Ging chat goo si (1985)

Director:

Jackie Chan

Writer:

Edward Tang (writer)

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

You may know the name, but the game has changed.

Plot:

Kevin Chan (aka Jackie) is a Hong-Kong cop, who scores his first big hit by virtually single-handedly capturing and arresting a big drug- lord...

Plot Keywords:

Hong Kong | Drug Lord | Bloopers During Credits | Criminal | Gangster

Awards:

2 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Chan Ka Kui
Brigitte Lin	...	Selina Fong (as Brigette Lin)
Maggie Cheung	...	May
Kwok-Hung Lam	...	Supt. Raymond Li
Bill Tung	...	Inspector Bill Wong
Yuen Chor	...	Mr. Chu
Charlie Cho	...	John Ko
Chi-Wing Lau	...	Cheung, the Lawyer
Hark-On Fung	...	Danny Ko
Hing Ying Kam	...	Inspector Man
Mars	...	Kim
Po Tai	...	Lee
Ken Tong	...	Tom (as Kent Tong)
Fat Wan	...	Jacknife
Fung Woo	...	Shau Tau Kok Station Commander

Also Known As:

Jackie Chan's Police Force
Jackie Chan's Police Story
Jing cha gu shi (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
Police Force
Police Story (Hong Kong: English title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, brief sexual humor and drug content. (2005 edited version)

Runtime:

101 min | Japan:106 min (extended print) | UK:99 min | USA:90 min | Spain:88 min (edited version)

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 (re-rating) (uncut) | Germany:18 (original rating) (cut) | Finland:(Banned) (1987) | Finland:K-18 (1995) | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:18 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Golden Way Films Ltd.

Trivia:

This film project came about as a result of Jackie Chan's frustration and dissatisfaction with the film The Protector (1985).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kevin/Jackie is climbing onto the bus using the umbrella, as he reaches around the side of the bus we see the handle of the umbrella is clearly bent, but in the next shot, which looks back to him reaching round side of the bus the handle is back to normal.

Quotes:

Kevin Chan Ka Kui: [after being assigned to protect her from Koo's men, Kevin tries to persuade Selina to go home after she's been released from jail] Miss Fong, it's much too dangerous out here. Please go home.
Selina Fong: I'll do what I want.
Kevin Chan Ka Kui: Miss Fong, it's for your own safety.
Selina Fong: [annoyed] Look, I don't need your protection, so get lost! Leave me alone!
Kevin Chan Ka Kui: Are you sure? Do you know what happened to four other witnesses who said that?
Selina Fong: [sarcastically] What? Somebody shot em? Don't try to scare me. So go on... what happened?
Kevin Chan Ka Kui: Uh... nothing happened to them. They're all doing fine. But something could happen.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jackie Chan: My Stunts (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Hero Story

Great stunts, some laughs and a reasonably good story start a solid series for Chan

Jackie is one of the key police officers in a bust that captures big time criminal Koo. As a `reward' he is told to guard Koo's secretary, who has turned states evidence. However Koo's men try to get to them before the trial - the least of Jackie's problems as his girlfriend May storms out when she sees him with Selina. When Koo is acquitted, he frames Jackie for the murder of a cop, forcing Jackie on the run to clear his name and get Koo.

The first film in the successful Police Story series is a fair example of a Jackie Chan film for those who have never seen one - reasonable plot, great action, average acting (potentially bad dubbing) and the comic scenes. However it is not as good as some of the sequels and, just generally, some of Chan's other films. Police Story opens with a great shoot out that culminates in a car chase through a shanty town and a fantastic series of stunts on a bus. From this point on it then focuses on the plot and quiet a few moments of comedy. This works reasonable well but it feels like the comedy and action have been divided up into separate sections. This takes away from the film a little bit.

The plot is pretty solid for a Jackie Chan film (by recent standards this is a masterpiece of writing!) although some of the dialogue doesn't quite fit. The moment where Jackie is forced on the run by the police is a bit hammy and the `you don't see us as people' rant just doesn't seem like Jackie. Of course part of the problem with this is the dubbing in the version I watched - I just don't understand viewers who would sooner see a really bad dubbing job than watch a subtitled version! The cheesy American voices here do detract from the performances and I found it difficult to judge some of Chan's comedy lines when they were being delivered by another person in a very flat way. However he still has presence and his physical work is great. Special mention to the stunt men here also, there are a lot of great falls (including a dive from a bus top) that must have hurt - I don't care who you are! Tung's Uncle Bill has fewer funny lines than I'm used to but he is still funny. The female cast are pretty wasted with both Lin and Cheung on screaming duty for the majority of the film (and most grating it is too!).

The film ends on a rather strange shot but set up an angry cop that Chan never really convinced me as - a personae that just seemed to be dropped in the later films in the series, but the overall film is still very enjoyable. The plot is good even if the acting isn't and the action involves plenty of amazing routines and stunts - it's just a shame that the action and comedy were very fragmented, it disjointed the film.