After years of only hearing Jackie Chan speak English, it was really interesting to hear his original Cantonese performance in Police Story (1985). Something that frequently gets lost in Chan’s dubbed performances is how damn intimidating he can be when speaking Cantonese. Thinking back, I'm not sure if I have ever actually heard Jackie Chan sound angry or intimidating in an English performance. For me, this is one of the main reasons why I think subtitles are superior to dubs: these subtleties in performances are frequently lost in voice-overs. I don't have anything against people who prefer dubs, but my personal preference will always be for subtitles. Anyhow, I actually thought a long time about what score to give this film. I think the humor was a bit much for me. There are many prolonged slapstick sequences. And while some of them may work (particularly one where Chan does an impromptu Michael Jackson impression after accidentally stepping in animal feces), most them go on far too long for my taste. But then I read somewhere that Chan himself didn't "get" the humor in the Rush Hour movies. And then I had an epiphany: because humor is relative, it isn't right to give a foreign film a lower score just because I don't personally appreciate all of the humor. Police Story is a much beloved film in China for its ability to blend Chan's stunt-work (which, coincidentally, is easily some of the best of his career) with comedy. So maybe I might not think that the comedy always works. I might think that it drags on too much. But that’s just me not “getting” it.
9/10
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