An atypical Jackie Chan production in that it features substantially less of the martial arts and comedy that we have come to expect from the Chinese star. Instead this feels like more of a Stallone film, as a sports mechanic must prove himself against a criminal on the track in a life or death race to the finish. The production is a lot more serious than most Chan movies and the comedy is kept to a bare minimum, so consequently some scenes do drag and appear a little dry.
Another change is that for the fight scenes, Chan mainly uses a double rather than fighting himself. The reason being that due to injuries he was unable to do the required moves. Although this does detract from the realism of the production it certainly doesn't detract from the realism of the fights, which are as fast and frenetic as usual. My favourite occurs when Jackie goes mad with a sledgehammer in a pinball arcade, fighting through and on top of the machines and acrobatics. The finale of this sequence involves a huge cascade of metal ball bearings which makes for a nice spectacle.
Unfortunately the few other fight sequences ring a little false, and some are filmed in some rubbish artistic slow-motion so you can't see what the heck is going on. Being a film primarily about fast cars, there are the requisite number of passable car chases, the best occurring at the finale where lots of vehicles crash, explode and fly through the air in style. Also watch out for a moment where Jackie gets a rude awakening after his bedroom is hoisted into the air with a crane! Only in Hong Kong. The acting from Chan and his co-star Anita Yuen is strong but less so from the other cast members, particularly Thorsten Nickel as the laughable European bad guy Cougar, although this may be a result of the English dubbing rather than a problem with the actor himself.
Sadly the lack of comedy, decent Chan martial arts and the sudden seriousness (a bloody shoot-out is fairly decent but doesn't sit well within the film's 'family' template) with dollops of morality and sentimentalising make this one of the star's less entertaining productions. For slicker and generally better films check out either RUMBLE IN THE BRONX or FIRST STRIKE from the same period.
Another change is that for the fight scenes, Chan mainly uses a double rather than fighting himself. The reason being that due to injuries he was unable to do the required moves. Although this does detract from the realism of the production it certainly doesn't detract from the realism of the fights, which are as fast and frenetic as usual. My favourite occurs when Jackie goes mad with a sledgehammer in a pinball arcade, fighting through and on top of the machines and acrobatics. The finale of this sequence involves a huge cascade of metal ball bearings which makes for a nice spectacle.
Unfortunately the few other fight sequences ring a little false, and some are filmed in some rubbish artistic slow-motion so you can't see what the heck is going on. Being a film primarily about fast cars, there are the requisite number of passable car chases, the best occurring at the finale where lots of vehicles crash, explode and fly through the air in style. Also watch out for a moment where Jackie gets a rude awakening after his bedroom is hoisted into the air with a crane! Only in Hong Kong. The acting from Chan and his co-star Anita Yuen is strong but less so from the other cast members, particularly Thorsten Nickel as the laughable European bad guy Cougar, although this may be a result of the English dubbing rather than a problem with the actor himself.
Sadly the lack of comedy, decent Chan martial arts and the sudden seriousness (a bloody shoot-out is fairly decent but doesn't sit well within the film's 'family' template) with dollops of morality and sentimentalising make this one of the star's less entertaining productions. For slicker and generally better films check out either RUMBLE IN THE BRONX or FIRST STRIKE from the same period.