Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

BA_Harrison Directed by and starring Jackie Chan, Project A is a martial arts classic, a lavish late-19th century adventure featuring some of the most incredible fight action and death defying stunts imaginable. Chan plays Navy recruit Dragon Ma Yue Lung, who teams up with police captain Tzu (Yuen Baio) and lovable thief Fei (Sammo Hung) to try and bring to justice the pirates (led by Lor Sam Pau, played by Dick Wei) who have been marauding the Hong Kong seas.Even though the film's plot is slight and contains plenty of the broad slapstick comedy that I often struggle with, the quantity and quality of the action still qualifies the film as unmissable, its three stars, Chan, Baio and Hung, at the top of their game (causing plenty of pain for the poor stuntmen extras). Chan, in particular, delivers some of his finest moments, including a brilliantly choreographed scene involving bicycles and narrow alleyways, a fight amongst the gears and cogs of a clock tower, and, most memorable of all, a bone-crunching high fall guaranteed to make the jaw drop. The excellent finale sees our three heroes take on Lor Sam Pau in the pirate's island hideout, and is well worth the wait, all four fighters providing impeccably timed and expertly executed feats of physical prowess.

Leofwine_draca Another stunner from Jackie Chan, and one of his biggest hits as a star and director. PROJECT A follows the winning '80s formula for Chan, namely a fast-moving plot concerning numerous heroic characters and villains all with their individual connections, plenty of loose humour ranging from slapstick jokes to juvenile comedy, a light-heartedness of touch making it impossible not to enjoy, tons of cool martial arts action, mad stunts, and winning performances. In fact, the only difference really is the setting, namely 1900s Hong Kong as opposed to a modern day thriller. Nonetheless the setting doesn't really have much impact on the movie which is much the same as any other fight flick starring the three brothers.The bad guys this time around are a bunch of typical movie-looking pirates led by a tough tattooed guy who proves near on impossible to beat come the climax. No surprise then that he's played by Hong Kong regular Dick Wei in what's his toughest and most impressive performance. Yet much of the film takes place on land as Chan attempts to outwit and trap a criminal gang who are conspiring to give the pirates a cache of one hundred rifles in turn for their protection. Many comic misadventures follow as Chan loses his job as a coast guard, is forced to become a dreaded policeman, then quits and finally manages to catch the bad guys single-handedly. The film displays Chan at the peak of his considerable powers, evident in the numerous fight sequences which are as always impeccably staged, complete with fine editing and a reliance on super-human manoeuvres and imaginative hits and use of props.The major chase in this film is pretty novel, seeing as it takes place on push-bikes rather than the more typical motorbikes/cars or boats. There are plenty of stunts and bone-breaking displays of human athleticism to keep the action flowing merrily along, including one fantastic battle within the machinery of a town's clock and the ensuing stunt fall from the clock tower, in which Chan gets to pay tribute to one of his heroes, silent film star Harold Lloyd. The ending offers lots of major explosions, highly amusing situations (the hilarious "password" scene is a killer), false identities, and some elaborate, long-running martial arts fights showing a bunch of seasoned performers doing their finest work. Solid supporting roles are given to Yuen Biao as hard-boiled cop Captain Chi (slightly underused however) and especially Sammo Hung, excelling as a thief with a heart of gold who gets caught up in the action. The only thing missing is a substantial female lead. Otherwise, PROJECT A is a classic, one of the best action comedies of all time and a piece of very entertaining entertainment.

diac228 There are certain cinema ideas that were just meant to work, no matter what the circumstances might be. Jackie Chan fighting pirates easily ranks up there as one of the slickest ideas ever composed. Thank goodness it delivered on the premise. Jackie Chan's Project A is a mesh of action, comedy, and homage to classic slapstick. Within the 100+ minutes you'll see some spectacular fights, even more spectacular physical stunts, hilarious physical humor, and of course, Chan at his best. Unlike the insurance-run Hollywood, the Jackie Chan Stunt Team wasn't afraid of taking risks or getting hurt at the sake of entertainment, and this beat-em-up' underrated classic overpowers any modern-day action film that Hollywood could muster. Project A is silly but viciously raw; and thanks to clever direction and choreography, its one of the better martial arts movies out there.Project A is about (Yes guys, there is a plot) a group of sailors, Navy-like men trying to stop Chinese pirates from wreaking havoc in the coastline. However, because of corruption amongst the government and the police force, they are unable to receive enough funding to continue the fight and are forced to thwart the terrorism when it strikes on their home turf. Jackie Chan and co. must try to stop the rivalry against the Chinese police force and unravel the web of corruption that's entangling everyone involved and heightening the danger present. Jackie Chan not only starred and directed the flick, but he wrote the script too, and it's quite clever at times. Other times, it can be quite confusing—usually in those instances you are anticipating the next fight, which is never too far away.In a martial arts movie, we watch for all about the fighting. While Enter the Dragon may have started the obsession and love towards the genre, Jackie Chan and his reliable crew perfected the art in the 80s. Project A is easily one of the best choreographed films of all-time in terms of the action; some of the fights are just flat-out unbelievable. Jackie Chan fights with a bicycle for crying out loud. While the punching and kicking combinations aren't as gruesome as his other films (Drunken Master, Meals on Wheels, Dragons Forever), the elaborate movements and avoidance of damage (example: Chan avoids a man swinging a sword at him for two minutes straight) more than make up for it. Not a single action fan should be disappointed. Plus, just like Chan's best comedic work, there has to be at least one humorous fight thrown in, and Project A delivers in this category as well.Chan's direction does two things: allows for the action to remain intense, and showcases just how elaborate everyone's movements are. There is no trickery; you shall see elongated shots of hand-to-hand combat that's too precise to be filmed in the United States. While Chan doesn't have the ability to capture emotions like Spielberg or Scorsese he knows how to flesh out the energy and craft of a good fight. And that's why we are watching this, correct? Nobody's acting here is award-worthy, but it gets the job done and maintains its silly-but-serious tone. Sammo Hung gives the best performance of the film as the thief that thwarts Chan's quest for justice and at the same time helps him.Bottom Line: While perfection or masterpiece isn't achieved here, Project A delivers everything you could possibly want in a martial arts film: amazing stunts, great fights, decent story, good acting, worthy adversary, explosive finale, and a tang of humor. Well-directed and written by the master himself, Project A remains one of Jackie Chan's best work and another example of how his foreign films are far superior to that of his work in America. It's not all his fault though; Hollywood doesn't lust as much over precision and perfection as the Chinese do when staging a fight. Legend of Drunken Master's final fight took months to film; one stunt here required a week of merely convincing Chan before actually filming it----we don't believe in investing that much time towards a couple of minutes. This is called effort, and Chan's career has more effort than twenty-five actors and actresses put together. Project A: Jackie Chan fighting pirates; it's too good to be true. Thank goodness it's true.P.S. Is it so hard to correctly dub a movie? Buena Vista pretty much butchered this film.

long-ford Another completely over the top Jackie Chan adventure but fairly enjoyable if you are into this sort of thing.Jackie and his brothers fight pirates (!) off the coast of Hong Kong. That's the basic (nonsensical) plot which allows plenty of martial arts and overwrought Asian melodrama.Sadly Jackie is forced to share the limelight with other actors, who can't match his charisma or sheer athletic ability. The film is not as polished as his Police Story efforts or his recent Hollywood stuff (Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights), but makes for a decent home viewing choice.overall 6/10