Jackie is one of the key police officers in a bust that captures big time criminal Koo. As a `reward' he is told to guard Koo's secretary, who has turned states evidence. However Koo's men try to get to them before the trial - the least of Jackie's problems as his girlfriend May storms out when she sees him with Selina. When Koo is acquitted, he frames Jackie for the murder of a cop, forcing Jackie on the run to clear his name and get Koo.
The first film in the successful Police Story series is a fair example of a Jackie Chan film for those who have never seen one - reasonable plot, great action, average acting (potentially bad dubbing) and the comic scenes. However it is not as good as some of the sequels and, just generally, some of Chan's other films. Police Story opens with a great shoot out that culminates in a car chase through a shanty town and a fantastic series of stunts on a bus. From this point on it then focuses on the plot and quiet a few moments of comedy. This works reasonable well but it feels like the comedy and action have been divided up into separate sections. This takes away from the film a little bit.
The plot is pretty solid for a Jackie Chan film (by recent standards this is a masterpiece of writing!) although some of the dialogue doesn't quite fit. The moment where Jackie is forced on the run by the police is a bit hammy and the `you don't see us as people' rant just doesn't seem like Jackie. Of course part of the problem with this is the dubbing in the version I watched - I just don't understand viewers who would sooner see a really bad dubbing job than watch a subtitled version! The cheesy American voices here do detract from the performances and I found it difficult to judge some of Chan's comedy lines when they were being delivered by another person in a very flat way. However he still has presence and his physical work is great. Special mention to the stunt men here also, there are a lot of great falls (including a dive from a bus top) that must have hurt - I don't care who you are! Tung's Uncle Bill has fewer funny lines than I'm used to but he is still funny. The female cast are pretty wasted with both Lin and Cheung on screaming duty for the majority of the film (and most grating it is too!).
The film ends on a rather strange shot but set up an angry cop that Chan never really convinced me as - a personae that just seemed to be dropped in the later films in the series, but the overall film is still very enjoyable. The plot is good even if the acting isn't and the action involves plenty of amazing routines and stunts - it's just a shame that the action and comedy were very fragmented, it disjointed the film.
