Chanbegan work on the film after a disappointing experience working with director James Glickenhaus on The Protector, which was intended to be his entry into the American film market. The first Police Story film is considered by fans to be one of Chan's best films. It was a massive hit in Asia. According to his autobiography, I Am Jackie Chan, Chan considers the film his best, in terms of action and stunts. The first three Police Story films were voted among the best action films of all time in Time Out's poll of film critics, directors, actors, and stunt actors, with Police Story ranked 4th,[2] Police Story 2 ranked 61st,[3] and Police Story 3: Supercop ranked 75th.[4]
All of the Police Story films were produced by Raymond Chow, Leonard Ho, Jackie Chan, Barbie Tung, Willie Chan, Solon So and Yang Du, distributed by Golden Harvest, Media Asia, Golden Way Films Co. Ltd., Fortune Star Media Ltd., and JCE Movies. They were all directed by Jackie Chan, Stanley Tong, Benny Chan and Ding Sheng.
Police Story (Chinese: 警察故事) was made in 1985. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force is planning a major undercover sting called "Operation Boar Hunt" to arrest crime lord Chu Tao (Chor Yuen). Inspector Chan Ka-Kui (or Kevin Chan in some versions) is part of the operation, along with undercover officers stationed in a shanty town. After arresting Chu, Chan's next assignment is to protect Chu Tao's secretary, Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin), who plans to testify in court about Chu Tao's illegal activities. The trial fails due to Selina's tampering with evidence. Though Chu Tao is released on bail, he wants revenge against Ka-Kui, framing him for the murder of fellow policeman Inspector Man. Meanwhile, Selina, realizing Chu's criminality, goes to his office at a shopping mall to download incriminating data from Chu Tao's computer system. Chu Tao and Chan notice this and head to the mall. In the ensuing fight, Ka-Kui defeats all of Chu Tao's henchmen while the police apprehend Chu and the briefcase.
Police Story 2 (Chinese: 警察故事續集), made in 1988, featured many of the same actors reprising their roles from the original. The story picks up with Chan Ka-Kui being demoted to a traffic cop for causing so much damage in his apprehension of Chu. Chu has been released from prison on the pretense that he is terminally ill, and Chu and his clan continue to harass Chan and his girlfriend May as Chan gets reinstated to the detective unit when criminal bombers begin extorting money from businessmen. The film marks the last appearance of Lam Kwok-Hung as Superintendent Raymond Li.
Police Story 3: Supercop (Chinese: 警察故事3超級警察), also known as Supercop, was made in 1992. Michelle Yeoh joins the cast, portraying a police officer from mainland China. The story involves Chan and Yeoh's character going undercover to try to break up a drug smuggling ring. The action moves from China to Kuala Lumpur, where Chan's girlfriend May is kidnapped. The film marks the last appearance of Maggie Cheung as May. Michelle Yeoh reprises her role in the spin-off, called Supercop 2. Dimension Films released Supercop in the US in 1996 with some edits to the film, the complete replacement of all music and sound effects, and English dubbing.
Both Jackie Chan and Bill Tung have cameo appearances as Inspector Chan Ka-Kui and "Uncle" Bill Wong in the film. Although Jackie Chan only has a cameo appearance, some DVD covers prominently featured Chan, misleading audience to think that he was one of the main characters. He reprises his role as Inspector Chan, but in drag to catch a criminal in drag wearing the same wig and clothes.
Police Story 4: First Strike (Chinese: 警察故事4之簡單任務), also known as First Strike, Police Story 4, or Jackie Chan's First Strike, was made in 1996 and is the only film in the Police Story series made partially in English. Jackie reprises his role as Chan Ka-Kui (also known in some versions as Jackie) for the final time as the Hong Kong cop works with Interpol to track down and arrest an illegal weapons dealer. Later Ka-Kui realizes that things are not as simple as they appear and soon finds himself a pawn of an organization posing as Russian intelligence. The action shifts away from Hong Kong and Asia, with a globe trekking espionage plot, lending the film the air of a James Bond adventure. The New Line Cinema release in the US contained various alterations. Filmed on location in Ukraine and Australia, the film also marks the last appearance of Bill Tung, who plays Chan's superior "Uncle" Bill Wong in the series.
