Police Story 3
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| Police Story 3: Super Cop | |
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 Movie poster |
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| Directed by | Stanley Tong |
| Produced by | Willie Chan Edward Tang Jackie Chan Leonard Ho |
| Written by | Edward Tang Ma Fibe Yee Lee Wai |
| Starring | Jackie Chan Michelle Yeoh Maggie Cheung Yuen Wah |
| Music by | Mac Chew Jenny Chinn Jonathan Lee Joel McNeely |
| Cinematography | Ardy Lam |
| Editing by | Cheung Ka-Fai Peter Cheung |
| Distributed by | Media Asia Golden Harvest Golden Way Films Co. Ltd. Dimension Films |
| Release date(s) | July 4, 1992 Hong Kong July 26, 1996 United States |
| Running time | 95 min. (Hong Kong) 91 min. (US) |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Language | Cantonese Mandarin Malaysian English |
| Preceded by | Police Story 2 |
| Followed by | Once a Cop (spin-off) Police Story 4: First Strike |
Police Story 3: Super Cop (traditional Chinese: 警察故事３超級警察; Cantonese Yale: Jing cha gu shi III: Chao ji jing cha), also known as Super Cop in North America, is a 1992 Hong Kong action-comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. Jackie reprises his "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui character, a Hong Kong cop from Police Story and Police Story 2. It is the first in the series not to be directed by Jackie, with Stanley Tong taking over the helm. It is also the last appearance in the series for Maggie Cheung as Jackie's girlfriend, May. Another significant aspect of this film is that it was the first Jackie Chan film from Hong Kong to use sync sound, allowing all the actors' voices to be recorded as they spoke on scene, rather than dubbed over by different actors later.
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[edit] Plot
Police Inspector Chan Ka-Kui, the top officer of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, is assigned by his supervisor, "Uncle" Bill, to take part in an Interpol operation in mainland China. It's a dangerous assignment, and in order to keep his girlfriend May from worrying (and to protect the undercover nature of the mission), he tells her he is going for police training.
In China, Ka-Kui is introduced to the military police force's Interpol director, Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh), who briefs him on his assignment. The target of the mission is a drug lord named Chaibat. In order to infiltrate Chaibat's organization, the plan is to get close to Chaibat's henchman Panther, who is being held in a Chinese prison labor camp. Ka-Kui, posing as a petty criminal, is able to help Panther escape with the aid of Chinese military police, who eliminate Panther's men in the prison. Panther then meets up with some of his other men, and Ka-Kui helps them escape to Hong Kong. Yang joins them, and the Chinese military police help them win Panther's trust by faking the murder of a policeman by Yang.
In Hong Kong, Ka-Kui, Yang and Panther go to Chaibat's luxurious hide out. Ka-Kui and Yang succeed in winning Chaibat's trust, especially after helping his men destroy a fortified drug production lab in Thailand, somewhere in the Golden Triangle, when Chaibat betrays a number of other drug lords who are conducting a heroin deal with him.
The action then shifts to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Chaibat's wife is being held in prison, and is facing the death penalty. However, Chaibat needs to keep her alive because she knows the secret codes to his Swiss bank account, and she will not reveal them to anyone but her husband.
More difficulties arise when Ka-Kui happens to run into his girlfriend May at a Malaysian resort hotel. She confronts Ka-Kui, and the situation turns into a misunderstanding, with Panther believing that Ka-Kui was trying to proposition a prostitute. Later, Ka-Kui is able to corner May and explain the situation, and she calms down. But then, in an elevator, May tells a co-worker about Ka-Kui, and one of Panther's men overhears her. May is taken hostage, and Ka-Kui and Yang – their cover now blown – are forced to help Chaibat free his wife.
Chaibat's scheme is successful, and May is released, as per their agreement. However, the exchange turns sour when Chaibat pushes May from his helicopter. Furious, Ka-Kui and Yang refuse to let Chaibat and his men escape. An elaborate stunt-filled action sequence begins that covers the roads, rooftops, and skies of Kuala Lumpur, finally reaching its climax aboard a speeding train, where Chaibat is killed after his helicopter collides into a tunnel and lands on him. Yang and Ka-Kui finally succeed in apprehending Chaibat's wife.
