Police Story 3: Super Cop (15) |Home Ents Review

A 4K restoration of the much-loved Jackie Chan film – it’s the one with the astonishing car, helicopter and train chase finale through Kuala Lumpur – has thrills and spills and insight into Hong Kong perceptions of mainland China.

Hong Kong cop Chan Ka Kui (Chan) teams up with Chinese Inspector Jessica Yang (Yeoh) to infiltrate an international group of drug smugglers. The plan is to use a prison break to get Chan close to a drug lord’s number two. Of course, things go awry and the dynamic duo have to think on their feet and fight with fists, legs and whatnot across swathes of southeast Asia.

Meanwhile Chan’s girlfriend May (Cheung) takes a holiday from her fickle boyfriend in Malaysia – only to bump into him when he is deep under cover.

Super Cop is, of course, lots of fun. It deserves its reputation as one of the greatest action movies of all time. The teaming of Chan and Yeoh works well in the fight sequences, although you can tell who is the boss. More of Yeoh in action would have been better – for that you have to watch Super Cop 2.

The car chase segueing into a train and helicopter chase stands the test of time – it is really impressive. However, the Golden Triangle war film section feels a bit tired, despite or perhaps because of all the explosions.

It is funny how strange some aspects of a big budget film like this feel to western audiences. I’m thinking especially of the section where the escaped prisoners hide out in Chan’s supposed home town in rural China. There are lots of gags and slights about rural folk that add a dimension on top of the kickass stuff.

Trailer: