Project A (1983)

Project A (1983)

7/10

Starring

Jackie Chan

Sammo Hung

Yuen Biao

Directed by Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung

This movie is more serious and action-oriented than other Chan films, and it's a fun one to watch. The fight scenes are amazing, and the movie as a whole is something to be cherished.

Something has to be said about the writing of this movie—it's just amazing. When you think things are going one way, you quickly learn you're mistaken, as they go in a completely different direction. The action choreography earned Chan an award at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and he was also nominated for Best Actor for this film.

Set in the 19th century, the plot revolves around sea pirates. Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) is a member of the Hong Kong Marine Police, and they’ve been trying to stop pirates who have been raiding ships for months. After a series of events, Ma is told to leave the Marine Police and join the regular police force. He later goes after a gangster, despite being instructed not to do so. Eventually, he leaves the police force, stating that the corruption was too much for him to bear.

Ma then meets up with his old friend Fei (Sammo Hung), who tells him that someone in the police force is selling rifles to the bad guys. Ma and Fei stop the sale, but then Ma starts suspecting something is off, which makes it difficult for Fei to retrieve the guns they seized. Things take many turns from there, as we learn Ma is not as up-to-date with the police force's inner workings as he thought. Meanwhile, the pirates are still active, and he must find a way to get on the right side of things and stop them.

Project A mixes things up a bit, as Jackie Chan isn’t the stumbling comic we’re used to, but he finds himself in comedic moments during the fights and with other characters.

The movie boasts fantastic stunts, including one that replicates a famous scene by Harold Lloyd in the 1923 film Safety Last! involving a clock tower. Only this time, Chan decided to take the fall himself. It took him a week to build up the courage for the stunt, which involved a 60-foot drop.

He performed the stunt with no ropes, just free-falling from that height, tearing through canopies before hitting the ground head-first. The stunt severely injured Jackie’s neck and broke his nose. Despite the injury, Jackie finished the scene without medical assistance.

The film was both a box office and critical success, which led to a sequel in 1987, Project A Part II.