RUMBLE IN THE BRONX
(HONG FAAN KUI)
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1996 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (HONG FAAN KUI) is WEST SIDE STORY on steroids. Actually the story is nothing more than a thin veneer and a poor one at that over a movie to show off the martial arts talents of Jackie Chan. Now, when you have someone as athletically gifted as Chan, viewing his skills in even a ridiculous film is not such a bad idea. He actually does all of his own stunts, and you are likely to sit there and go "oh my god" through most of the show. This guy is physically incredible plus he is handsome and as sweet as can be. That he could shine through this miserable show is certainly a tribute to his considerable skills which are not overrated. I have been told that he has been in much better movies which is certainly plausible, but this is the only movie of his that I have ever seen.
As soon as I got in the theater, I sensed the movie was going to be different; certainly the clientele was different. The audience was mainly teenagers in the baggy clothes that are popular these days. They thought talking to the screen in loud voices was cool. Before the feature started I saw trailers for movies of the type I did not know existed. Very low budget action films that I had never heard of as well as what used to be called black exploitation movies. One dad brought his eight year old son with him which, given the level of violence plus the late hour, I thought was totally inappropriate.
Jackie Chan plays Ah Keung who has come to visit his Uncle Bill (Bill Tung). Bill is in the process of selling his grocery store in the Bronx to Elaine (Anita Mui). Keung agrees to stay and help Elaine out which is good since some bad guys lead by Tony (Marc Akerstream) start tearing up her store. Keung manages to fall in love with Tony's girlfriend Nancy (Francoise Yip). Tony's gang steals diamonds from another set of bad guys who in turn get chased and killed by an even worse set of characters. And so on and so forth, ad nauseam.
The silly script by Edgar Tang and Fibe Ma is full of lines that make little sense or are extremely trite, but hey, remember you are here to see Chan's action, nothing more and nothing less, and action there is aplenty. Chan gets chased down and run over by a killer hovercraft, gets so many bottles thrown at him that every inch of his body is oozing blood, and frequently he just gets beat up and shot at. Through all of this adversity, he shows one amazing move after another. He has the grace of a ballet dancer, and he can fight thirty people single-handedly and come out the winner. He can jump from one building to the next in a chase as well as leap off bridges onto speeding boats. There is nothing this guy can't do. Steven Seagal is a pussycat next to him.
Actually the best part of the film is Chan's demeanor. He looks like a friend of mine named Kerman, but Chan smiles more than any two people. He looks so sweet and innocent that he might melt if it rains, and yet he has more resilience than Superman. Quite a contrast between his actions and his deceptive looking naivete and little boy smile.
Okay, granted that this is an action flick, but why does the dialog have to be so bad, and why couldn't the director (Stanley Tong) find at least one other interesting actor or actress to work with Chan? Elaine is supposed to be an entrepreneur, but her negotiating stance in buying the store is, "Your price is too high. Can't you come down?" Tough negotiator huh? Chan is full of simple wisdom like, "Don't let the situation change you. Change it," and "if you got the guts, drop the gun," but mainly he shuts up, smiles, and fights.
The sets are imaginative with the bad guys carrying baseball bats but driving something like a golf cart with flashing neon lights. They use off road motorcycles to destroy stores by riding through them. One of the best scenes has an entire building pulled down by the "badest" of the bad guys. The cinematography (Jingle Ma) uses dramatic colors with bold uses of bright purples, pinks, reds, and blues. Blood is in most scenes, and the gore content is extremely high. In one scene, we have a guy completely chopped up by a large wood shredder and then delivered to his friends in large plastic bags. The show is full of pain, and Chan gets more than just about anybody, but he keeps on smiling.
RUMBLE IN THE BRONX runs too long at just 1:35. There is no nudity or sex, but there is some dope smoking and bad language. It is correctly rated R for the massive amount of violence. Granted the picture is kind of campy, but it is also very bloody. This show will probably be okay for most teenagers, but the idea of taking kids under 13 to it is just plain stupid. I really liked watching Chan's abilities, but after the first thirty minutes, his welcome wore out. I would have liked the show better as a half hour documentary on stunts. As it is, I can not recommend it, but I am giving it ** for an amazing piece of work by Chan.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: February 27, 1996
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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