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Project A II (1987)

November 17, 2003 • Film, Reviews

AKA: Project B
Literally: Project A Sequel
Director: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung)
Producer: Leonard Ho Koon-Cheung
Writer: Edward Tang
Action Director: Jackie Chan’s Stuntman Association

Cast: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung), Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk, David Lam Tak-Luk, Rosamund Kwan Chi-Lam, Carina Lau Ka-Ling, Bill Tung Piu, Chu Tet-Wo

Running Time: 105/108 min.

Plot: Hong Kong at the turn of the century is something of a frontier town where the line between cops and crooks is frequently crossed by Police Superintendent Chun. To put an end to Chun’s actions, Inspector Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) is assigned to head one of Chun’s precincts. When Ma begins to interfere with Chun’s dubious actions, Chun tries to set him up for demotion…and murder. But with Ma, his men, Chinese revolutionaries, and reformed pirates from the previous adventure after him, Chun doesn’t stand a chance.

This sequel to one of Jackie Chan’s best-loved movies is sans the other Yuen brothers. Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao went off to pursue their own projects, and Jackie launched a series of films that elevated him to pan-Asian superstardom.

You would think that the film would suffer, what with the absence of the Yuen brothers inspired play off of one another. But actually, this is Jackie Chan’s best movie, one of the only a couple of films in Chan’s oeuvre that approaches being called a masterpiece (or even approaches being regarded as a solid piece). Similar to brother Cory Yuen’s Fong Sai Yuk, Project A Pt. II demonstrates a constant sense of comic and martial-arts invention with great humor and high energy. Gags reminiscent of the the Marx Brothers and Harold Lloyd dot this high-gloss, turn-of-the-century-styled production. And When Jackie gets serious, he kicks a lot of ass.

He plays the same knockabout hero as he did in part I, but this time the coast guard has been disbanded. Now Jackie’s on the dock patrol, dealing with corrupt local lawmen and a government conspiracy. But the pirates from part I weren’t totally obliterated, either. A small contingent is still hunting Jackie for revenge. Soon enough Jackie’s framed for a crime and running from his own people, aided by the able Rosamund Kwan, the feisty Carina Lau, and Maggie Cheung, who proves to be only a distraction. The bad guys try to put the fix on all of them. But Jackie fights back.

It’s maybe Chan’s best movie, with energy and a kind of populist charm. It’s definitely worth seeing, if only for an explanation of why the world loves Jackie Chan. The hints of misogyny in some of Chan’s other works are not apparent here, and the plot has a genuine feel of cause and effect. This sets it a cut above most of Chan’s productions, which tend to feel like the plot was slapped together in between the filming of the action scenes.

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