MR. NICE GUY

Dir.: Samo Hung

Cast: Jackie Chan, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick, Karen McLymont, Miki Lee, Richard Norton, Vince Poletto

Year: 1997 Mr. Nice Guy marks Jackie Chan's 5th big screen release in the U.S. through New Line Cinema. In this one, Jackie plays a TV chef (named, appropriately enough, Jackie), who accidentally gets entangled with a reporter (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick) on the run from a gang of mobsters led by the smarmy Giancarlo (Richard Norton). The thugs are after her because she's got a tape of a meeting between them and a rival gang known as the Demons gone sour. Naturally, the tape gets switched with one of Jackie's cooking tapes, and soon he's on the run from both the mobsters and the gangsters. The movie soon becomes a comedy of errors, as the tape, a suitcase full of drugs, and Jackie's Girlfriend Miki (Miki Lee) end up changing hands between Jackie and the bad guys, which eventually leads up to an excessively destructive conclusion involving a large house and a very large truck.

Let's get one thing right off the bat here: this movie is that DAMN BAD. As much as I enjoy bashing Jackie Chan's films when I can, I can't gloat over this one. This movie has all of the elements of Rumble in the Bronx but only half the intelligence - and that is saying quite a bit. The acting in this film is so atrocious that watching the actors speak their lines elicits more groaning and cringing from the audience than the stunt blooper reel at the end of the film. Speaking of lines, the dialouge in this film would make a superhero comic book writer blush, and the plot is mainly an excuse to get from one fight scene to the next (even more so, that is, than most of Jackie's films). Now, despite all I've said here, that doesn't mean that I didn't hate the film. On the contrary, it's okay with the usually Chan shtick with stunt and such. But, without a solid story and decent acting, it's hard to really care much about this film, and I'm speaking for Jackie fans and all fans alike. I don't like Jackie at all but this movie will likely leave a bad taste in your mouth for Jackie fans too. I would pay about 3 bucks for this flick. Fortunately I dubbed the thing so I didn't pay squat. I rated this about 2 out of 10 stars.

Watch Drunken Master II.

Email: aziantre@aol.com