Review of Who Am I? (2010) by Clifford S — 26 Jul 2006

Let the truth be told: I love Jackie Chan movies. His acting prowess may be continually mocked by the film dorks that permeate websites like this, but nobody can deny his physical attributes.

Now, I've seen myriad Chan films, including but not limited to his American mainstream hits (think Rush Hour), and I would like to that I am qualified to critique his work. Thus you have this post, which rates four of Jackie's movies that I have seen. I understand that I have missed many important Chan flicks in this post, but that's why I titled this piece "Part I," dumdums. I just haven't seen some of his other movies in quite some time and therefore would be unfit to review such films. So there. Look for "Part II" in the near future.

First, a synopsis of the four films in question:

Jackie Chan's First Strike is the timeless tale of Jackie Chan (playing himself, of course) joining forces with the CIA and Russian intelligence to prevent any bad guys from utilizing a Ukrainian warhead. Convoluted? Sure, but whatever.

In Mr. Nice Guy, Jackie plays a television chef, only with a profound martial arts ability. The plot supposedly revolves around a young reporter, who is about to uncover the truth behind some deadly Australian gangs, but naturally things go awry and Jackie becomes the unwilling participant in all this gang activity by mere coincidence. Well, it would be a coincidence if it didn't happen in every Jackie Chan movie. A divine influence, perhaps? Maybe, because I bet God likes to see Jackie whip some ass with kung fu, too.

Rumble in the Bronx has Jackie Chan coming to the NYC to help protect a local grocery store, not simply to slave for meager wages bagging groceries like some of us had to do in high school, but to protect the place from the local gangs. And I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that at various points throughout the film, the viewer can quite clearly see the mountains of Vancouver where the film was shot. Or maybe the Bronx has a mountain range. I haven't been there in some time, so who knows?

And finally, Who Am I? is Jackie's attempt at being a true renaissance man of film, as he writes, directs, and stars in this movie. Okay, so nobody expected Chan's writing to be superb stuff, but the narratives of any of his other movies have a difficult time matching up with this admittedly flimsy premise behind Who Am I?. In the movie, Jackie Chan plays himself, again, as a secret agent suffering from a bad case of amnesia. In search of his identity he uncovers a possible cover-up and all that usual spy crap.

The best film of this lot is Who Am I?. The fight sequences are consistently awesome, and the plot is actually bearable simply as vehicle for all kinds of karate goodness. Rumble in the Bronx, Mr. Nice Guy, and Jackie Chan's First Strike are all rated at five because each film is rather replaceable for the other, with the exception a few standout fight sequences. Jackie Chan's First Strike, in particular, has one unbelievable scene involving a ladder that is still my favorite fight piece to this day, in any movie. Mr. Nice Guy has a few cool spots, as does Rumble in the Bronx, but they cannot match the sheer genius of First Strike's moment of glory.

All four of these films can be quite serviceable for your action needs. In fact, as far as late night kung fu junk goes, you can find no better movies than these four.

In the next edition, we explore more of Jackie Chan's adventures in cinema, showcasing four big-budget American films that vary from quite good to otherworldly awful.