Police Story (1985)

Hong Kong policeman Kevin (the legendary Jackie Chan) single handedly arrests a notorious drug lord, but is soon after framed for the murder of another policemen. Guess what? He has to spend the film running, trying to clear his name. Naturally we've seen this play out a hundred times before, but I have to confess to my knowledge of the kung-fu genre being unacceptably slight. Police Story is mad from start to finish. There is a chase sequence early on amongst a ramshackle town on a hill face that is fantastic, topped off with obligatory over the top explosions. The scene sums up Police Story in a nutshell really, the action sequences are choreographed superbly, the rest of it can't really decide whether it wants to be taken seriously or not, and it forces itself into a bit of a cul-de-sac in which I just found myself laughing, and not always in a supportive manner. There are plenty of sequels knocking about, I'm not sure I'll delve into them any time soon. But Police Story definitely persuaded me to expand my knowledge of Jackie Chan's back catalogue, and certainly the kung-fu genre as well. 6.1/10