Ka-kui is an honest cop who manages to capture the big drug lord Cho, almost single-handedly. This leads him to a job of protecting Cho's secretary Selene who will serve as a witness at the trial. But when the day of the trial comes, Selene has escaped from Ka-kui, and is nowhere to be found. And with the main witness gone, the lack of evidence leads to that Cho is set free. If things weren't bad enough, Ka-kui is framed by Cho for killing another cop which makes him have to run, not only from Cho's vicious men, but also from the police who are after him as well. Eventually Ka-kui have to take the law in his own hands.
Police Story was Jackie Chan's international breakthrough, and the film was shown at the New York Film Festival in the year of 1986. Making the film also put Chan in the hospital for a while, due to falling through a glass canopy which made him stop breathing. You're really not surprised when you see it though, since Police Story is packed to the brim with really dangerous stunts, all performed by Chan himself. It's kinda amazing to watch all this massive action at times, and if for nothing else, it sure makes for a helluva lot of pretty awesome entertainment. I read somewhere long ago that this is HK's answer to 'Dirty Harry', but that's just all wrong, other than that Chan and Eastwood both being cops, they don't have too much in common. I guess there are a few similarities, but overall, I find no reason to compare them whatsoever.
Best thing with this movie is that it has so much to offer. The story might be nothing special, but works due to all the other little things that goes on while it's being told. The action scenes are just great, and the fighting scenes are so amazing at times that you can't help but to rewind and watch them again. Everything's fast here, and the movie's not slow or dull for even a minute. Another thing that works wonders in Police Story are a few comical scenes which sometimes are so hilarious it's ridiculous. There are a lot of funny HK flicks out there, but quite often the humour tends to be a bit too childish, while at the same time some of it works well. That's fortunately not the case here though, and when things are funny, they're quite often extremely funny. But don't take my word for it, watch it and judge for yourself.
 
Jackie Chan, who also directed the movie, is a true joy to watch here, and it's really sad when thinking about that he has been in such crappy flicks like Rush Hour, Shanghai Knights etc. Sadly, he's not the only one, and the same goes for Chow Yun-Fat, Jet Li among others. But Chan's old HK flicks are of course still really enjoyable, and Police Story (which spawned three sequels) might be his best one. The combination of humour and action works truly well, and it's nice that it provides some good laughs inbetween all the action and fighting scenes. Other than that, Police Story has this real 80's feeling to it as well, the way it looks, the music, etc. I know many people are not into that, but personally I think it just raises everything a notch or two.
If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? This is a classic HK flick that has a lot to offer the viewer, and is simply put, entertaining as hell. Definitely worth checking out.
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ALTERNATIVE TITLE: Ging chaat goo si, Police Force
MOVIE YEAR: 1985
DIRECTOR: Jackie Chan
WRITING CREDITS: Edward Tang
GENRE: Action, Comedy, Thriller, Crime
CAST: Jackie Chan, Brigitte Lin, Maggie Cheung
COUNTRY: Hong Kong
RUNTIME: 101 min
RATING: 9/10
Police Story Website/IMDB Click here
Police Story Trailer Click here
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