91福利社

Jackie Chan quits Hollywood for his Hong Kong roots in New Police Story, where he plays Detective, er, Chan, a brilliant policeman disgraced after a disastrous raid ends with all his men dead and the vicious gang responsible still at large. As with many of his films, it's silly, uneven, and at times genuinely awful. But somehow it pulls itself together into a highly entertaining whirl of good intentions, nasty villains, firefights, fistfights and trademark daredevilry.

Fans will relish the regular sampling of slapstick, colossal explosions and awe-inspiring stunts - a chase down the side of a skyscraper is a particular treat. But New Police story is not always light fare. A callous gang of extreme sports loving bank robbers, and we can never have enough of that class of villain, sends our hero to a tragic and whiskey-soaked spiral when they ambush, torture and kill his police squad.

"FEELGOOD JACKIE CHAN MAGIC"

He's a fine comedian, no doubt, but Chan's limp acting in his character's soul-searching sections grinds the film to an embarrassing stop. That's before the arrival of his new and mysterious partner Frank played by Nicholas Tse. All youth and pep, he takes on a good share of the stunts and kung fu to yank our man and the film back on track. In spite of some jarring cringes the last 60 adrenaline-fuelled minutes cruise by to a joyous crescendo of feelgood Jackie Chan magic. Fans will not be disappointed.