The title - Jackie Chan's First Strike (1996) - is a bit deceptive since itÕs not Jackie ChanÕs first anything. A veteran of more than 70 films over two decades, Chan was already a major international star by the time of its release. And although this was a calculated attempt to broaden his audience in the U.S., he had already appeared in American movies, even if only in minor roles in action comedies like The Cannonball Run (1981) and Cannonball Run II (1984). Jackie Chan's First Strike is actually the fourth in a popular series in which Chan plays Hong Kong cop Jackie Chan Ka Kui. The first Police Story was filmed in 1985. Sequels followed in 1988 and 1992, the latter earning him a Golden Horse Best Actor Award in Taiwan. This 1996 installment (the last in the series to date) was released throughout the world under various titles, including Piece of Cake and Story of the CIA, but most generally credited as Police Story IV.

As at least one of those titles indicates, the plot of this movie has the "Supercop" involved in an international spy mission that takes him across the globe. Chan gets caught in the middle of a nuclear scam between a former CIA agent and the KGB; to complicate matters, heÕs also framed for murder. The tag line for the pictureÕs stateside release in 1997 said "Jackie Chan fights for America," and while that may be accurate in terms of the plot, the cast and crew never actually set foot on U.S. soil Ð filming took place in various locations around Australia, Russia, the Ukraine, and of course, Hong Kong. Bill Tung returned as JackieÕs superior, "Uncle Bill," the voice of officious reason in contrast to ChanÕs impetuous, risk-taking police officer; however, for the first time in the series the characterÕs long-standing girlfriend, played by Maggie Cheung, did not appear.

With its constant globe hopping, international intrigue, and spectacular action sequences, First Strike has the feel of a James Bond flick; in fact, ChanÕs character even jokes at one point that he feels as if heÕs in a Bond movie. In his autobiography, I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, written with Jeff Yang (Ballantine, 1998), the actor notes that a chase scene in the film was inspired by a similar one in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969): Chan racing downhill on a snowboard pursued by his enemies on skis and snowmobiles. But even Bond would be hard-pressed to top the sceneÕs finale. Jackie jumps off a cliff and grabs onto a helicopter. When the chopper is shot down, he lets go just in time to keep from being blown to bits and plunges through ice into a frozen pond. Chan said he nearly died of hypothermia filming that scene.

In the years since the release of First Strike, Chan has achieved stardom in U.S. movies, paired with Chris Tucker in the two Rush Hour films (the first was released in 1998 and a sequel followed in 2001) and with Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon (2000). Other Hong Kong martial arts stars have made the transition to the American screen, but none quite so successfully. Chan stands out as a kind of Buster Keaton of action movies, combining comic timing and characterization with expert, uncanny physical stunts, some of which he says were influenced by the great silent film comic. Chan has said that he believes his movies have been successful for a number of reasons. Rather than being the perfect fighting machine who never loses and rarely gets hurt, his characters regularly get beaten up by the baddies and often either donÕt like to or donÕt want to fight unless forced into it. The other major appeal, he says, is that audiences can see him doing his own stunts. Rarely cutting away from him, the camera follows the action through to its conclusion. Some astute viewers, of course, have spotted where they believe doubles have been inserted (for instance in the downhill snowboard race in this picture). Whatever cinematic tricks may be employed, however, itÕs the sheer originality of the action sequences that sets Chan apart from his competitors, whether heÕs wielding an aluminum stepladder as a baton, kicking someone off a second-story ledge while wearing stilts, or simply singing and dancing in koala bear underwear.

Director: Stanley Tong
Producers: Leonard Ho, Johnny Lee, Barbi Taylor, Barbie Tung
Screenplay: Greg Mellot, Elliot Tong, Stanley Tong, Nick Tramontane
Cinematography: Jingle Ma
Editing: Peter Cheung, Chi Wai Yau
Production Design: Oliver Wong
Original Music: Nathan Wang, J. Peter Robinson (U.S. version)
Cast: Jackie Chan (Jackie Chan Ka Kui), Jackson Liu (Jackson Tsui), Annie Wu (Annie), Bill Tung (Uncle Bill), Yuri Petrov (Col. Gregor Yegorov), Nonna Grishhayeva (Natasha).
C-88m.

by Rob Nixon