Loosely based on a Manga,City Hunter is by no means Jackie's best on an artistic level. However,it might very well be his most sheerly entertaining.
Although the plot is similar to Under Siege,the similarities end there. City Hunter is played almost entirely for laughs and manages to be consistently funny throughout while having more inventive ideas in 20 minutes than all three Austin Powers movies put together. Director Wong Jing {the same Wong Jing who made Naked Killer and God Of Gamblers!}absolutely crams the film with sight gags and slapstick,all filmed in a bright cartoon-like manner. One sequence involving Jackie being chased around a ship while hunting for food is an absolute masterpiece of silent-movie style comedy. Many of the best gags are very quick,such as Jackie crawling out of a bag hardly bigger than his head. Some are extremely sexist though,such as the woman holding a gun and falling forward because of the combined weight of the gun and her large breasts {this happens more than once}.
Despite all this City Hunter still manages to be crammed with action scenes,except of course in this film rather than simply staging a fight in a cinema we have Jackie taking guidance from an on-screen Bruce Lee! A Streetfighter sequence where the characters morph in to various game combatants has to be seen to be believed and the end showdown between Jackie and Richard Norton,although not one of his best in terms of martial arts technique,is easily his funniest.
Add some great characters,a terrific score,and for the male viewers,some gorgeous Hong Kong 'babes',and you have 90 minutes of sheer,non-stop FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Although the plot is similar to Under Siege,the similarities end there. City Hunter is played almost entirely for laughs and manages to be consistently funny throughout while having more inventive ideas in 20 minutes than all three Austin Powers movies put together. Director Wong Jing {the same Wong Jing who made Naked Killer and God Of Gamblers!}absolutely crams the film with sight gags and slapstick,all filmed in a bright cartoon-like manner. One sequence involving Jackie being chased around a ship while hunting for food is an absolute masterpiece of silent-movie style comedy. Many of the best gags are very quick,such as Jackie crawling out of a bag hardly bigger than his head. Some are extremely sexist though,such as the woman holding a gun and falling forward because of the combined weight of the gun and her large breasts {this happens more than once}.
Despite all this City Hunter still manages to be crammed with action scenes,except of course in this film rather than simply staging a fight in a cinema we have Jackie taking guidance from an on-screen Bruce Lee! A Streetfighter sequence where the characters morph in to various game combatants has to be seen to be believed and the end showdown between Jackie and Richard Norton,although not one of his best in terms of martial arts technique,is easily his funniest.
Add some great characters,a terrific score,and for the male viewers,some gorgeous Hong Kong 'babes',and you have 90 minutes of sheer,non-stop FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!