MovieChat Forums > Jung on zo (1993) Discussion > 'Departure' roles -- what do you think?

'Departure' roles -- what do you think?

posted 21 years ago by Antzy88
6 replies | jump to latest

I don't know about other people, but I think it's a shame when a star gets criticised for doing something different to the norm, even if the resulting film turns out to be pants (I think Crime Story is far from pants, by the way). I mean, stars would get criticised anyway if they didn't try something different to their usual fare, and I sometimes wonder if fans of a particular star actually risk holding the star back?

In Jackie's case, from a critical point of view, this movie paid off, if only because he won a Golden Horse award for his acting (which admittedly will be affected if you're watching a version that's been dubbed into English -- fortunately here in the UK Hong Kong Legends are about to release it with the option of viewing it in its original Chinese language with remastered English subtitles. When a tonal language like Cantonese -- or Mandarin, for that matter -- is dubbed into English, it seems like people are over-acting and sometimes overreacting). It also has some of his best fights without his elder 'brother' Sammo Hung being involved, but, as the reviews say, don't expect a fight a minute or you'll be disappointed. Have an open mind when watching Crime Story.

Another reason it's important for Jackie to do different roles is that he is no longer the youngster he once was. His age (almost 49 at the time of typing this), coupled with his run of injuries, mean that he'll have to hang up his action shoes for good fairly soon, and this is just one way of doing it. (He's also a very accomplished singer, which is also something good to fall back on -- he sung the theme songs to Police Story and Project A: Part 2).

The biggest initial oversight for me was when, on initial release in 1989, Miracles didn't attract as much fan attention as it would later. This shows Jackie's talents as a director as well as acting. (Mind you, his awards for this film still tended to be in the action department).

[–] avpsniper 16 years ago

I'll respond to this 5 years later and basically in short say yes.

I also liked Heart of the Dragon which is another of Jackie's not so popular films. It's a shame really because I like both of those films (and Miracles for that matter) but the average Joe doesn't appreciate them simply because they're not seen as being a typical Chan film.

[–] JcRocks73892000 16 years ago

I agree. I am a stickler for a good intense movie, and Crime Story fit the bill completely. Yes, Jackie did stray away from comedy, and the end result was a fantastically intense movie. The first time i watched it I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I also really enjoyed Heart of the Dragon and Miracles as well. I honestly think Jackie is an all around amazing actor, he can do comedy and drama equally well. Hell, he's an all around amazing performer, his stunts are amazing, he sings awesomely, IMHO. I don't think there's another performer like Jackie, nor will there ever be.

[–] feelingsky 14 years ago

Among the great actors and actress, I think he's not best of best but I am sure he is one of best actor in all category and best of best in action category and all around actor.

Until a few yaers ago I didn't watch jackie chan's almost movies. I'm not a fan of just action and I like more thril than action. I just watched rush hour series. So recently After I watched so many movies of jackie chan, I was really surprised at his acting. He's better than my expectation, and definately amazing in Miracles, heart of dragon, rob-b-hood and crime story. Unfortunately, these were not big box-office hit movies.

In my view, it's not an awesome movie but a good one with so good acting of jackie chan, of course including enjoyable action scenes. It's worth watching even though filmed 15 years ago. I hope that Jackie Chan get some more serious and emotinal role like this so he can show us his good acting.

[–] Human_Remains 14 years ago

When most people think of Jackie Chan they think of comedy. I rented the films that were recomended to me which were some of the more popular ones then I started looking for more on my own and I was glad I did! Jackie Chan does have more depth. I wish more people would see Crime Story because he is such a good actor! There is more to him than slapstick. But Of course I still love it when he makes me laugh : )

"The Road of Excess Leads to the Palace of Wisdom." —William Blake

[–] JrnlofEddieDeezenStudies 13 years ago

I think most criticism is in response to reactions that are fairly ineffable, so most criticism ends up being ad hoc and inconsistent over the long run. That is, if you regularly read some critic, you'll usually find them being very inconsistent in what they say they like or dislike. I'm guilty of that, too, because it's so difficult to fully conceptualize just what you like/dislike and express that.

So I think what happens is that when someone dislikes something, they tend to pick out things that are pretty easy to notice, that won't be criticized by most folks as being a ridiculous reason to dislike something. Being too different from the norm for an artist is one of those easy things to pick out (as is "being too much the same as their past work").

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[–] Hey_Sweden 11 years ago

I thought this was quite good and an effective departure for Chan.

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