MR NICE GUY

1997

Director: Sammo Hung

Stars: Jackie Chan, Richard Norton

Chan stars as a TV chef who gets caught up in the middle of a gang war when he accidentally switches videotapes with a reporter.

I think you should not take this film too seriously. It was Chan's first English-language film in over ten years and, according to rumours, it was more of a test for New Line to see if Chan could handle speaking in English for an entire film. As such, not much attention was paid to the story (it's more of a rehash of Rumble in the Bronx than anything else), and most of the action pieces in the film are recycled from previous Chan movies (the mall fight from Police Story, the construction brawl from Police Story 2, etc.).

All that being said, the film is fairly entertaining if you don't go in expecting too much. The action (as could be expected under Hung's direction) is done well and some of the jokes are actually pretty funny (Hung is hilarious in a cameo as a beat-up bike messenger). There are a few sticky points, though. Once again (as in Operation Condor) Chan has three ditzy female sidekicks dragging on him (and the story) for much of the film, and Richard Norton (a good fighter you might know from the China O'Brien films) is absolutely wasted in his role as the villain; we don't even get to see a decent fight between him and Chan (apparently, Chan hurt himself and could not film a big fight sequence).

Mr. Nice Guy, like many Chan films, also suffers from what Rumble In The Bronx did - basically a crap ending. The ending here seems to be really tacked on and weak. Where Rumble In The Bronx used a hovercraft in its ending scene, this one is very similar and uses a bulldozer and although the directors tried to use this to make it exciting, it is more than likely that you will be bored within minutes. But still, it doesn't ruin the film and Mr Nice Guy is still an entertaining Jackie Chan movie.

Rating : 7/10 Not Jackie Chans best movie but this was a good attempt at his first english-speaking film for ten years and many people will find this enjoyable, even those that aren't into his other films.