Project A II (1987)

Dragon vs Cops: 3.25/5


Dragon & Crew vs Thugs: 4.25/5


Dragon vs Tiger & henchman: 3.75/5


Pirates Chasing Dragon/Chung: 4/5


Finale: 4.25/5



What a great film. Recommended.

Police Story 3: Supercop (1992)

Chan vs Wang: 3.5/5


Chan vs Guards: 3.25/5


Restaurant Fight: 3.25/5


Train Fight: 3/5



The Police Story franchise gets gradually weaker over each installment. This is the third in the series, and it's still pretty damn great. Though there are no blow away fights like in the first 2, the fighting that it has is solid and the action scenes are larger in scale and scope.

This is the first film in the series Jackie didn't direct. It does have a different feel than the first 2. The other new thing about this one is that it has Michelle Yeoh. She's great and steals the movie at multiple points. She pulls off a stoic, badass yet not invulnerable female action star like we don't see much of anymore save for a Furiosa. She also plays off of Jackie's character very well.

Watching the outtakes in the credits is always great fun too. These stunts were no joke. Great action.

I dig this movie. Recommended.

Armor Of God (1986)

Jackie vs Natives: 1.75/5


Jackie vs Monks: 4.75/5


Jackie vs Assassins: 4/5




This is a great action film. Not in the upper echelon of Jackie's movies, but still great nonetheless. Jackie fighting the monks is one of the best group fights you'll ever see.

Recommended.

Chinese Zodiac a.k.a. CZ12 a.k.a. Armor of God 3 (2012)

Dock fight: 1.75/5


Team JC vs Pirates: 2.25/5


JC vs Vulture: 4.25/5


JC vs henchmen: 3.75/5


Katie vs Bonnie: 3/5



This is not the best Jackie Chan movie ever. It's not even in the top 30, probably. It does have its fun moments, though. It's better than most of the Hollywood stuff he's done. And at least it's a true Jackie Chan Hong Kong film. So for that alone, I enjoyed it.

There isn't a whole lot of fighting in the first 75% of it. The fighting at the tail end of the movie is great though, and is true Jackie Chan creative and at times comedic choreography. There's also a fight between two female characters that is pretty cool. This 15 minute chunk is by far the highlight of the film. Many other plot points and action sequences just don't click and the comedy is very hit or miss.

Mildly Recommended. VERY Mildly.

Dragon Lord (1982)

Courtyard fight: 2.5/5

Temple fight: 3/5

Barn Fight: 4.5/5


Not one of Jackie's better movies. Also not a lot of fighting. The jianzi game in the middle is pretty impressive. And the last fight scene in the barn against Hwang In Shik is incredible. One of the great things about it is that Jackie's character, Dragon, doesn't possess a lot of martial skill. What he does possess is youth, determination, heart and incredible athleticism. Not to mention an ability to absorb a ton of punishment. This is in stark contrast to In Shik's character, who is highly skilled, older and can't take quite as much. I also like that Mars gets to be part of the finale, since he so rarely is anything but a background character. Since he is Jackie's real life best friend it's cool to see them work together in a movie to take down a big boss.

But besides the finale, there isn't much to this movie. Even the opening pyramid scene that took 2900 takes (the world record), isn't really that impressive in the grand scheme of things. That final fight is an enduring piece of art, though. Somewhat recommended.

25 Years...25 Movies

I’ve been pretty obsessed with narrative lately, trying to consume more narrative based things like movies and TV shows. So as someone who loves lists, and to commemorate my 25 years of life, this is a list of my 25 favorite movies. 

25. Contour

The ultimate indie action film

24. Office Space

Eastern philosophy applied to western life.

23. Wheels on Meals

Classic Jackie action flick.

22. The Wrestler

Love wrestling, love this film 

21. How To Train Your Dragon

Classic hero's journey. With Dragons.

20. Prodigal Son

Yuen Biao, my favorite screen fighter, in his greatest role.

19. Borat

Nothing made me laugh harder upon first viewing.

18. The Raid 2: Berandal

Best martial arts film of the modern era

17. Battle Royale

The violence. The concept. The violence.

16. Toy Story

Pixar at its best.

15. South Park The Movie

My favorite Musical

14. Crash

Worst Best Picture? Fuck that, it's great.

13. Pulp Fiction

Tarantino's Magnum Opus

12. Aladdin

All time favorite Disney movie

11. Team America

America, FUCK YEAH!

10. Short Term 12

Feelings. Brie Larson. All my feelings.

9. Oldboy

Korean mindfuck. Hammer time, bitches.

8. Fargo

Favorite movie heroine. Excellent all around.

7. Toy Story 3

My childhood. My adolescence. The sensation of growing up.

6. True Romance

Excellent characters, great love story.

5. Gran Torino

Interracial paternal relationship plus old man action. Love it.

4. Drunken Master 2 

My favorite fight scene of all time.

3. Police Story 

Jackie's Magnum Opus. Hong Kong Die Hard.