New Police Story (Chinese: 新警察故事), made in 2004, is a reboot of the Police Story series. Chan portrays a disgraced detective named Chan Kwok-Wing, who accidentally leads his team into a trap from which he is the only survivor. Drowning his guilt in booze, he is eventually assigned a new younger partner who turns out to have his own secrets. However, they must work together if they are to stop the gang who killed Chan's team a year earlier. The film features younger Hong Kong actors such as Nicholas Tse, Charlene Choi, Charlie Yeung and Daniel Wu. The story features a more dramatic focus, taking a darker and more serious tone.
Police Story 2013 (Chinese: 警察故事2013), made in 2013, stars Jackie Chan in another reboot of the series. The film is directed by Ding Sheng, who previously helmed Chan's Little Big Soldier. Unlike the previous Police Story films where he portrayed a Hong Kong cop, Jackie portrays a mainland Chinese officer named Zhong Wen. Zhong heads to Wu Bar in search of his estranged daughter, Miao Miao (Jing Tian). He disapproves of Miao's relationship with Wu Jiang (Liu Ye), the nightclub owner. However, Wu, who is looking for the release of a long-time prisoner, takes Zhong, Miao, and a group of strangers hostage. The film was distributed as Police Story: Lockdown in the United States by Well Go USA Entertainment and released in June 2015.[citation needed]
On 14 March 2023, a sequel to the film, titled New Police Story 2 was announced at the Hong Kong FILMART to be in development with stars Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, Daniel Wu, and Charlene Choi returning while Chan will also serve as producer and Tse will also serve as director.[5]
Jackie Chan's first film featuring Chan as a Hong Kong cop was a blockbuster in Asia, Hong Kong, US and other foreign countries. Chan returned to fame after his first attempt to cross over to Hollywood ended with The Protector becoming a box office bomb. The film grossed HK$26,626,760 in Hong Kong.
Chan's second film in the series was an even bigger hit, grossing HK$34,151,609 in Hong Kong. Although the film was a huge success at the box office, it wasn't as appreciated as its predecessor at the Hong Kong Film Awards and only received one win.
James Berardinelli of website ReelViews wrote: "As is usual in a Chan film, the end credits (which show out-takes of failed stunts) are one of Supercop's highlights. There are more laughs in this hilarious three-minute sequence than in the whole of Kingpin. I can't think of a better reason to stay through the entire movie. Ultimately, the closing montage points out one of the chief differences between Chan's stylized, fast-paced films and those of his American counterparts: this is action with a smile, not a grimace".[52]
In the Washington Post, Richard Harrington said: "Chan seems to have met his soul mate in Khan [Michelle Yeoh], Asia's top female action star. Like Chan, Khan does her own fighting and stunts. Unlike the Hollywood action contingent, Chan and Khan don't rely on cinematic trickery. Theirs are not special effects, just spectacular ones. Connoisseurs will find Chan's helicopter-train chase far riskier, more exciting and more believable than its mates in Mission: Impossible and The Living Daylights".[53]
Almar Haflidason of BBC Films said: "While not original, it's a good set-up for an action film. Conflicts of loyalty, moments of terrible realisation, and the facing up to of terrible choices are on offer here, but a muddy script structure and some very weak attempts at comedy hamper the flow of the film as Yeoh is partnered with muppet-like partners".[54]
Chan began work on the film after a disappointing experience working with James Glickenhaus on The Protector (1985), which was intended to be his entry into the American film market. Police Story contains many large-scale action sequences with elaborate, dangerous stunts performed by Chan and his stunt team, including car chases, Chan hanging off a speeding bus, parkour-like acrobatics, and a shopping mall fight with shattering glass panes, leading up to Chan sliding down a pole with exploding electric lights as he falls to the ground. Much of the film was created surrounding the action sequences, which Chan and the filmmakers developed via linear progression.
Police Story was a box-office success in Asia and Europe, grossing an estimated US$18,724,000 (equivalent to $53,000,000 in 2023). It won the Best Film award at the 1986 Hong Kong Film Awards. According to Chan's autobiography, he considers Police Story his best action film. Since its release, Police Story has been frequently listed as one of the greatest action films of all time. It is also considered one of the best martial arts movies of all time.[4][5] In 2016, Police Story was voted the fifth best action movie of all time in Time Out's poll of film critics, directors, actors and stunt performers.[6] Chan's final action sequence in the mall is considered one of the greatest stunts in the history of action cinema.[7] A 4K restoration of the film had a limited theatrical release in North America on 1 February 2019. A sequel, Police Story 2, was released 1988.[8]
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