Review of Police Story: Lockdown (2013) by Kevin R — 10 Nov 2015

This is my first Police Story movie that I've seen, though I own the first one, I believe, on DVD and let's just say that it wasn't anything that you need to go out of your way to see. Jackie Chan, at as of today, November 10, 2015, is a 61-year-old man.

It's obvious that this film isn't gonna see him do the crazy stunts that he would've done for the first Police Story, for example. The days of doing super crazy shit are behind Jackie and, honestly, it's for the best, because this guy has put himself through hell for our entertainment.

But, even with that, there was something missing from this movie. Even later period Jackie films usually had him being a goof, going around and trying to at least entertain you with more comedic elements, if he couldn't thrill you with his stunts and his fighting skills.

This movie, however, strips every that Jackie has been known for away and you get a more serious and gritty side of him. I suppose the idea is the that he wants to do something different and 'stretch' his dramatic muscles, so to speak.

But I genuinely don't think there's anything longtime Jackie fans will find to like here. I mean, it's not a terrible film in the slightest, it's below average at best. It's just there's no action, there's no goofiness, there's nothing here.

It's a film that exists for the sake of existing. The story itself, with the 'villain' trying to figure out who was responsible for his sister's death, going all over the place. The pacing is absolutely terrible.

It combines various elements without really sticking strongly to one of them. It's a hostage/action/crime drama with some elements of Rashomon, several people telling very different accounts of the same event.

But there's just nothing of importance really going on here. The exposition is just really poorly written. There's no reason given to care about any of the main characters of the film. I don't even know how to describe the story, just know that you will not care one bit and none of it will flow naturally, these tonal shifts pretty much destroy the movie.

Like I said, it tries to be too many things at once without ever being good at any of them. The best part of the film, or at least the most fun part, are the outtakes that play during the credits. I realize that this has been a Chan trademark for the longest time now, but it feels so out of a place in a film that's going out of its way to tell a 'darker' story.

So it, honestly, feels completely out of place. But it's still the most fun you'll have watching this movie. This just isn't very good and it really won't appeal to Chan's longtime fans or anyone else for that matter.

Nothing special, but not terrible, I just don't think it's something that's worth watching. So, clearly, I can't recommend it.