With Jackie Chan having
apparently conquered America at long last [Rush Hour making the biggest
September opening ever], it seems a good time to look at Chow's first American movie. It's not
as bad as, say, John Woo's first, but it does fall some way short of his
Hong Kong films, largely because Chow is given little more to do than fire
guns and look cool - simultaneously, most of the time. Fortunately,
there's probably no-one better on the planet at these two facets of
"acting", and this helps buoy up a film whose director (name presumably not
pronounced Fuq-u-a') has a stronger grip on style than substance. Still, a
supporting cast which includes Rooker, Prochnow and Danny
Trejo commands respect, though Sorvino's forgeress, who becomes
tangled with Chow after he refuses to kill a cop's son, is little more than
a token girlie despite some nods to making her feisty. And we all know
girlies have no place in Hollywood action films... [Whining feminists, feel free to vent here] The end
result is a film that shakes you by the hand, rather than grabbing you by
the throat as it should.
C+
