Police Story (1985) Review

Police Story is pretty much essential for any action fan; despite being dated in parts and having too much slapstick humour it’s difficult not to applaud the sheer effort that went into making it.
5

Summary

Police Story is pretty much essential for any action fan; despite being dated in parts and having too much slapstick humour it’s difficult not to applaud the sheer effort that went into making it.

Plot: A virtuous Hong Kong police officer must clear his good name when the drug lords he is after frame him for the murder of a dirty cop.

Review: I have to admit that I find Jackie Chan’s brand of humour to be a little hit and miss; I’m just not a huge fan of slapstick comedy but no matter what the movie, Chan’s likeability shines through.

Police Story is one of his best known and beloved movies and for good reason. It does have a bit too much comedy but the action is just spectacular. My jaw was hitting the floor during the opening sequence when the cars are driving downhill through a shanty town, which interestingly enough was totally ripped off by Michael Bay in Bad Boys II.

One of Jackie Chans’ biggest selling points is that he likes to do his own stunts and Police Story has some of the best you’ll ever see.

There are scenes which will make you wince as it looks like people are genuinely injured during some of the stunts. During the end credits of this and part 2 we get some out takes and we see that Jackie and some cast did indeed hurt themselves for their art. Such dedication should be lauded and is why Police Story is one of Chan’s finest hours.

The music is a little dated now and the humour overload does take away a lot of the tension and excitement but there are some classic moments. The finale in the shopping mall is action-packed and Chan is just ferocious towards the bad guys.

There was a moment during the opening scene which is something we rarely see in an action movie; one of the police officers gets really scared during a shoot-out and ends up wetting himself in fear which really adds to the scene’s realism. I’m pretty sure if you are in a shoot-out in real life you will be terrified so it was something that was a nice addition.

The music is a little dated but as the film was out in 1985 then we can let that slide.

Overall, Police Story is pretty much essential for any action fan; despite being dated in parts and having too much slapstick humour it’s difficult not to applaud the sheer effort that went into making it.