Rumble in the Bronx

   
Year: 1995
Director: Stanley Tong
Rating: 7.0

Looking back to 1995 Jackie Chan was at a cross roads in his career.  All of his best films were behind him as it turned out but at the time he thought Hong Kong was too small a stage for his talents. He wanted to go Global. Some ten years previously he had attempted to crack the American market by appearing in three English speaking co-productions. Those were Battle Creek Brawl, Cannonball Run and The Protector and I admit to not having seen any of them. They did not do the trick for Chan and were quickly found in the video bargain bins. But after The Protector in 1985 Chan went on a run of incredible Hong Kong films - the Police Story films, the Asian Hawk films, Twin Dragons, City Hunter (I like it anyways!), Miracles (with Anita Mui), Crime Story and Drunken Master II. He felt he was ready to try again and this time he was much more successful. First going with international settings in his films and then in American films and now going with the Mainland. But it started with Rumble in the Bronx. Who would have thought that 25 years later he would still be at it.



When Rumble came out the Chan purists went into a pissed off frenzy. They didn't like him trying to break into the American market again, they hated the ridiculous portrayal of America, they didn't like that his opponents were a bunch of goofy over the top white guys and not his usual crew, that it was done in English but mainly they thought he was deserting Hong Kong. I think I may have have been one of those people. Now watching the film all these years later none of that really matters. Chan went on to become an international brand, deserted Hong Kong and is now despised by the people of Hong Kong. Now I can look at the film more objectively and see it for what it is. A completely absurd truly dumb film with some astonishing action set pieces. I mean the idiocy had me laughing and the stunts and fights had me oohing. This falls into a Hong Kong tradition of Don't Leave Home Hong Kong films. That it is dangerous outside of Hong Kong.







Jackie goes to visit his uncle (the wonderful Bill Tung) who is getting married and selling his grocery store in a bad part of the Bronx. The buyer is Anita Mui, who admittedly gets a lousy meek as a mouse role here - I mean this is Wonder Woman (Heroic Trio). The Bronx appears to be a hellhole with prostitutes on the corners, everything falling apart and warfare between motorcycle gangs (Vancouver actually). There seem to be no cops until it is too late. One motorcycle gang gets it in for Jackie and much of the film is these morons going after him with bottles, chains and knives. And Francoise Yip who lures him into a trap. In this film she is hotter than July. But of course after spending the whole film trying to kill Jackie they realize how misguided they are. And Francoise falls for him. Then the really bad guys show up - a squad of killers looking for some stolen diamonds. And Anita? Her store keeps getting wrecked. Welcome to the Bronx. I hope she had insurance.





Within all this hoo-ha is one fight after another. And stunts galore. Jackie was still astonishingly nimble and quick. And charming. I had forgotten about the hovercraft set piece. Ridiculous but kind of amazing. And did he really do that jump? The whole film just felt like they gave Jackie a larger budget than usual and he decided to use it. It is dumb fun at its best. Directed by Stanley Tong (Stone Age Warriors, Police Story III and Project S).