1a. The Matrix           1b. Groundhog Day

A perfect distillation of the human potential.

Action. Philosophy. Kung Fu. My favorite things.

Gorgeous (1999)

Boat Fight: 3/5

Baseball Bat Fight: 3.75/5

Bradley James Allan vs Jackie: 4.25/5

Bradley James Allan vs Jackie: 4.75/5


Not a lot of fighting, as this movie has a very different tone than most Jackie films. It's a romantic comedy, with a few fights. But man, they're good. Even the boat fight is tons of fun while it lasts. This movie is a showcase for Bradley James Allan, who was the head of Jackie's stunt team at the time. He's ridiculously fast, a highly talented screen fighter. His two fights with Jackie are worth watching alone, or seeking out individually. The movie itself is just mediocre. Somewhat Recommended.

The Drunken Master (1978)

Thunder Leg vs Charlie Wei: 3.25/5

Fei Hung vs Teacher: 1.5/5

Fei Hung vs Mom: 2.75/5

Fei Hung vs Jerry: 3/5

Fei Hung vs Chao: 3.5/5

Fei Hung vs Gorilla & Restarant Workers: 2.75/5

Beggar vs Gorilla & Restaruant Workers: 2.5/5

Su Hua-Chi vs Fei Hung: 2.25/5

Fei Hung vs Thunder Leg: 3.5/5

Iron Head vs Fei Hung: 2.25/5

Su-Hua Chi vs Pole Fighter: 2.5/5

Fei Hung vs Pole Fighter: 4/5

Chi Ying vs Thunder Leg: 3/5

Fei Hung vs Thunder Leg: 4.5/5



Classic flick. Two fights worth the movie alone, Including a classic Finale. The fighting through the whole movie is good, and really builds to the bigger fights at the end. Highly recommended old school action.

Project A (1983)

Sailors vs Police: 2.75/5

Lobby Fight: 3.25/5

Bike Fight: 4/5

Jackie & Sammo vs Thugs: 3/5

Clocktower fight: 2/5

Finale: 3.75/5


Don't let the ratings fool you, this is a fun movie. There just aren't that many substantial fight scenes. A lot of it is chasing. The Finale pits Dick Wei against the 3 Dragons, which is a blast. Movies with all 3: Jackie, Sammo and Yuen... are rare. So this is a lot of fun. There just isn't that much fighting.

The Bike fight/chase however, is inventive and funny. I very much enjoyed it. And Jackie pulls off an amazing Clocktower stunt too. Worth the buy. Recommended.

The Young Master (1980)

Jackie w/ Fan vs fat Dude: 3.5/5

3 Outlaws vs Officers: 3.75/5

Hwang in Shik vs Officers: 4.25/5

Sword Fight: 3.5/5

Jackie vs Yuen Biao: 3.5/5

Jackie vs Yuen Biao 2: 4/5

Jackie vs Chief: 3.25/5

Jackie vs Chief's daughter: 3/5

Jackie vs 2 Outlaws: 3.75/5

Jackie vs Hwang in Shik: 4.75/5

Man, when I think about this movie I don't usually think about it as one of my favorite fighting movies of all time. But upon review, it's probably up there. The thing with a lot of old school kung fu films is the choreo tends to be slower but more about showcasing the art. But there's some beautiful stuff here. Even the first fight with the fan, though it has no real drama to it, features beautiful fan work from Jackie. He makes the fan look like a viable weapon.

I love that Yuan Biao's in this, and that he's a total asshole to Jackie in the movie. The two clash a couple times and Yuen Biao fights with a bench, of all things. That's why old school movies can be so fun. Strange weapons are commonplace.

Hwang In Shik is a total badass every moment he's onscreen. He showcases hapkido brilliantly in this. The end fight between him and Jackie is glorious. It's a short film unto itself. 15 minutes of action, with Jackie taking heavy damage for 12 of those minutes. Young Jackie sure was durable. A tour de force of a finale.

Highly recommended.

Dragons Forever (1988)

Opening Fight: 3/5

Sammo Hung vs 2 Thugs: 1.5/5

Sammo Hung vs Yuen Biao: 2/5

Bar Fight: 3.25/5

Jackie Chan Boat Fight: 4/5

Jackie Chan vs Sammo Hung vs Yuen Biao: 4/5

Sammo Hung vs Thugs & Benny Urquidez: 3.5/5

Jackie/Yuen vs Thugs: 4.5/5

Jackie Chan vs Benny Urquidez: 5/5

One of my all time favorite martial arts films. The 3 Dragons all square off against each other in a great three for all. Jackie has a great group fight. And the finale is spectacular. HIGHLY recommended.

Miracles, a.k.a. Black Dragon (1989)

Classic Jackie flick.


Jackie vs 2 Thugs: 2.25/5

Jackie vs Two Gang Members: 3/5

Restaurant Fight: 4.75/5

Market Fight: 3.5/5

Finale: 4.25/5

2 Excellent fights and no bad fights. Recommended.