It is the 1930’s (ish), and poor old Jackie is broke, especially after he is hoodwinked into handing over his life savings with the promise of a job.
After he foils a moider, in a (frankly) ridiculous turn of events Jackie ends up the boss of a criminal gang with dozens of men sceptical of his talents. Thankfully this gives Jackie the excuse to prove himself by kicking the shit out of a couple of guys to win the men over.
Once tentatively entrenched as the new boss Jackie decides that should change tack and become nice criminals, no more violence and robbery. He opens a nightclub which becomes a huge success and slowly starts the process of going fully legit, much to the chagrin of his hardened workforce.
A rival gang also puts the hard word on Jackie, thinking his new blood will mean he is easier to push around, and as Jackie cleans up the gang’s act dissension grows in the ranks of his own crew.
All this of course is simply an entree for an AWESOME FINAL FIGHT that takes place in a factory and finds Jackie running around taking on mutliple foes in one of the more athletic and well choreographed scenes on his CV. This is a good thing as a sub plot in the movie involves some laughably sub-par sitcom device where Jackie and crew must pretend to be people they aren’t just to temporarily cover up for the white lies of an old rose-seller who Jackie has taken a shine to.
1/ Are there any “WOW!” fights?
The early fight where Jackie shows who is “boss” is brief but has a couple of sweet moves. The finale is simply brilliant and worth the preceding 90 minutes of mostly humdrummery.
2/ Are there any “WOW!” stunts?
Some great falls that must be painful even to proven stuntmen.
3/ Which Jackie is it? Serious / Whimsical / Cocky…
Perplexing, Jackie wants to show he is a “complete” filmmaker but the only really good bits are where he goes back to what he knows.
4/ Does he get to use Jackie-exclusive toys?
Not in a period piece like this.
5/ Do stolen relics come up?
No.
6/ Are there hot chicks (that usually can’t act)?
Meh.
7/ Is there a blooper reel over the credits?
Yes.
8/ Were there injuries on the shoot? Severity?
Quite a few falls in this one. Nothing life threatening though, well no more than normal!
9/ Has he still got it?
Yes, which makes 90% of this more frustrating.
10/ Is it a “Jackie Chan” film, or just one he is in?
The action is good but the plot is bad and mostly wet.
Final Rating – 7.5 / 10. Realistically the action is a 10 (and that’s what we watch Jackie for), but I must knock off points for the interminable wait that must be endured between these highlights.