MR. NICE GUY (1997)

Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic)
Sound format: Dolby Digital

This reviewer hasn't seen New Line's re-edited 88 minute version of Sammo Hung's MR. NICE GUY, though reports suggest it's the usual cut 'n' paste abomination. Which is surprising, really, because the original film - a feebly plotted thriller with comic asides, in which a high-kicking TV chef (Jackie Chan) is hounded by a villainous drug baron (Richard Houghton) who's searching for an incriminating videotape - couldn't be simpler. Plot and characterizations are purely incidental to the main business of hurling Chan head first into a series of explosive situations that require lavish displays of physical skill and dexterity.

The film's technical construction is beyond reproach: Despite an over-reliance on irritating slow-motion inserts, Hung weaves a dynamic visual tapestry, due mainly to the breathtaking skills of cinematographer Raymond Lam and editor Peter Cheung, and he invests the threadbare narrative with an energy that will leave most viewers wide-eyed with disbelief. Stunts and fights develop organically within some of the most unlikely surroundings, the highlight being a battle royale on top of a runaway horse-and-carriage hurtling through the streets of Melbourne, taking full advantage of the wide anamorphic frame (if you can't see this one in widescreen, don't bother). It's nice, too, to see some good western actors in a HK film (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick distinguishes herself as a gutsy journalist whose damning videotape provides an excuse for all the ensuing mayhem), though this probably has more to do with Golden Harvest's contractual obligations to the American distributors than anything else.

But for all its gusto, MR. NICE GUY is a bit of a disappointment. It could be argued that many fans are only interested in the death-defying set-pieces, but Chan no longer seems able to reconcile his penchant for incredible stuntwork with the narrative complexities that typified so many of his earlier productions. Nevertheless, if you can forgive the casual, unfunny brutality which mars the otherwise upbeat tone - women are knocked about and abused with alarming regularity throughout the film - there's still much to enjoy in this glossy effort, even if it fails to engage the audience on anything more than a purely superficial level.