Many people will disagree with me, but this isn't one of Jackie Chan's best films. On the other hand, it isn't one of his worst either.
Chan plays a marine policeman in early 1900's Hong Kong (I think) who's trying to round up a notorious clan of pirates, in particular their leader; pirate Sam (or so the version I saw called him). This plot, though, is really just an excuse for a whole bunch of fights, stunts and comic situations.
Anyway, Project A started off fairly well with some great fights, a rather unique (and highly entertaining bicycle chase) and Chan's trademark super-stunt (a fall from the top of a large clock tower with only a few awnings to stop him breaking his neck). The training camp sequence also provided a few decent laughs, especially the situations involving disciplinary procedures, grenades and showers.
But it's the second half where this film starts to lose it. This pretty much coincides with the introduction of the pirates. The pace really slows down, the quality of the fights drops markedly and the whole thing really starts to drag. It just didn't feel like the same movie any more.
Anyway, Project A is still worth watching just for the first half. If you want to see a Jackie movie that delivers the goods for its entire running time, try Police Story or the more recent Who am I? Hell, I even thought the Canton Godfather was more entertaining than this. But, don't take my word for it, many Chan fans have loved this movie (as evidenced by the 8/10 user rating) So if you're interested, give it a look. You might even like Project A.
6.5/10 (in my opinion)
Chan plays a marine policeman in early 1900's Hong Kong (I think) who's trying to round up a notorious clan of pirates, in particular their leader; pirate Sam (or so the version I saw called him). This plot, though, is really just an excuse for a whole bunch of fights, stunts and comic situations.
Anyway, Project A started off fairly well with some great fights, a rather unique (and highly entertaining bicycle chase) and Chan's trademark super-stunt (a fall from the top of a large clock tower with only a few awnings to stop him breaking his neck). The training camp sequence also provided a few decent laughs, especially the situations involving disciplinary procedures, grenades and showers.
But it's the second half where this film starts to lose it. This pretty much coincides with the introduction of the pirates. The pace really slows down, the quality of the fights drops markedly and the whole thing really starts to drag. It just didn't feel like the same movie any more.
Anyway, Project A is still worth watching just for the first half. If you want to see a Jackie movie that delivers the goods for its entire running time, try Police Story or the more recent Who am I? Hell, I even thought the Canton Godfather was more entertaining than this. But, don't take my word for it, many Chan fans have loved this movie (as evidenced by the 8/10 user rating) So if you're interested, give it a look. You might even like Project A.
6.5/10 (in my opinion)