Epic action saga, ‘The Shadow’s Edge’ sees a Macau police force at odds with a hi-tech criminal gang who have made off with billions and left several of the force injured. Led by a deadly elder criminal known as Shadow (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), the Macau police are forced to bring in a well-known now retired tracker, Wong (Chan), to help them in capturing Shadow and his gang. Somewhat at odds with the modern hi-tech world of policing and surveillance, Wong employs his old school tracking tactics, training the young police force in on-the-ground surveillance to try and capture Shadow once and for all. But Shadow and his “sons” are masters of evasion and deadly in a fistfight/shoot-out, and when they spring their own trap against the cops, Wong and his new crew face one of their most dangerous challenges.

These days, any new Jackie Chan movie is met with some trepidation but after various ‘Kung fu-Yoga’s, ‘Bleeding Steel’s, and ‘Panda Plan’s (though I have to admit, ‘Hidden Strike’ was some good old-fashioned action fun!), this is very much a return to serious, hard-hitting action from the action megastar. While there is some levity when his character is first introduced, this is Chan back to all business, gritty, action form. Reuniting with his ‘Ride On’ writer/director Larry Yang, ‘The Shadow’s Edge’ melds old school action and new school technology to entertaining effect and gives Chan one of his best roles in years. While the trailers played up all the high-octane action (which there is plenty of!), ‘The Shadow’s Edge’ has a lot more going on and at around two hours and twenty minutes in length, it does pack a lot in.

Passing commentary on how the police force, and the world at large, relies on multiple forms of technology to fight crime (do anything!), the film has a refreshing hook of turning to old school, more practical tactics to catch criminals. The trope of roping in a former cop past his prime to help solve a case may be old hat but gives the film an energising spin as the young, technology-obsessed cops learn to use tactics such as different disguises, codenames, and on-the-ground pursuit surveillance to catch Shadow and his cohorts. This leads to a great sequence where the police track Shadow through an open market and back to his residence, thrilling as any of the action scenes. Yang marries the dramatic tension and explosive action well, knowing when to pull back on one and let the other shine for the story’s benefit. However, the melodramatics of some of the interpersonal relationships between characters is perhaps laid on a bit thick, marring events somewhat and bloating out the running time.

Shadow’s father/godfather-like relationship with his young criminal gang is a neat spin on the criminal gang set-up but perhaps pushed a bit far for melodramatic effect: the whole father/son angle clogging up the cops chasing crims aspect. Likewise, Wong’s mentoring of young police officer Qiuguo (Zhang Zifeng) is also laid on thick (again, the father/surrogate daughter angle laboured) but does lead to the two of them working well together in trying to track and trick Shadow. In fact, Zhang Zifeng is one of the film’s highlights, battling workplace sexism and heavy action scenes with aplomb. There is a lot going on in ‘The Shadow’s Edge’, from drama to big action, to social commentary, to tense thriller, but Yang juggles it mostly well, giving equal attention and development to both cops and criminals.

In addition, the ample action is top-notch. A heady mix of fiercely choreographed fight, knife, vehicular, and gunplay action: the film delivers on all fronts. The young criminals also mix in some nifty parkour and hi-tech gadgets (and some cool scenes of disguise swapping!) to mix things up: a raid on a police station, and Chan’s and Leung Ka-Fai’s epic one-on-one being highlights. In fact, the fight is one of Chan’s best in recent memory and Leung Ka-Fai makes for a formidable villain, particularly with his impressive knife skills. The action elevates proceedings if they are ever in danger of derailing, and good to see Chan back front and centre action-wise for the most part.

It juggles a lot, and not everything lands but when ‘The Shadow’s Edge’ fires on all cylinders, it makes for a great action thriller. Yang and Chan make for a solid team and the sting for a possible sequel (stick through to the end of the credits!) would be welcome.