Shinjuku Incident (2009)

A simple Chinese immigrant wages a perilous war against one of the most powerful criminal organizations on the planet.

Director:

Tung-Shing Yee

Writers:

Tung-Shing Yee, Tin Nam Chun

Stars:

Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Daniel Wu

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	...	Steelhead
Naoto Takenaka	...	Inspector Kitano
Daniel Wu	...	Jie
Jinglei Xu	...	Xiu Xiu / Yuko Eguchi
Masaya Katô	...	Toshinari Eguchi
Bingbing Fan	...	Lily
Tôru Minegishi	...	Koichi Muranishi
Kenya Sawada	...	Nakajima (as Kenya)
Jack Kao	...	Gao Jie
Paul Chun	...	Uncle De
Suet Lam	...	Old Ghost
Hiroyuki Nagato	...	Hara Ooda
Yasuaki Kurata	...	Taro Watagawa
Kar Lok Chin	...	Hongkie
Ken Lo	...	Little Tai (as Kenneth Low)

Storyline

In China, the poor worker Tietou repairs tractors and misses his sweetheart Xiu Xiu, back in Japan, she having never sent any news to her family or him. While illegally emigrating to Japan, Tietou loses his Chinese documents and so cannot return to his country. He is welcomed by his countrymen who lodge and work in Shinjuku where they also help him to find illegal work. While running from a police raid through the sewage system where Chinese are illegally working, Tietou saves Inspector Kitano from drowning in the dirty water. Later, after an incident with his cousin, Joe, and a Taiwan gang, Tietou saves the powerful Yakuza boss Toshinari Eguchi. He is the husband of Xiu Xiu, who is now called Yuko and are parents of a little daughter. The mobster offers a dirty job to Tietou; in retribution, he promises to deliver the quarter dominated by the Taiwan gang to him. Tietou becomes the boss of the Chinese illegal immigrants. But his peaceful methods make him unpopular and Tietou starts to...

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Plot Keywords:

gratitude | chinese | gang | japan | immigrant | 

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Taglines:

Loyalty. Survival. Betrayal.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic violence, brief sexuality and drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie was originally to be released on September 25, 2008, but was delayed because of resistance from the Beijing government.

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Goofs

Jackie Chan's character's name, Tie Tou, is translated as "Steelhead", but the literal translation should be iron head.

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Alternate Versions

German distributor KSM released two DVDs: one features the uncut version and is rated "Not under 18". The other one is cut by ca. 1,5 minutes and has a "Not under 16" rating.

User Reviews

Great CRIME DRAMA, an atypical Jackie Chan movie.

Jackie Chan has been known to audiences worldwide for his spectacular, comedic and stunt-filled martial arts. Well, now in this movie, Chan gets to show off acting chops as well, with a few kicks and punches thrown in as well.

The setting and story are surprisingly solid and well done. The movie paces along in a brisk pace (courtesy of director Derek Yee), and is gripping throughout. The cinematography is beautiful at times and gritty at others, showing Tokyo as a whole. And it's fun to see Japanese and Chinese spoken a lot in this film, really pulls you into the film further.

While the level of violence is the highest than any other Jackie Chan movie (there is graphic brutal violence in some action scenes), the total amount of violence is surprisingly little, with the majority of the film dealing with the characters' trials and tribulations. There are some fight sequences, but don't expect Chan to do his usual thing; at times he's down to earth and makes us genuinely feel for his character, at times he is directly brutal. This film is NOT for the easily disturbed.

The acting is above average. Chan delivers a standout performance, an illegal worker who tries to protect his kinsman by gaining respect by and protecting themselves from the Yakuza. Another great performance comes by Daniel Wu, a fellow immigrant who gets his innocence lost... the hard way. The two love interests and the detective also get props too.

For those of you expecting another Chan romp ala Rush Hour and Supercop, you may find yourself refreshed at Chan's sudden change of pace. For those who like crime dramas such as City of God, give this one a shot. This is definitely one of Chan's highest marks, and I hope to see more of the new, dramatic Chan in the future.

Overall rating: 8/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Hong Kong] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

Mandarin Japanese Cantonese English Min Nan Hokkien

Release Date:

2 April 2009 (Hong Kong)

Also Known As:

Jackie Chan in Shinjuku Incident

Filming Locations:

China

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,461,200

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emperor Dragon Movies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1