Jackie Chan has made so many memorable movies including “Rumble In The Bronx”, “Police Story”, “Armour Of God”, “Rush Hour” and “Who Am I?”. I think it’s quite clear that he is in the best in the business of making martial arts comedy.
His amazing stunts and fight choreography have wowed audiences across the globe for decades. However, unlike many of his rivals, Chan manages to combine exhilarating action with genuine comedy. His work has just as much in common with the great silent comedians such as Charlie Chaplin (“City Lights”, “The Gold Rush”), Buster Keaton (“The General”) and Harold Lloyd (“Safety Last”) as it does with martial arts stars such as Bruce Lee (“Enter The Dragon”). In fact, Chan practically copied some of the stunts from the silent greats but put his own unique action spin on them. I think stunts in “Project A” are perhaps the greatest evidence that Chan likes to pay homage to the silent era.
He also manages to keep things light-hearted by being a nice guy. While Sylvester Stallone (“First Blood”), Jet Li (“Lethal Weapon 4”) and Steven Seagal (“Under Siege”) usually play tough guys, Chan often plays likeable and innocent characters. These are characters that don’t really like to fight but find themselves forced to. He even did a film called “Mr. Nice Guy” where he plays a chef that ends up being chased by bad guys.
Of course, Chan’s greatest asset is his martial arts skills. The fight sequences are fast, fun and filled with creativity. He loves to use a lot of props. Just watch his excellent use of a ladder during a fight in “First Strike”. He also knows how to perfectly shoot a fight to make it look as good as possible. The professionalism of Chan’s fight sequences means that he almost always outshines other action stars, even talented martial artists such as Chuck Norris (“The Delta Force”) and Donnie Yen (“Kung Fu Killer”).
He’s a terrific filmmaker and I’m sure he will keep innovating to entertain us even as his body grows tired of all the death-defying stunts and the spectacular fights.