Released: June 2015(USA)
Director: Sheng Ding
Distributor: Well Go USA Entertainment
Run Time: 110 Minutes
Not Rated
Cast:
Jackie Chan: Zhong Wen
Ye Liu: Wu Jiang
Tian Jing: Miao Miao
When it comes to martial arts actors, there is one that is just as famous as Bruce Lee, if not more so: Jackie Chan. Even if you haven’t seen a martial arts film in your life, or an action movie, you know who Jackie Chan is. With over 100 movies to his name as an actor, Jackie Chan is one of the most prominent actors in Asian cinema. Chan is extraordinarily talented, not just in front of the camera, but behind it as well. He’s directed many of my favorite martial arts films including the original Police Story and Who Am I?. He’s got his hands into everything, including music, camera-work, lighting, cinematography, and editing just to name a few. There are not a whole lot of actors with his kind of filmography. While he is known for his over-the-top stunts and crazy action sequences which are done for comedic effect, we’ve seen Chan branch into more serious roles like in Crime Story, The Shinjuku Incident, and most recently Police Story Lockdown.
The film opens as police officer Zhong Wen is on his way to a club to meet up with his estranged daughter, Miao Miao. Hoping to reconcile their differences, Wen is told to go to a specific room to meet his little girl. After talking to her, and meeting her boyfriend, Wu Jiang, who owns the club, the entire building is put on lockdown and Wen is knocked unconscious. Waking up, he finds himself face to face with Wu Jiang, who orchestrated the whole thing and lured him to the building for an unknown purpose. With his daughter and other hostages in danger, Wen must find out what Jiang wants and why he took certain people hostages. The Police Story films aren’t really known for their complex story-telling, mostly just focusing on the action. That would be a typical Jackie Chan movie. But when you think about it, when has Jackie Chan done anything that was “typical?” The story in Lockdown is actually very compelling and has some very interesting twists and turns. The more you watch the film, the more things start really making sense. You begin to see why certain characters are there as hostages.
This is not your average Jackie Chan film, because everything is played seriously. It’s a much darker film than what we are used to seeing from Chan. It’s more methodical and deliberately paced. Yes, there are action sequences and fight scenes, but they really aren’t the main focus of the film. The action is quick and brutal, with Chan’s character getting pummeled quite a bit. We’re not used to seeing a Jackie Chan character take that kind of abuse before, but it also lends itself to a more emotional aspect of the film. Chan is definitely on his A-game. While he’s not doing his usual high-flying stunts, he is allowed to flex his acting muscles. As a result, we get to see a very different side to the actor, and I find that to be absolutely refreshing. The performances in the film are phenomenal. Everybody brings their best effort to their roles. For those expecting a high-octane, stunt-filled action film, you’re not going to get it here. This is more of a dramatic piece, than a straight-up brawler. It definitely has action and explosions, but the bombastic nature of the previous films is gone. This is a very gritty and down-to-earth crime film where nothing is as it seems. I think the film would have gotten a better reception if it had dropped the Police Story title altogether. Why? Outside of the fact that the main character is a cop and the name of the film, it has nothing to do with the other films, whatsoever. Because it has that title, a lot of people are going to feel misled about what kind of movie this is.
As far as villains go, Wu Jiang is by far one of the most complex I’ve seen in an action film. This guy comes across as a 3 dimensional human being with his own history and flaws. His motivations for what he does don’t become clear until about the half-way mark, and then you start to understand where he’s coming from. He’s not inherently evil, but the events of his life have led him to the situation he is in now, and Ye Liu does a phenomenal job, not just in the acting department, but also the physical as well. We see the character is an expert an Muay Thai boxing, but an injury in an earlier fight from his past has left him with a limp. He can still hold his ground though. The other bad guys are pretty much cookie-cutter. The fight scenes are very much inspired by MMA and Ultimate Fighting. Instead of high-flying kicks and fancy footwork, it’s very close-quarters and brutal. Jackie Chan can still hold his own. Police Story Lockdown is a different kind of action movie, but that’s also because Jackie Chan can no longer do the crazy stunts he’s known for. The man is 61 years old, so his movies have had to change to reflect that. That’s not really a bad thing, as Chan wants to reinvent himself as a serious actor. Because of that, Police Story Lockdown is much slower than his previous work, and that might turn off quite a few people. There’s a lot of exposition here.
As a Jackie Chan film, Police Story Lockdown is one of his more interesting and compelling movies. It’s different enough from his other films to kind of stand on its own. As a Police Story movie, however, it fails on multiple levels. I think the film would have been better if it didn’t have Police Story as the title. It feels….deceptive, almost as if they were trying to get people to see it. I would have thought that Jackie Chan’s name would have been enough to get people into theaters. That being said, I really enjoyed the film. It gives Jackie Chan a chance to flex his acting muscles, and it’s grounded in reality. Personally, I would recommend Lockdown to anybody who is a fan of Jackie Chan. You need to see it at least once. It’s pretty good, despite its obvious flaws. Solid 8/10.