A very atypical kind of movie for Jackie, this ups the dumb Chinese humour level tenfold and the result is an amazingly stupid and inane movie with many annoying moments… and yet, it is saved thanks to some expert choreography and half a dozen genuinely funny action sequences which raise the bar for similar fare. Chan's character is based on an anime hero, but the simple plot seems to be a comic reprise of UNDER SIEGE, with plenty of cheeky nods to other Hollywood fare like DIE HARD (for instance, when the hostage is negotiating and starts laughing). The humour comes thick and fast but is very lowbrow and of the slapstick variety, with the typical clichéd Hong Kong supports: the cowardly guy with the thick hair; the screaming, clumsy damsels-in-distress; the extremely annoying sidekick who fancies Chan and, of course, the big, bulky foreign bad guys.My advice is to ignore the plot and inane scripting and concentrate on the great scenes intermingled with the bull. The opening skateboard chase is a little too cheesy for my liking, but once Chan gets onto the ship the action starts to roll – especially when he fights villainous henchmen and ship guards alike. There are plenty of great moments to choose from, but his first battle with British villain Gary Daniels is a must-see and the second, literally eye-popping. This involves the pair battling in a video arcade and turning into various characters from 'Streetfighter 2'; this is a perfect combination of cheese, costumes and amazing special effects and camera tricks that really makes you feel like you're watching the game. It's insanely funny, as is the bit where he fights two huge henchmen using Bruce Lee's GAME OF DEATH for inspiration. There are other good bits in the film – the gambler character with his deadly cards is great, as is Jackie's escape from the exploding corridor – but the final martial arts battle between Chan and Richard Norton is really phenomenal. It goes on for ages and never lets up, using props to their full extent, and one of the most painful fights I've watched! Chan goes over the top as the script requires and is pretty annoying in some places, but redeems himself with some of the most acrobatic moves I've seen him display. The female support is large, but only the backside-kicking policewoman, played by Chingamy Yau being much cop (no pun intended) – not forgetting her accomplice, whose breasts are always getting her into trouble!Bad guys include a brief appearance from Jackie's bodyguard Ken Lo and the aforementioned Gary Daniels. This is really Daniels' breakthrough role and what better way to introduce the formidable actor than in an intense training sequence with an incredible splits manoeuvre! Norton is a treat as the charismatic villain, and his performance here makes me determined to track down more of his movies. A very weird film, easy to dislike and hard to get into for the first half, which evens out to offer some classic action moments.

"City Hunter" is one of the finest Jackie Chan's achievements (together with "Project 'A'", "Police Story", and "Dragon Lord"). This action/comedy flick has everything, which I want to get from Mr Jackie Chan: buffoonery, high-octane stunts, and tough evil characters. What is more, it has a charming "comics" style, a very pleasant soundtrack (the music becomes to the film perfectly), and wonderful Asian women who can fall nicely. Every single minute of this movie is a great chip, and a pile of such chips make up one solid fist of entertainment. Bizarre characters (a quick "cards" guy with "floating" hair, a pair of gamers, a pair of female secret agents, a gay terrorist, etc.) make it all weird like hell. The scene of "gaming" fight is so stupid, that I could not believe my eyes at first. And the final fight with Mr Richard Norton's evil incarnation is extremely well choreographed. Mr Bruce Lee also makes his unforgettable contribution. Well, I guess, I can say tons of good things about this movie.More good things are mentioned below.The use of colours all through the movie is remarkable: combinations of red and black in the women clothing, the white camouflage of Mr Jackie Chan on the white cruiser, the bluish tint during the card play, the screaming red used for cars and terrorists, etc.The main villain announces his name and it is … "Mac. You can call me McDonald". We all chuckled while watching because this funny name reminds of McDonald's fast food and of the notorious Donald Duck (remember that cartoon "Old McDonald had a farm…"?). How can you take this villain seriously when he is named like that? Besides, Mr Richard Norton does not look like a killer and all his face expressions are ridiculous. I also liked his zany performance in "Twinkle, Twinkle…". He is simply outstanding as an "awkward" criminal.The way the masked terrorists are moving around is funny. They turn in such a stupid way, as if they are cheap computer game characters.The way the gay terrorist shuts the door with his right leg is unbelievable. I don't even dare to try that – it seems to be freaking impossible.All through the movie the evil characters giggle in a very wicked way. It goes "he-he", "he-he", and "he-he". Somebody can get nervous, as to me – I like it.The older generation here can watch it seriously and take it all to heart. It amuses me even more. How can you treat this thing seriously? Somehow they can.The "big hammer" scenes are nice. I guess, it's a good possibility to imagine that you squash somebody who sets your teeth on edge with a huge hammer.Absurdity rules in this movie from start to finish. In that sphere I like it much more than "Monty Python" stuff in "Holy Grail".And one more "fatality" remark: I have never played "Street Fighter II" and I don't know a bit who and what those characters painted on the wall are, but I still find the "Street Fighter" combat scene absolutely insane and thought-provoking.Almost forgot: Mr Jackie Chan makes so many insane faces and moves in this one, that I ask myself: "What the hell? Am I dreaming?" It means: I am blown away.Unbelievable: 10 out of 10. The more I watch it, the more I like it. Thank you for attention.

