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Jackie Chan is a wonder of modern science; the man has been making movies for over a dozen years and yet he still does his own stunts, still has the unflappable charm that has made him a star and is still the finest action star in the business. First Strike is no exception. This is the fourth film in the Police File series and it details the exploits of Chan as he tracks a double agent who has stolen a nuclear warhead from the KGB. The plot is much more complicated than that and at times it feels like parts went missing in translation. However, none of this matters. This is a Jackie Chan movie and anyone who comes for the plot is kidding themselves. The real reason to go to a Jackie Chan movie is for his charm and the spectacularly staged | fight sequences. The film suffers through a slow beginning and spends way too much time laboring over plot details and sequences that have already been in done in James Bond films. But, when the action gets going there are some sequences that are simply mind blowing. One of the keys to all Jackie Chan movies is the fact that you know that he does all his own stunts and you'll get to see some of the outtakes at the end. This creates a feeling of realism for the film. Even though they are simply stunts, when you know you are going to see how they went horribly wrong you feel a twinge as Chan jumps off a cliff and grabs hold of a helicopter leg. In the back of your mind you know he is going to make it, but just for that instant you hold your breath and think he is incredibly brave or totally out of his mind. Chan is sent to trail a woman on a plane to the Ukraine and then is planing to enjoy a relaxing vacation, but it is not to be. The woman is intercepted at the airport and Chan ends up tracking her boyfriend (the aforementioned double agent) from the Ukraine to Australia. The plot didn't really need to be this convoluted and seeing Chan | as a Hong Kong cop working for the CIA in the Ukraine and then for the Ukrainians in Australia was a little bit of a stretch., especially when all of the action in Australia takes place in Chinatown. It is however in two marvelous sequences that Chan salvages this film and makes it worth the time and effort. In one scene he is taking on a family who believes that Jackie has killed their father. He of course hasn't and tries to fend four of them off with a ladder. Watching the diminutive Chan twirl a ladder the way some people twirl a baton is amazing, but it's the little touches (like when he closes the ladder on his fingers, takes them out looks at the camera and shakes his fingers in mock pain just before continuing the scene) that show his genius. Also, the climactic scene in a shark tank was one of the most unconventional and humorous climaxes I've seen in an action movie. Although the plot was unnecessarily cluttered, this film more than delivered the goods. Once again, in spite of everything, Jackie Chan proves that he is the world's greatest action hero. |