SnoopyStyle
It's late 19th century Hong Kong. Sergeant Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) leads his men in the naval guard. They plan a big raid against the pirates. They have an unfriendly rivalry with the Hong Kong police. When pirates destroy their ships in the harbor, Dragon and his men are transferred to the police under the command of bitter rival Hong Tin-tsu who is the nephew of the incompetent Captain Chi. When Chi interferes with Dragon, Dragon quits the police force. Dragon is joined by old acquaintance Fei (Sammo Hung) as they try to thwart the pirates buying police rifles and save Admiral's daughter Winnie.As a story, it's a bit silly. It's physically funny but not necessarily a verbal comedy. The action is non-stop. Some of it is quite impressive. Many of the stunts land these guys on pretty hard surfaces. Several times, I end up saying "That's gotta hurt!". Falling off the clock tower is insanity. Jackie landed on his face. That doesn't happen anymore and if it does in today's movies, everybody would think it's CGI. It's that unbelievable.
julesdil
Project A the classic No its another film I paid for which was likable and different but dull. Chan and his crew are old hong Kong coast guards mixed in a dull formula of military style training and arguing with loudmouth police who is lead by then Biro who is Chan's opponent yet become pirate fighters , Samoa hung is funny in this as a caring thief who adds to the films dullness the 3 do some martial arts and with objects which is inventive yet that the story loses its fights and fun and goes into a police , crime story with the same things seen in films such as police story. Don't get me wrong the film is fun with stunts and decent action shown including the team fighting the pi rte boss sang PO , its different and the music is a entertaining piece of period film but it isn't a film you can just love . I have the platinum edition with special features which are nothing but the actors talking about how films have lost there fame and for such a popular film paying for this dose not pay for anything really . Worth watching or buying for about a fiver not 20 pounds , the climax of the film is disappointing its just a fight which is shown in parts and its no fun 3 v one great opponent its just a rushed finale , get it if you want but so far Chan's films ain't done justice so. far and yes I'm collecting Chan's films in every best version possible and have not got far yet , I am getting a few then Biro and Samoa hung films to see if they are are gonna move me .I have the films the prodigal son and knockabout ready to view I'll have a say about them in a review as I paid 20 pounds for both normal hong Kong legends release it could have been platinum , or even a set of editions for this price , it amazes me how this person I know has many of these rare movies .
mrrockey
Project A is in my opinion the three brothers best work(Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao). It features great fight scenes, jaw-dropping stunts, well-played tongue-in-cheek humor, and a fun, complicated plot full of misunderstandings and amazing coincidences. It's just awesome and I'm gonna tell you why.Firstly, the story. Now since this is a Jackie Chan film, you don't expect to see a well-layered, complex story with poignant messages about the horrors of war and why should you? Jackie Chan's films are just made for entertainment. They aren't made to make you think about "what it means to be human" or "what is the definition of evil", they are films made to entertain and in that regard, Project A MORE than succeeds. The plot here is full of misunderstandings, amazing coincidences, and extraordinary cases of people being in places they shouldn't have been, and it's a lot of fun! While this movie, like a lot Chan's films, is really just goofy, slapstick humor after fight scene after goofy, slapstick humor, after fight scene, and repeat that pattern 100 times more, the plot here is so tongue-in-cheek and fast-paced, it'll keep you entertained the entire time. So yeah, there's certainly not a whole lot to talk about as it becomes very complicated if you try to describe it and there's no real character arcs or themes, I'll say this. The plot here is perfectly fun and entertaining and it'll keep you interested till the very end.More importantly, how are the fight scenes and stunts? They are GREAT! The fighting here is the usual Jackie Chan fighting style, people punching and kicking each other repeatedly without a whole lot of grace or obvious choreography integrated with Three Stooges-esque comedy, and a clever use of props as weapons. While the fights are just punches and kicks with no real gore, the various falls and hits that the stuntmen take do feel very real and brutal at times which is cool, as it makes the fights feel more real. Something lacking in his American films. Jackie here, is in his physical prime. He does some truly daring and creative stunts in this film without mentioning the most famous of which, the clock tower drop. While Sammo and Yuen don't do nearly the amount of hardcore stunts as Jackie does, their talent for comedy and screen fighting make up for it. Speaking of Sammo and Yuen, how's the rest of the cast? Well, since this is HK comedy, everybody does kinda play their part in an exaggerated manner. But with this sort of film, it works and the entire cast got me laughing at least once so I can't say they did particularly a bad job but I would say, that the villain, Pirate Lo, really should've gotten more screen time. They built him up the whole movie to be this big bad pirate but yet, when we meet him, he's just a very generic villain. But other than that, the cast is pretty solid and entertaining.There are some flaws with this film. While most of the film is light- hearted and tongue-in-cheek, there's some really dark and unsettling moments on occasion that are meant to be funny, but feel out of place. There's a scene where Yuen Biao orders one of his police cadets to be EXECUTED for laughing in class! Wow, that's just WAY too dark for this kind of movie and it makes Yuen look like a psychopath. Though, the guy fainted before they could shoot him so he changed the punishment to washing the bathroom instead. Still, a complete tone-killer for what's supposed to be a fun, breezy film. There's also scene where Jackie tries to get information from some pirate associate how to meet Pirate Lo but for some reason, Jackie gets SO mad at him, he starts beating the crap out of him with a baton! Seriously, was that necessary? I know he's supposed to be a righteous, compassionate guy who would never let bad things happen but was that really necessary? It's just too brutal for this type of film.But overall, it's a very funny, exciting film that showcases the three brothers'talent best out of all their collaborations. I recommend it to all martial arts fans.
