Powerman 3 (1985)

Story of a cop who forsakes his dreams of sailing around the world so that he can care for his mentally disabled brother. Innocently caught up in a gangland fight, the brother is kidnapped ... See full summary »

Directors:

Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Fruit Chan

Writer:

Barry Wong

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Emily Chu

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Ted / Tat Fung
Sammo Kam-Bo Hung	...	Danny / Dodo Fung (as Samo Hung)
Emily Chu	...	Jenny
Hoi Mang	...	Yan / Ian (as Man Hei)
Ching-Ying Lam	...	SWAT Team Commander (as Lam Ching Ying)
Lung Chan	...	SWAT Team Member
Wah Yuen	...	SWAT Team Member / Yan
Kar Lok Chin	...	SWAT Team Member / Log (as Ka Lok)
Corey Yuen	...	SWAT Team Member (as Yuen Kwai)
Melvin Wong	...	Inspector Wong
Ying-Fat Lam	...	Edmond Pang / Pang Kwok Hwa (as Lam Ying Fat)
Ka-Ho Lee	...	Kid / Heung Chi Ming (as Lee Ka Ho)
Dennis Chan	...	Waiter
Wing-Cho Yip	...	Restaurant Manager (as Ip Wing Cho)
Anthony Chan	...	Private Teacher

Storyline

Story of a cop who forsakes his dreams of sailing around the world so that he can care for his mentally disabled brother. Innocently caught up in a gangland fight, the brother is kidnapped to force the cop to turn over a police informant.

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Plot Keywords:

cop | fight | police | hand to hand combat | dark comedy | 

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Taglines:

Warrior, Brother, Protector, Friend

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Cantonese

Release Date:

16 October 1985 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Heart of the Dragon

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bo Ho Film Company Ltd., Golden Harvest Company, Shôchiku Eiga

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jackie Chan sings the theme song in Japan-language.

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Connections

Referenced in Rain Man (1988)

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Soundtracks

Sui Hoh Seung Yi (Who Could Be Dependent)
Music by Man Yee Lam
Lyrics by Yuen-Leung Poon
Performed by Noi So

User Reviews

'Long de xin' - a commendable departure for Chan

In this atypical movie starring Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, Jackie stars as Tad, a former SWAT member turned CID officer. He has a steady job and a girlfriend, but he is forced to reconsider the golden opportunity of becoming a sailor on a cruise ship, for his older brother Dodo (Hung) is mentally retarded and acts like someone about a third of his age (even his friends are little boys). Dodo tries desperately to become more adult, even trying to get a job, but is either rejected or humiliated. Further problems arise when Dodo gets entangled in a jewellery heist...

Action fans beware. This is NOT really an action movie at all (although it does have a couple of scraps), it's a heart-wrenching drama in which Jackie jettisons his usual happy-go-lucky action persona. There are some truly tear-jerking moments as the relationship between Tad and Dodo becomes more strained the more trouble the latter gets into, and Sammo Hung truly deserves acclaim for his performance as the child trapped in a 29-year-old body, especially as he gets no chances to fight whatsoever. The scene where, after a heated argument between Tad and one of his friends (where Tad blurts out some cutting questions in the presence of Dodo such as 'What would you do if you had a brother like him?' before admitting to being cold-blooded and retreating into his bedroom), Dodo goes into Tad's room, finds him on the bed shedding tears, begs him not to be angry, and both brothers hug each other tearfully, is one of the most memorable parts of the movie.

Even though there's little action, what's there is good, particularly at the end where Tad is on a rescue mission. The action, choreographed by Yuen Biao, is among the best Jackie has done, with him doing all manner of punches, kicks, and even a backwards flip off a pillar (a bit like Keanu Reeves does in the training session with Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix, but being an early 1980's Hong Kong movie there was no need for wires, thus making it even more impressive). Jackie also gets to fight against then-Hong Kong regular nemesis Dick Wei (best known as Sanpao, the pirate leader in Project A) in a blistering exchange of kicks and punches. Don't expect a light-hearted battle, because this is more rough-and-tumble than Chan fans may be used to.

In fact, the whole movie should be praised for carrying off such a subject in the commendable way shown here. Jackie turns in a fine acting performance (which is not surprising since he learned acting at Peking Opera School as well as the trademark flips and martial artistry his other movies have displayed), and his character even gets to kiss his girlfriend intimately, which, as Chan fans know, is something not often seen at this time due to the reactions it allegedly provoked among female fans.

I have seen both the dubbed version and the subtitled version. I'd definitely recommend the latter; while the dubbing in the former is not the worst I've heard, it lacks the intensity of the original Cantonese track.

Look out for appearances from Wu Ma, Dennis Chan (he played a character who trained Jean-Claude Van Damme's character in 'Kickboxer') and the sadly-now-departed wonder that is Lam Ching-Ying.

Definitely worth a look if you're into Chan and want something a little different (OK, a LOT different).