Great Film: New Police Story (Xin jing cha gu shi)
Return of the Master
There is always a suspicion when films come out with "New" in the title
and particularly here, when you've had variations on the Police Story
numbering over the years. Does it mean that the whole franchise has
changed completely? Is Jackie Chan trying to pass on the mantle? How
different is it really? Well, put it this way. The only thing that has
changed is that it's better than the previous instalments.
New Police Story tells of Wing (Jackie Chan), a super-cop who has
managed to solve the toughest and roughest cases for the Hong Kong
police force. So much so that he gains a bit of cockiness. When a group
of young guns led by Joe (Daniel Wu) start a crime spree by robbing
banks and gunning down cops for fun, Wing declares that he would catch
the criminals in just 3 hours. However, his plans bite the dust as his
team are gunned down following a leak of his plans. Wing is knocked
into drink and depression and rookie Fung (Nic Tse) come to egg him
into revenge.
This film follows the style of the previous Police Story series in that
it is gritty and dramatic as opposed to Jackie's comedic style.
However, this film is very much darker than the previous ones. The
usual stunts are there - including a bus sequence which reminds you of
the original Police Story - but each stunt has been brought a new lease
of life with some perfectionist choreography. I was impressed by Nic
Tse's martial art stunts, which certainly were not easy, but mastered
flawlessly. Daniel Wu caps off a very good year for him with a very
good performance as the enemy. Credit goes to Benny Chan also, who
really has pulled out all the stops for this movie.
This is one of Jackie Chan's best films and following some recent
dismal Hollywood attempts, I'm really glad that he can still pull it
off, particularly when there is a good script for him.
One to see the old master back at his best.
Cast
- Senior Insp. Chan Kwok-Wing played by Jackie Chan
- Zheng Xiaofeng played by Nicholas Tse
- Negotiator played by Mak Bau
- Robber played by Tak-bun Wong
- Female Hostage played by Winnie Leung
- Male Hostage played by Eric Kwok
- Rocky, Wing's Team Member played by Deep Ng
