Police Story 3: Supercop
CAST

Jackie Chan
Michelle Yeoh
Yuen Wah
Kenneth Tsang
Maggie Cheung
Bill Tung
Josephine Koo

ACTION
Jackie Chan
Ha Wan Loh
Ailen Sit
Stanley Tong
Sam Wong
WRITER

Edward Tang
Fibe Ma Mei Ping

PRODUCER
Willie Chan
Edward Tang
DIRECTOR

Stanley Tong

RATING
   Police Story 3: Supercop
Police Story 3: Supercop
AKA : Police Story III; Supercop
Year : 1992     Reviewer : Tony Ryan

A  lot was expected of Jackie's 2nd sequel to his favourite film: 'Police Story', and the directorial reigns were surprisingly handed over to Stanley Tong. Younger than Jackie, it was only the former stuntman's 2nd film as director, and as part of taking the job, he insisted that the movie be shot in synch-sound. Prior to this, all Jackie's films had been post dubbed by a different voice actor.

 

 

The style of the film is certainly different to the first two parts, having a more international feel, being shot all over south east Asia and incorporating various languages. The action is also different, moving away from lengthy fight sequences to shorter, more westernised stunts, gunfights and explosions. Fortunately, with Jackie still in great shape, we do get to see him pull off a few nice punching and kicking combinations, most notably against Sam Wong (Body Weapon choreographer, and former Sing Ga Ban member) near the beginning of the film.

 

 

Much has been made of Michelle Yeoh apparently upstaging Jackie in the action stakes, however, while she is certainly impressive, I still feel that Jackie comes across best in most of the scenes. Everything we have come to admire about Jackie is there: the power, skill, emotion and comic timing, making this possibly his best modern day actioner of the 90's – or at least after Operation Condor. I would have like more hand-to-hand action towards the end, especially from Yuen Wah, but what we do have is thoroughly entertaining.

 

 

A follow up film with Yeoh as the lead was filmed a couple of years later titled 'Project S'. In the west it is commonly referred to as Police Story 4 - but is more of a spin off than a true sequel. While it certainly features some great performances and a few action highlights, it could have done with Jackie’s expertise in the fight choreography. If those were improved upon, it could have been a more worthy addition to the Police Story name.

 

 

In all, this is another great slice of entertainment JC style, and was one of his best performances before his physical shape noticeably began to deteriorate in the mid-90's. Not up to the standards of the original, but worth seeking out nonetheless. Especially since Disney own the rights and have done their usual cutting and dubbing job, thereby ruining another classic.

Distributor : Mega Star
Region : 0 (NTSC)
Running Time : 95 mins
Video :
Not anamorphic, but in its original widescreen ratio with a very clear print considering its age, and one of the better examples of a Hong Kong disc.
Audio :
DD 5.1 Cantonese or Mandarin. The Cantonese print features all of the actors’ real voices, which is a treat, with very clear dialogue and music. However, when the action gets going the sound effects become very subdued, and much of the impact is lost - the only negative point about the whole disc. Chinese (traditional or simplified), English, Japanese, Thai, Korean, Malaysian or Indonesian removable subtitles are available.
Extras :
- Cast and Credit info and Synopsis. Essentially what is written on the sleeve, so it would be generous calling it an extra!
- Trailer for 'Police Story 3' and a generic Media Asia trailer highlighting a number of films
Notes :
N/A
Police Story 3: Supercop
Police Story 3: Supercop
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