OK…everyone has their guilty secret. I don’t like To Kill With Intrigue. I LOVE it. And yes, I have had my medication today.

And I don’t mean in a camp “so bad it’s good” way. I think it’s genuinely gripping. The great thing about HK films is that everyone has their own weird wonder that they keep coming back to, no matter how bad the reviews are. I understand that 99.9% of everyone who sees this film hates it with a passion usually reserved for rapists and child molesters, and to be honest, I can see their point (and even Jackie himself said he pitied anyone who sat through it). But here’s my case for the defence:

1. Jackie Chan plays a character type he’s never played before and (probably) never will again.
2. The story is extremely well paced and, to me, seems to make perfect sense. OK, it’s mad as a bucket and totally unbelievable, but my point is that there are no loose threads and everyone acts in a more-or-less logical way. I can’t say the same for a lot of HK action movies from the same era (or, to tell the truth, from ANY era). Furthermore, I find myself caring for the characters, which is a bit of an oddity in itself.
3. The final fight oozes atmosphere. I just love the setting, and the kicking that ensues.

So let me come out of the closet and say that I rate this film above all of Jackie’s 70’s films bar Drunken Master. If I’m perfectly honest, I’ll rate it above a few of his 80’s films as well.

One of my proudest moments was obtaining this film on the Ocean Shores VCD, complete with original language soundtrack and English subs. I realize that some people like the English dub for the moment when Jackie cries “I’m a beast!”, but for me, the original language is the only way to see this film. If anyone knows how to obtain it in the same format but on DVD, please let me know. Your identity will, of course, remain undisclosed. No one need know your secret.