POLICE STORY III: SUPER COP
A film review by Leong Heng Cheong
Copyright 1992 Leong Heng Cheong
This summer, Hollywood brought us LETHAL WEAPON 3 -- a movie about two buddy cops out to get the villain. Hong Kong brought us POLICE STORY III -- a movie about two undercover cops out to get the villain.
POLICE STORY III: SUPER COP (same Chinese title) stars Jackie Chan, one of the hottest HK action movie actors at the moment. It also stars Michelle Khan, together with Maggie Cheung in a very very minor role. It is directed by Stanley Tong.
POLICE STORY III: SUPER COP is about a Hong-Kong police/detective who was sent to China as an undercover cop against an international druglord. There, he was paired with the Chinese counterpart in the mission. By the end of the movie, the two had travelled back to Hong Kong, then to Vietnam/Thailand border, and Kuala Lumpur of Malaysia with the villain of the movie.
For those who are looking for a tight plot, you won't find it here. I don't think there is much of a plot anyway. Even by the end of the movie, I still am unsure of what exactly is the objective of the mission. And then, there are many various plot holes all the way from the beginning till the end of the movie. You really have to heavily suspend your belief when watching this movie. Or better still -- don't think.
And if you ceased to use your brain power, you will find POLICE STORY III: SUPER COP a very fun and entertaining action movie. The stunts are spectacular, and the action coordinating tightly packed. Those who are bored by the action sequences in LETHAL WEAPON 3 will find POLICE STORY III much more energetic. This is the strength of HK action movies: they pack in all the wonderful stunts with almost no regards to the plot or feasbility.
Except for a few jokes that are linked to the previous films, this sequel is almost an independent film. Jackie Chan, who directed the earlier film in the series, concentrated on the action and the acting in this sequel. Almost all of the stunts are performed by the actors themselves, which is quite rare in Hollywood productions.
So far, I've only seen two type of films that can attract (almost) all of the audience to stay throughout the closing credits. One of which is from the producers/directors/writers of NAKED GUN and TOP SECRET! The other: Jackie Chan's movies. As usual, after the end of the movie, the audience are treated to outtakes of the show, and scenes where the stunts failed.
In short, POLICE STORY III: SUPER COP is a very entertaining piece of action film. Audience should never look forward to the plot nor the acting in these kind of HK films.
Leong Heng Cheong hcleong@iti.gov.sg
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