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Hong Kong has given much to the world of cinema. Sure, not everyone is aware of these contributions, but those of us who are admirers and students of film recognize their impact. Still, domestic and international audiences can probably agree to be thankful to Hong Kong for giving them actor, martial artist, and stuntman Jackie Chan.
For over five decades, Jackie has wowed us with his signature acrobatic fighting style, astounding practical stunt work, and abilities as both a comedic and dramatic thespian. With a massive body of work encompassing Hollywood movies and the films of his homeland, a few are bound to be unjustly overlooked and deserve greater acknowledgment.
Snake in The Eagle's Shadow (1978)
Orphan Chien Fu (Jackie Chan) works as a janitor at a kung fu school, where he is regularly teased and abused until he meets Pai Chang-tien (Yuen Siu-tien), an elderly beggar who begins teaching him Snake-style kung fu after he helps the old man. Little does Chien know that Pai is the last surviving member of his clan, on the run from the rival Eagle Claw-style clan.
This film came out the same year as Drunken Master, also starring Chan and Siu-tien and sharing the same director, yet the latter is better remembered. Regardless, Snake in the Eagle's Shadow is just as entertaining, showing a young Chan in his prime using distinctive animal-based martial arts in fight sequences that you can never find today. And at its heart, the movie is a sweet mentor-student story about two people who have no one else.
Shanghai Knights (2003)
In the sequel to Shanghai Noon (2000), Chon Wang (Chan) learns that his father has been murdered, prompting him to seek out his friend Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) for help in tracking down the killer. Together, they travel to Victorian England, making new allies and discovering a plot to assassinate the royal family and take over China.
Building off the end of the previous film where Roy's real name was revealed to be Wyatt Earp, Shanghai Knights takes the idea further and incorporates multiple well-known figures into its narrative, arguably creating a superior The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie to the one we actually got. The action also remains sharp and possibly outdoes Noon in at least one sequence where Chan engages in a fight/pantomime routine that inspires a young Charlie Chaplin in-story.
New Police Story (2004)
A revamp of the popular Police Story film series, New Police Story centers on Inspector Chan Kwok-wing (Chan), who falls into a drunken depression after a botched raid results in the deaths of all his squad members. Some time later, a young cop named Frank Cheng (Nicholas Tse) introduces himself to Chan as his new partner and tries to persuade him to reopen the investigation into the gang that killed his men.
In stark contrast to the original Police Story films, which had many comical elements, this new installment took the franchise in a more serious direction, with grittier action and Jackie Chan playing a very mature role. And yet, the movie is not without a sense of humor.
Around The World in 80 Days (2004)
The second major studio adaptation of the famous Jules Verne novel, Passepartout (Chan), a fake servant to eccentric English inventor Phineas Fogg (Steve Coogan), convinces his "master" to accept a challenge to circumnavigate the world in 80 days as a pretense to get himself home and return a stolen artifact. Along the way, they pick up a third companion (Cecile de France) and encounter various celebrity cameos.
This movie took many liberties with the source material for comedic purposes and is not favored among most film enthusiasts, but the central trio of protagonists is inexplicably charming, making their adventure enjoyable to watch despite its flaws. As far as the comedy goes, a morbidly amusing highlight is a bumbling policeman who chases the leads and winds up sustaining more injuries than the typical action hero.
Rob-B-Hood (2006)
A pair of crooks, Thongs (Chan) and Octopus (Louis Koo), accept a highly lucrative job to kidnap the infant child of a wealthy family for the Hong Kong triads. The plan goes awry, and Thongs and Octopus are left to look after the baby until the handover, which also does not go as planned when the two bond with their "captive" and cannot bring themselves to let him go.
Ever wondered what Jackie Chan would be like as a hard-gambling criminal instead of his usual "nice guy" character? Well, it turns out that he still cannot help but be likable, as proven in the wacky and surprisingly touching action comedy Rob-B-Hood. Imagine Three Men and a Baby (1987) with more hand-to-hand combat or Shoot 'Em Up (2007) with less over-the-top violence.
Rush Hour 3 (2007)
Three years after the end of Rush Hour 2, Lee (Chan) and Carter (Chris Tucker) partner up once more to take down the Chinese Triads after an old friend is nearly killed by one of their assassins, who happens to be another ghost from Lee's past.
This third film continues the buddy cop series' humorous conflict of cultures and compounds it with the inclusion of a European presence. Yes, a lot of the jokes are crass, but comedy is not always meant to be safe, and if YouTube is any good indicator, certain scenes have become particularly memorable. Plus, it is just a pleasure to see Chan and Tucker reaffirm their screen chemistry in a hysterical, action-packed caper, where even Tucker gets to show his worth as an action star by the end.
The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)
The celebrated tale of Journey to the West is given an unorthodox re-imagining in The Forbidden Kingdom. American martial arts fanboy Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano) is magically transported to ancient China, where he embarks on a quest to return Sun Wukong's mystical staff to him, learning kung fu from a drunkard master (Chan) and a mysterious monk (Jet Li) during the journey.
This movie has all the trappings of an archetypal wuxia film: Gorgeous imagery, high production values, and wire fu choreography. But many would argue that there are finer examples out there to check out, and maybe they are right. Although, those other movies definitely do not have Chan and Li slugging it out in an elongated martial arts extravaganza.
Shinjuku Incident (2009)
A Chinese mechanic simply called Steelhead (Chan) illegally immigrates to Japan with a few native compatriots in search of his lost fiancé and a better life for all of them. What Steelhead ultimately finds is a bloody dive into the depraved world of the Yakuza, from which there is no escape.
This may very well be the bleakest and most adult project that Chan has ever done. If for nothing else, he, and the movie, deserve our respect for embracing the brutal, violent, and morally complicated implications of its premise.
The Karate Kid (2010)
A faithful, if misleading, remake of the 1984 classic, this update features Jaden Smith as Dre Parker, an American boy who reluctantly moves to China with his mother and has to deal with bullies who continually torment him until handyman Mr. Han (Chan) rescues him and agrees to train him in kung fu.
Today, people constantly, and understandably, question the necessity of remakes, including this one. Nevertheless, those behind this movie seemingly worked to make it as decent as possible, with really strong performances from Smith and especially Chan. Even the film's memetic phrase, "Everything is kung fu," does actually summarize the truth of kung fu's meaning.
The Foreigner (2017)
After his daughter is killed in a terrorist bombing, ex-special forces operative Ngoc Minh Quan (Chan) goes on a one-man warpath of revenge against the extremist group responsible, while a political conspiracy unfolds parallel to his crusade.
Chan was already far from a spring chicken before this film, yet somehow, his martial ability and acting have scarcely been as intense as in The Foreigner. The similarly themed Taken (2008) with Liam Neeson will always be loved, but compared to the legitimacy brought by Chan, it can eat its heart out.