Police Story 1 and 2

Trust martial arts king Jackie Chan to turn Hong Kong’s police force (not to mention Hong Kong’s underworld) upside down in these two iconic films in which Chan not only stars but directed as well.

Jackie is über-cop Chan Ka-Kui who, in POLICE STORY 1 (1985) leaves no stone unturned and no bone unbroken when he finds himself confronted by crime lord Chu Tao (Chor Yuen) after a huge undercover operation goes somewhat pear-shaped, and that’s an understatement: when Ka-Kui and colleagues are stationed in a shanty town to move in on the criminal organization the thugs smell a rat and in the ensuing crossfire the town pretty much falls to pieces, goes up in flames, is reduced to rubble… you name it. This mega-destruction doesn’t deter Ka-Kui to chase Chu Tao and his men as they try to escape via a double-decker bus – cue for some jaw-dropping stunts courtesy of Jackie Chan! After more destruction and broken bones, Ka-Kui is subjected to the wrath of Superintendent Li (Lam Kwok-Hung) for having left a trail of destruction while the more sympathetic Inspector Chou aka ‘Uncle Wong’ (Bill Tung) sides with Ka-Kui. Nonetheless the media portrays Ka-Kui as a hero and Superintendent Li is forced to give Ka-Kui carte blanche when it comes to fighting crime. Ka-Kui’s next assignment is to protect Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin) who happens to be the attractive secretary of Chu Tao. Selina is planning on testifying against her boss in court and initially seems rather irritated that Ka-Kui has been assigned as her ‘bodyguard’ – insisting she doesn’t need one. But when an attempt on her life is made she quickly changes her tune and Ka-Kui rarely leaves her side, which in turn annoys his long-suffering girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung). Soon the stage is set for a bona fide action movie spiked with elements of a romantic screwball comedy! As always with Chan movies, the stunts are carried out at breakneck speed and one seems more dangerous then the other while at the same time there’s plenty of humour and slapstick too. Watch out for the finale in which Ka-Kui aka Jackie Chan manages to wreck an entire shopping mall in pursuit of justice!

In POLICE STORY 2 (1988) our hero, Sergeant Chan Ka-Kui, sees himself demoted to the position of a highway patrol policeman after his boss Superintendent Li finally has enough of the property damage that Ka-Kui is responsible for in his efforts to bring crime lord Chu Tao to justice. Humiliated and hurt, Ka-Kui doesn’t quite understand that girlfriend May is happy about the demotion as it means her boyfriend is finally finished with handling dangerous cases. Not for long though as arch enemy Chu Tao has been diagnosed as being terminally ill with only three months left to live. Those three months are meant to be spent chasing Ka-Kui and turning his life into a living hell – and what better way to start than with beating up May and her aunt. It goes without saying that Ka-Kui won’t have any of this nonsense and once he realises that Chu Tao’s sidekick John Koo (Charlie Cho) and his henchmen were responsible for attacking two helpless ladies it doesn’t take long before he corners them in a restaurant. No prices for guessing that more than just a few plates get broken! Superintendent Li has had enough (yet again!) but before he gets a chance to shower Ka-Kui with another patronising sermon the latter decides to hand in his resignation rather then spending one more day as a highway patrol police officer. Finally free from police duties, Ka-Kui and May decide to go on holiday to Bali but just as he is about to board the plane he is called back by police officers who saw him in the shopping mall’s travel agency. Yes, Ka-Kui’s help is needed as a bomb threat has been made against this very mall. While Ka-Kui weighs the pros and cons the plane takes off with May aboard… sans her boyfriend and her passport! Although no longer officially on duty, Ka-Kui manages to save the day (if not the building) and sees himself re-installed by Li who entrusts him with finding out who’s behind the bomb threats and subsequent blackmails. Ka-Kui in only too happy to accept his new assignment, after all it gives him countless opportunities for yet another string of jaw-dropping stunts and martial arts kicks…

You know that the name Jackie Chan guarantees brilliant entertainment and non-stop action combined with choreographed martial arts kicks and it’s no different here! POLICE STORY 1 and 2 established Chan as a worldwide superstar and Eureka pays tribute with this Blu-ray edition which also features a host of Bonus Material including an interview with Chan - courtesy of Jonathan Ross’ 1980’s series The Incredibly Strange Film Show.