Genre Grandeur – Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) – BluePrint: Review

For this month’s first review for Genre Grandeur – Bikers, Bikes or Motorcycles, here’s a review of Police Story 3: Supercop (1992) by David of BluePrint: Review.

Thanks again to Todd Liebenow of The Forgotten Filmcast for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s genre has been chosen by Darren of Movie Reviews 101 and we will be reviewing our favorite Movies That Take Place in Mexico.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Sep by sending them to Mexico@movierob.net

Try to think out of the box!

Let’s see what David thought of this movie:

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Director: Stanley Tong
Screenplay: Fibe Ma, Lee Wai Yee, Edward Tang (characters)
Starring: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Kenneth Tsang, Wah Yuen, Bill Tung
Running Time: 96 min (HK cut), 91 min (US cut)
Country: Hong Kong
Year: 1992
BBFC Certificate: 15

The first Police Story film was a big box office success in East Asia and Jackie Chan counts it as his favourite film he’s made in terms of action and stunts, so it’s no surprise it soon spawned a sequel, Police Story 2. That also proved a hit with audiences so, after a few years on other projects, Chan continued the franchise with Police Story 3: Supercop (or just Supercop in the US).

There are a few notable differences here though. One, the film got picked up by an American distributor (Dimension Films), which gave Chan a hit US release, albeit a few years after it was finished. Also, Chan chose to share the starring credit with Michelle Yeoh.

This is not only unusual due to Chan headlining the previous two films himself, but also because throughout the rest of his filmography, women had been given pretty poor roles (including Maggie Cheung in the Police Story series). Obviously aware that Yeoh could handle the action scenes without a problem, on top of the selling point that it was her first film back after briefly ‘retiring’ to get married, Chan gave her the credit she deserved. The result was another hugely popular feather in both Chan and Yeoh’s caps.

I’m ashamed to admit that, despite being a self-professed fan of martial arts movies, I’ve never seen Police Story 3: Supercop. For a long time, I believed I owned it on DVD, but when I finally got around to watching the disc I realised I’d been duped by a dodgy distributor who’d labelled the inferior Supercop 2 as simply Supercop.

So, with the UK never actually getting a genuine Supercop release on DVD and my purse strings being too tight to import one from elsewhere, I’ve been patiently waiting for someone to answer my kung-fu movie prayers.

Of course, I should have put my faith in Eureka, who are now bringing the film out on Blu-ray as well as in a new Police Story Trilogy collection on 4K UHD. I don’t have 4K facilities (yet) so I got hold of the Blu-ray and my thoughts follow.

In the film, Hong Kong Police Inspector Chan Ka Kui (Jackie Chan) is sent to mainland China to help crack down on drug smugglers terrorizing East Asia. He’s assisted by the Chinese Inspector Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh), Director of Interpol.

The pair manage to successfully go undercover into a criminal gang by breaking tough guy Panther (Wah Yuen) out of prison. Through this connection they’re able to get close to drug kingpin Chaibat (Kenneth Tsang).

As Ka Kui and Yang get involved in a big deal in Malaysia however, the arrival of Chan’s girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung) threatens to blow their cover.

Much like the first two Police Story films (which I reviewed here a while back), Supercop provides a hugely enjoyable showcase for Jackie Chan’s expert stunt work, physical comedy and martial arts action. It balances these attributes in arguably a better way than its predecessors too, feeling more cohesive than those earlier films, without the episodic feel of the first or the tonal inconsistencies of the second. Here the action, drama and comedy scenes gel together nicely, as they always serve the story.

Much of this better cohesion is likely down to the director, Stanley Tong. Chan had directed the previous Police Story films himself but didn’t take this on, partly as he was finding it too difficult to wear so many hats on set, but more likely because Golden Harvest were fed up of the perfectionist’s schedules and budgets spiraling out of control.

Chan must have been happy with Tong’s work on the film, as they would collaborate another 5 times following this (plus a Jackie Chan cameo in Supercop 2).

The film also has an added level of sheen through being the first HK film Chan made with sync sound. Films from the country had usually been dubbed previously. After watching a lot of his early work recently, it was quite odd to hear his natural voice on screen but sounded all the better for it.

I did feel Supercop took a little while to get going though. There aren’t any action scenes of note until about 18 minutes, so those looking for the wall-to-wall action of early Jackie Chan films might get fidgety.

Once the film kicks into high gear it doesn’t stop though. The final third of the film is astounding in terms of action. There’s an explosive gunfight that John Woo would be proud of and then, shortly after, you get into the epic finale, which features several death-defying stunts involving a helicopter, motorbike and train. It’s truly mind-blowing stuff.

There’s a bit of a James Bond vibe in the film’s globe-trotting settings and some of its set-pieces, particularly the speed boat chase. The next official Police Story sequel, First Strike, would take this style much further though.

Yeoh more than holds her own alongside Chan when it comes to the stunts in Supercop. She might not have done every shot herself as is claimed, but she did a healthy proportion of them, including some real hair-raising stuff in the final act. She’s not martial arts trained but uses her background in ballet to enable her to do graceful and complicated yet powerful movements. I’ve always been a big Michelle Yeoh fan and this counts among some of her best work.

So, Supercop lived up to its reputation and I’m thrilled to finally be able to see it. I still slightly prefer the first film in the series, but I suspect a few more viewings of this might unsettle Police Story from its throne. With more polish than its predecessors, plus a stupendous final act, it’s a real treat for HK action fans.