[edit] Cast
- Jackie Chan as "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui (or Chen Chia-chu)
- Michelle Yeoh as Interpol Inspector Jessica Yang (credited as Michelle Khan)
- Maggie Cheung as May
- Yuen Wah as Panther
- Kenneth Tsang as Chaibat
- Lo Lieh as The General
- Josephine Koo as Chen Wen-Shi, Chaibat's Wife
[edit] Reception
[edit] Box office
Police Story 3 grossed HK $32,609,783 in its Hong Kong theatrical run.
After the North American success of Rumble in the Bronx, Police Story 3 was released in North America on July 25, 1996 under the shorter title, Supercop. Opening at 1,406 theatres, it grossed US $5,503,176 ($3,914 per screen), on its way to a total gross of US $16,270,600.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards
- Nominated: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
- Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Stanley Tong, Tang Tak-Wing, Ailen Sit, Chan Man-Ching, Wong Ming-Sing)
- 1992 Golden Horse Film Festival
- Won: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
- Won: Best Editing (Peter Cheung, Cheung Kar-fei)
[edit] Critical reception
The North American release by Dimension was well-received.
James Berardinelli of website ReelViews wrote:
| “ | "As is usual in a Chan film, the end credits (which show out-takes of failed stunts) are one of Supercop's highlights. There are more laughs in this hilarious three-minute sequence than in the whole of Kingpin. I can't think of a better reason to stay through the entire movie. Ultimately, the closing montage points out one of the chief differences between Chan's stylized, fast-paced films and those of his American counterparts: this is action with a smile, not a grimace."[1] | ” |
In the Washington Post, Richard Harrington said:
| “ | "Chan seems to have met his soul mate in Khan, Asia's top female action star. Like Chan, Khan does her own fighting and stunts. Unlike the Hollywood action contingent, Chan and Khan don't rely on cinematic trickery. Theirs are not special effects, just spectacular ones. Connoisseurs will find Chan's helicopter-train chase far riskier, more exciting and more believable than its mates in Mission: Impossible and The Living Daylights."[2] | ” |
The US version of the film received a rating of 94% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
[edit] Dimension Version
The Dimension version, which was distributed theatrically in North America in 1996, was retitled Supercop, and was dubbed into English with the participation of Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh.
Among the changes was the addition of a new hip hop score. Tom Jones' rendition of "Kung Fu Fighting" plays over the end credits, followed by a song specially written and performed for the film by the band Devo, entitled "Supercop".
This release was cut by approximately 10 minutes. These cuts include:
- Scenes of the police superiors getting a briefing about drug-related crimes.
- The police superiors discussing a plan to send Jackie Chan's character on an undercover mission.
- A scene where Yeoh tries to teach Chan about Mainland China.
- A longer version of the meeting with Chaibat in which the sexy women lounging about his mansion are revealed as drug addicts.
[edit] Deleted Footage
- Venom Mob member and frontman Philip Kwok filmed an intricate fight scene with Jackie Chan for this movie but it was never included in the final version.[1]
[edit] DVD releases
- In 1998, Dimension released their Supercop version.
- In Hong Kong, the film was initially released by Megastar and later, Deltamac. In 2004, it was re-released by IVL. This version was contained within a Police Story trilogy DVD boxset (Region 0 NTSC). All Hong Kong DVDs contain the original cut.
- In January 2009, the film was re-released in the west by Dragon Dynasty. Although it has the original Cantonese soundtrack, it is cut to fit the visuals of the included Dimension Supercop version. It doesn't contain any of the scenes specific to the Hong Kong version.
- Hong Kong based company Kam & Ronsom Enterprise have announced that they will release the first three Police Story films on Blu-ray Disc in June 2009.[2]
[edit] Spinoff
Michelle Yeoh went on to star in a 1993 spin-off called Once a Cop or Project S. Though it features a cameo appearance by Jackie Chan and Bill Tung reprises his role as "Uncle" Bill, this film is not a proper part of the Police Story series. Confusingly, some releases of this film were also entitled Supercop or Supercop 2. In most Asian territories it was called Project S, under which title the most comprehensive DVD was released by MIA.
[edit] Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing alternative rock and hip hop was released on July 30, 1996 by Interscope Records. It peaked at #133 on the Billboard 200.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Police Story 3 at the Internet Movie Database
- Police Story 3: Supercop at Allmovie
- Review at Kung Fu Cinema
- DVD Comparison from Rewind
- DVD Discussion from Hong Kong Legends
[edit] References
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