Year of Release: 1995
Director: Stanley Tong
Starring: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Françoise Yip, Bill Tung, Marc Akerstream, Garvin Cross, Morgan Lam, Lauro David Chartrand-Del Valle, Kris Lord, David Fredericks, Guyle Fraizer, Harold Gillespie
Genre: Action, Comedy
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review
Writer/director Stanley Tong had already shaped a successful working relationship with the iconic Jackie Chan before "Rumble in the Bronx" premiered, courtesy of their successful series "Supercop", which premiered in 1992, quickly followed by a sequel in 1993 (also featuring the always fantastic Michelle Yeoh). "Rumble in the Bronx" follows the story of Keong, who is visiting the US with a double of purpose of checking on his family, but also helping his uncle who is getting married and is off to celebrate and enjoy his honeymoon. The helpful and humble Keong quickly makes friends with a neighborhood kid (Danny), but also gets in trouble with a local gang who just thrives on creating mayhem wherever they go. Keong soon becomes romantically interested in Danny's older sister, who unbeknownst to him is part of the gang who has been trailing him. Both Keong and the gang however soon find themselves in a dicier situation when a dramatic heist takes place and some serious criminals come to their neighborhood with stolen items, that coincidentally find themselves under the unknown guise of Danny. Keong has to rely on his resourcefulness to solve this tangled mess.
Jackie Chan is an undisputed icon and someone who has made a name for himself with a lengthy career, where he has always managed to created these hybrid adventures that are a mix of martial arts/action caper and comedic entanglements. While Jackie Chan has been a titan in the Hong Kong movie industry for decades, "Rumble in the Bronx" was one of the first big attempts to bring his brand to the US. And for the most part his trademark remains consistent in this film: he is typically the central hero who is someone humble, somewhat unaware of the machinations of the world, always pure of heart, but who is lethal and possessed of both fighting and a moral fiber that is undisputedly unique. In this case, he finds himself at odds firstly with an urban gang, which eventually turns out are people mostly looking for purpose in life, and secondly with a nefarious group of criminals, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. And while these types of narrative elements feel at times very much like part of a recipe common to most of Jackie Chan's films, there's an undeniable freshness and lack of pretentiousness to these films, which allow him to both showcase his comedic timing, but also his fantastic acrobatic skills. And his films have long become great showcases for expertly choreographed fight scenes and at times perilous stunts, which is also the case for "Rumble in the Bronx". This is essentially a slickly crafted B-movie where everything works, from the stunts to the comedic tones. And while the characters are indeed instantly forgettable, Jackie Chan and his group manage to set up a flurry of events that is always compellingly watchable. Worth revisiting.
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