Directed by and starring the irrepressible Jackie Chan, Police Story sees the Hong Kong director pioneer an innovative style of action film, a unique blend of martial arts and physical comedy. Chan wanted to create a film that would showcase his innovative stunt work and fight choreography while delivering a gripping storyline, based around the character of Detective Inspector Chan Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan), a talented but reckless police officer. Chan is assigned to protect a key witness, Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin), in a drug trafficking case, but when Selina's powerful crime lord boyfriend, Chu Tao (Chor Yuen), learns of her intentions to testify against him, he orders his henchmen to intimidate and silence her. This sets off a chain of intense action scenes and comedy moments as Chan finds himself caught in the crossfire between the ruthless criminals and his own colleagues.
The film kicks off with a thrilling chase in a shopping centre, a spectacular scene in which Chan attempts to apprehend a group of criminals. Nowadays, it's unimaginable that such insane stunts could be captured on screen without the use of CGI, but Chan and his camera team put their bodies on the line to make Police Story. Another memorable scene involves a daring fight between Chan and a group of thugs at a bus stop, and the innovative choreography and the way that Chan uses the surrounding environment make this a standout moment in the film. What also makes the film so effective is Chan's charm; audiences like him and care about what happens to his character, which helps to sell the moments of danger even more.
The climax of the movie takes place in a multi-story car park, where Chan engages in a brutal fight with Chu Tao's henchmen. The scene has now become iconic for its high-energy action and impressive stunt work, including the use of sliding down a pole from several floors above. Police Story revolutionised the action genre by introducing realistic and dangerous stunts performed by Chan and his stunt team. Unlike many other action stars, Chan opted to perform many of the stunts himself. Chan is supported by Asian film icons Brigitte Lin and Maggie Cheung, who both deliver magnetic performances, with Lin's presence adding depth to the film's emotional undercurrents and Cheung infusing the film with moments of tenderness and relatability, bringing a human dimension to the larger-than-life action.
Police Story was a massive commercial success in Hong Kong and internationally, cementing Chan's status as a global action superstar and earning him critical acclaim for his dedication to pushing the boundaries of action cinema. In many ways, Police Story probably marked the peak of his powers, in that mid-to-late 80s era where he was firing out many of his classic films, including the sequel Police Story 2 (1988). This was a time when stunt work was just simply more insane, but a lot has now changed, especially since Brandon Lee’s tragic accident on The Crow (1994), which led to the introduction of more stringent safety standards across world cinema. On top of that, almost no director these days gets the freedom Chan had to shoot for 5-6 months on fight sequences, and it's his innovative fight choreography that makes Police Story such a groundbreaking film in the action genre.
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