches of comedy sprinkled here and there. It does keep the spirit of the original films and they even threw in a couple references. A chase scene involving a runaway double-decker bus recalls a similar sequence from the original film, as does a scene where Chan punches out a callous stock broker (similar to when he beats a mob lawyer).

I know Chan has mentioned he'd like to do the roles that Robert DeNiro or Dustin Hoffman get, but he just isn't as versatile. If you've seen one Chan character, you've seen them all. That's no slight to the man. Look at John Wayne or Humphrey Bogart, they were pretty much played the same guy throughout their careers. Chan is at his best portraying the plucky hero who overcomes all adversity to defeat the villain. He does that here. There's also a certain charm to him that allows you to buy into the overly dramatic moral lessons that are almost always present.

I remember discussing a scene from "Rush Hour" with an old film professor. Yes, we discussed "Rush Hour." At one point, Chan confronts Chris Penn, holds up a picture of the kidnapped girl, and pleads for his help. It works, not just on the characters in the film, but the audience as well. There's just a certain likeability to him that makes you buy into it. You would never believe it coming from Sly or Arnold.

The only reservation I had with this film was Nicholas Tse, who I found to be quite irritating. His cries of, "That's my man!" get tiresome quickly. On the plus side, the supporting cast also includes the ultra-cute Charlene Choi, one half of the Canto-Pop group, The Twins (with Gillian Chung).

VIDEO:
The video is presented in anamorphic widescreen with an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The transfer looks nearly pristine. The colors are bright and bold with no discernable specks or scratches.

AUDIO:
The audio is presented in two languages, a dubbed English track and the original Cantonese. Both are available in either Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound or Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0. Optional English, Spanish, and Cantonese subtitles are also available.

EXTRAS:
Extras include a very brief DVD introduction from Chan, along with a quick PSA against piracy.

The main extras are a behind-the-scenes making-of featurette done in Cantonese, a featurette about Jackie dubbing his lines in English, and scene-specific commentary from Chan.

FILM VALUE:
While not up to snuff with his early works, "New Police Story" is a refreshing change of pace from watching Jackie Chan team up with Chris Tucker or Owen Wilson. I also highly recommend some of the Chan films I praised before, especially "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow", "Police Story", and his magnum opus, "Drunken Master II."