This entertaining flop of a movie was Jackie Chan's big-screen debut in the US – but unfortunately the film failed to find an audience, and Jackie had to wait another eighteen years before RUSH HOUR provided him with the mainstream appeal he had been previously looking for. BATTLE CREEK BRAWL is far from a great film, but it remains entertaining, thanks to Jackie's antics in the leading role and the wealth of comedy and bizarre antics making the screen time fly by. This is a very strange film with a number of diverse elements – gangsters, girlfriends, prostitutes posing as lovers, a fight contest and a roller-staking competition – that merge into a fun, if insubstantial, whole.
There's plenty of action which makes the whole thing entertaining, with Jackie (as to be expected) at the peak of his powers. It's just a shame his English is pretty hard to understand at this point. He's ably supported by the rest of the cast, including Mako in his clichéd role of, well, Mako, the wise sidekick and mentor; Jose Ferrer also hangs around, hamming things up at every opportunity. The actual brawl of the title doesn't take place until the last twenty minutes, but it's worth waiting for, providing an unusual spectacle: huge, American wrestling-style fighters versus the small, nimble Chan. Until then a wealth of stunts, showing off, and battles with gangsters keep things moving nicely along. Watch out for the unconventional roller-skating tournament as well, which comes out of nowhere and provides a nice distraction from the otherwise routineness of the plot.
There's plenty of action which makes the whole thing entertaining, with Jackie (as to be expected) at the peak of his powers. It's just a shame his English is pretty hard to understand at this point. He's ably supported by the rest of the cast, including Mako in his clichéd role of, well, Mako, the wise sidekick and mentor; Jose Ferrer also hangs around, hamming things up at every opportunity. The actual brawl of the title doesn't take place until the last twenty minutes, but it's worth waiting for, providing an unusual spectacle: huge, American wrestling-style fighters versus the small, nimble Chan. Until then a wealth of stunts, showing off, and battles with gangsters keep things moving nicely along. Watch out for the unconventional roller-skating tournament as well, which comes out of nowhere and provides a nice distraction from the otherwise routineness of the plot.