No major plot giveaways here.The original Japanese story of Ryo Saeba bears similarities to the American live-action series The Equalizer. A man who formerly made his living working as a mercenary and assassin for a secret government organization leaves his job and turns to helping those in serious trouble who cannot help themselves, to appease his wounded conscience. Except Robert McCall never bragged about his erections. The City Hunter animated series was immensely popular despite using the same formula in every single episode.The City Hunter movie assumes that the viewer already knows something of the animated series. If, for example, you didn't know that Ryo was agonizingly poor and hungry in the later episodes of the animated series, then several of the food-chasing scenes lose their humour. Same is true of the fact that Ryo will take absolutely any private-eye job that involves spending time with beautiful women, and will refuse any job that doesn't.Other features from the series are: Ryo's cohort Saeko Nogami, a gorgeous police detective who takes perverse pleasure in using her feminine wiles to coerce favours out of him; a one-off character who is able to throw playing cards with deadly force like throwing stars; Ryo's trademark red Austin Mini; Kaori's hammers.With today's CGI, the mandatory scenes in which Kaori mashes Ryo with a gigantic 100-ton mallet would have been much better. They ended up being clumsy and unfunny.The plot is very typical City Hunter fare: Ryo is hired by a powerful businessman to find his runaway daughter and takes the job against his will. Meanwhile, the cruise ship he follows her to is taken hostage by a gang of mercenaries.The movie adds a couple of elements not present in the series, namely martial arts, and adult-oriented toilet humour. These are pretty standard for Hong Kong movies though, and help explain why it was a smash hit at the box office in Hong Kong.There are quite a number of very memorable scenes in this movie, particularly one in which Ryo and Saeko team up for a fight. Ryo swings the armed Saeko around to shoot enemies in all directions, and then does some ballroom dancing with her when they're done. In another scene, Bruce Lee coaches Jackie through a fight in a movie theatre. The fight in the arcade... I'll say no more--you just have to see it.If you're looking for serious butt-kicking, this is not the Jackie Chan film for you. This film is for the Airplane/Naked Gun crowd with a taste for action.

Oh my god!I bought 'City Hunter' accidentally in a three DVD pack, also containing the brilliant 'Story of Ricky-Oh'. 'City Hunter' is by far the dumbest movie I ever saw. The 'comedy' in it is so bad, it almost makes you cry. Hence, you don't give a flying f**k about the characters and I really didn't care if one of 'em died or not. The stupid jokes, the bad acting and the absence of a good story take the life out of all the action sequences. One funny scene however: Jackie Chan dressed up as one of the female 'Mortal Kombat' fighters, after he fell through an arcade game and is transformed in almost all of the characters, complete with rapid, repeated moves! Overall, this movie is a bore to sit through! Skip it if you can, bring a lot of popcorn if they make you watch it!