Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998)
"Wo shi shei" (original title)

A secret agent loses his memory after falling from a crashing helicopter. He is then chased by a number of other agency operatives, but he has no idea why.

Directors:

Benny Chan, Jackie Chan

Writers:

Jackie Chan, Susan Chan,

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Michelle Ferre, Mirai Yamamoto

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Who Am I? - Jackie Chan
Michelle Ferre	...	Christine Stark
Mirai Yamamoto	...	Yuki
Ron Smerczak	...	Morgan
Ed Nelson	...	General Sherman
Tom Pompert	...	CIA Chairman
Glory Simon	...	CIA Secretary (as Gloria Simon)
Fred van Ditmarsch	...	Airforce (as Johan van Ditmarsch)
Fritz Krommenhoek	...	Navy
Dick Rienstra	...	Army
Rinaldo van Ommeren	...	Army Assistant
Pim Daane	...	Marine
Jeremiah Flemming	...	Marine Assistant
Neil Berger	...	Secretary
Dik Brinksma	...	NAT Security Officer

Storyline

It all started when a bunch of commandos (including Jackie of course) kidnapped three scientist who were studying very powerful meteorite fragments. The mission was a success - until one of their superiors double crossed them. The commandos were then killed in a chopper crash, except Jackie who fell out of the chopper. After that, Jackie was picked up by a a tribe of South African Indians, who then asked him his name. Sadly, Jackie had lost his memory and shouted 'Who Am I?!' which led the Indians to think that it was his name. So he started learning their cultures and customs, while also trying to pick up their language. Later, he started having memories of things that happened before the crash, and he decided to leave the Indians in search for his identity...

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Plot Keywords:

commando | helicopter | secret agent | lost memory | bloopers during credits | 

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Taglines:

Fight now. Ask questions later.

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Comedy | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for martial arts action violence

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English Cantonese Dutch

Release Date:

17 January 1998 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Jackie Chan's Who Am I?

Filming Locations:

Amer Power Station, Geertruidenberg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands

Box Office

Gross:

SGD 3,470,000 (Singapore)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Golden Harvest Company, Panasia Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Jackie Chan' performs the song played during the credits.

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Goofs

When Jackie is fighting the second assassin on the roof the assassin's shoes change in different shots.

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Quotes

Morgan: [answering the phone] Who is it?
Who Am I?: No, it's Who am I?

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Crazy Credits

In the tradition of every Jackie Chan film, outtakes appear under the end credits. All of Jackie's outtakes involve bloopers only. The only injury on the outtakes is a stunt driver being brought out on a stretcher.

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Connections

Referenced in Versus (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Ya Kuo Hu Di Ren (A Man in the Past)"
Written by Lam Si
Performed by Emil Chow Wah-Kin

User Reviews

Campy Over-the-Top Cartoon Fun!

I'm astonished that there were so many negative reviews here...

This film is OBVIOUSLY not meant to be taken seriously. It is very clearly intentionally a "joke" of a film. That people would complain about bad acting, strange dubbing, and/or a convoluted plot just leaves me flabbergasted.

From the very beginning, it should be evident that a big part of the point of the film is its own self-deprecating humor. Jackie loses his memory and is picked up by a primitive African tribe. The chief asks him, in an unintelligible language, "Where do you come from? What is your name?" to which Jackie replies (not understanding the questions) "What am I doing here? Who am I?" This is a JOKE, folks.

A few minutes later, Jackie saves a snake-bite victim with an IV he improvises from a COCONUT! When he's returned to "civilization," the doctor is impressed with that tactic, saying, "That coconut IV technique is only used by elite military units!" Is there any way to even dream of taking the plot/dialogue seriously at this point?

The acting is "bad" by design. The actors were obviously told to ham up everything they did. The meeting of the American intelligence officials is a completely ironic reference to the same sort of scene you'd expect in any James Bond movie. Dialogue is intentionally absurd, plot developments are intentionally obvious. The "Morgan" character is played perfectly (and hilariously) as a crooked CIA operative out for his own gain while feigning loyalty to the USA.

Yuki is a master stunt-driver with the naivete and wide-eyed innocence of a schoolgirl. Christine Stark is a completely laughable "reporter" who fools Jackie only as a result of his head injury; after she's "exposed," she rescues Jackie in an golf cart that can't seem to move faster than an electric wheelchair.

That the villains actually join each other in a verse of song ("Friendship, friendship!") near the end should serve as a good reminder of just how camp this picture strives to be. To criticize it for this as a "failing" seems to me to profoundly miss the point. Did the same viewers dislike that "Hot Shots: Part Deux" was absurd too?

Overall, the strengths of the film deserve the attention: it is a very funny parody of the overplotted "action/intrigue" genre, it has a terrific car chase, notable action sequences, and a terrific Jackie-Chan-Style fight scene at the beginning of the film's climax.

Perhaps I enjoyed this movie because I had grown up watching the "GI Joe" cartoon series, and had always been rather insulted by the fact that it managed to be both preachy and stupid at the same time. If you're looking for a great 100 minutes of parody and HUMOR, I'd recommend this movie. If you're more interested in believability and suspending your disbelief, this film will definitely not work for you at all. Inappropriate expectations would be the only "problem" I can imagine that would reduce one's enjoyment of this film.

If you want a more serious Jackie Chan film, you might try Drunken Master II, or Police Story. But if you're looking for an enjoyable and sardonic 100 minutes, this is truly one of Jackie's great vehicles.