Thunderbolt (1995)

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Thunderbolt (1995) – G. Chan

Jackie Chan always wanted to prove that he could star in serious fare and not only action comedies.  After Rumble in the Bronx (1995) proved a surprise hit in the US, Chan made this action-drama that never made it to American cinemas.  (His return to action comedies proved a better career move and Rush Hour finally broke him through in the States in 1998).  Here, Jackie plays a mechanic who works with the police to get illegally modified cars off the Hong Kong streets.  He pisses off a criminal race car driver who kidnaps his sisters and challenges Jackie to a race (in Sendai, Japan) in order to get them released.  There is a fair amount of hand-to-hand combat (but apparently Jackie used a stunt double in some scenes due to a sprained ankle); however, most of the action depends on fast moving cars that sometimes crash and blow up.  I noticed in the credits that Sammo Hung was one of the stunt drivers (!?!).  As usual with Jackie’s films, the plot is secondary (and strains credibility) and the stunts are primary.  They do hold one’s attention but the decision to go “gritty” rather than “funny” means that the film suffers as a whole.