Contre-attaque

"First Strike" is at its worst when it tries to be a James Bond spoof and comes off as a cut-rate Bond imitation. It's at its best when it lets Jackie Chan do what he does best: performing awesome physical stunts and engaging in lightning-paced fight scenes. The plot is utterly disjointed, and I would go so far as to say that there are only two or three really good scenes here, but these are SO good they make the movie worth watching anyway. The "ladder scene", in particular, simply defies belief; Jackie Chan seems to be pushing the boundaries of what we consider "humanly possible". (**1/2)

In "Jing cha gu shi IV: Jian dan ren wu" (called "Jackie Chan's First Strike" in the US), Jackie Chan has to find a missing nuclear warhead. Of course, if you pay too much attention to the plot, you'll miss the rest of the movie. Like any of Chan's movies, the point is to have him kick ass in various and sundry ways. The snowboarding sequence in my opinion should get registered alongside Gene Kelly singing in the rain as one of the great cinematic moments. And the ladder? I DON'T KNOW HOW HE DOES IT, BUT HE DOES IT!!!!!!!! So just have fun watching this (and I guarantee that you will). You could be deaf and still get a kick out of it.

FIRST STRIKE packs a violent confrontation between Jackie and double agents from CIA and KGB . This exciting story about the cop named Chang Wing of the Hong Kong precinct is well played by Jackie Chan. Chang participates in a sting operation against an international spy-ring that is smuggling nuclear weapons from Ukraine. But when one of them (Tsui) escapes , Jackie is ordered to capture him . This leads Jackie all over the globe beginning with Tsui's sister (Annie Wu) at Australia . The story follows him as he attempts to stay alive and chase the villain. When his police buddies are deceived by a wicked criminal band , Wing turns into an unfortunate spy when he is also double-crossed . A young woman helps him to track down and apprehend the gang commanded by a double agent. Then Chan looks for vengeance against the ominous villains at a cat and mouse game.

This exciting movie is crammed of action-packed, overwhelming stunt-work and lots of violence but with humor. Jackie Chan is top notch as one army man fighting a group of heinous criminals and as always he makes his own stunts like is showed on the final fake-shots . Awesome ,incredible stunts and brief comic touches , as usual ; the picture is better constructed than its predecessor . The lighting-paced storyline slows down at times , but frantic action sequences make up for it . Spotlights movie include a stirring pursuit on the snow and underwater fights surrounded by sharks in James Bond style , among others . This is a phenomenal action movie distinguished by nicely cinematography of the spectacular sequences , and contains agreeable sense of humor such as previous entries . However while the former outings Jackie teamed up to prestigious actresses and fine action stars in their own right , like Maggie Cheung and Michelle Khan , at this film his parternaire is unknown . Thrilling and moving musical score fitting to action by J. Peter Robinson . The picture is lavishly produced by the great Asian producers Raymond Chow and Golden Harvest production and efficiently directed by Stanley Tong . The first version titled ¨Police story(1985)¨ directed by the same Jackie Chan was a perfect action film for enthusiastic of the genre ; the following was ¨Police story 2(1988)¨ also pretty violent and with abundant humor touches . It's followed by ¨Police story V : Crime story¨ and finally ¨New Police story¨ by Benny Chan . Rating : Accepatable and passable, the picture has its sensational moments here and there , mostly provided by its agile star, the super Jackie Chan .

In this apparent 'Police Story IV', Jackie plays, of all people, Jackie, a cop from Hong Kong working on a case with the CIA. Pretty soon he is off to Ukraine, and then to Australia for some reason. In Australia, he shares a hotel room with a Koala, and generally beats up very big Russian mobsters. Wow.

OK, I'll admit it isn't as awesome as it sounds, nor is it as bad as it may sound to others. The plot is standard spy-stuff, and accompanied by some very poor dialog. The bad guys are the stereotypical bad guys who know they can kill the hero straight away, but opt for something else, in this case, its "lets have fun with him" or "lets beat him". Ah, classic. Those very big Russian mobsters don't look or sound very intelligent anyway.

Sure, the plot might be trying to be too much like James Bond, the dialog bad, and some of the actors poor - but Jackie beats people up using a ladder. A LADDER! Some of the other action scenes are pretty cool too - ranging from Jackie snowboarding, to Jackie fighting on stilts, to Jackie jumping cars. Awesome.

7/10 - Only for fans of action or Jackie Chan

The second 1990s Jackie Chan film made for a worldwide market. It seems the team has learned its lessons with Rumble in the Bronx, as First Strike is more on pace. Filmed in Hong Kong, Ukraine, Russia and Australia, spy intrigue is combined with kung-fu comedy as Chan gets involved in the illegal sale of weapons by the Russian Mafia (yes, another film with this premise). Thanks largely to the presence of Chan, the storyline is pulled off relatively successfully. The ski stunts are impressive and also humorous - but poor Jackie - he really is wearing a couple of layers' clothing! The Australian action sequences are well choreographed and have a sense of occasion. The action is better paced: it is not kung-fu for kung-fu's sake, although if you want realism in your stories, look elsewhere. As an individual Chan film, it works - but it does not deserve being part of the Police Story series, which it was in Hong Kong. The Chinese style is watered down in pursuit of the western markets - and the producers would have been better off creating a new character for Chan this time. Compared to the first and third instalments, it is lacking. This aside, it is entertaining and enjoyable, whether you see the original or dubbed version.