Project A Part II

'A' gai wak juk jap; martial arts comedy, Hong Kong, 1987; D: Jackie Chan, S: Jackie Chan, David Lam, Maggie Cheung, Rosamund Kwan, Bill Tung

Hong Kong between the 19th and 20th Century: corruption plagues the city while police officer Chun is caught hiring two crooks to arrest them so that he would end up as the hero. He is immediately downgraded and Dragon Ma takes his place. Ma's people quickly arrest a rich criminal in a casino who bribed the Hong Kong police for years, which immediately stirs some feathers. Since Chun is now jealous, he stages a diamond theft on a party in order to frame Ma, who then comes under surveillance. When Chun handcuffs Ma, they are attacked by assassins, and they barely manage to survive. Then Chun throws him in a bag into the river, but Ma is saved by revolutionaries against Beijing. In a battle in the storage, Ma is saved whereas the police arrest Chun.

"Project A Part II", somewhere also known simply as "Project B", the sequel to the '83 hit "Project A", is a 'tour-de-force' martial-arts action fun that offers the master of stunts Jackie Chan in top-notch shape, to such an extent that it almost becomes the only relevant point of the film, though still weaker than the 1st film. The audience will have to adjust to the fact that the story is set in Hong Kong between 19th and 20th Century: it is not old-fashioned, yet the kitsch and a few serious moments occasionally bother. However, it's a super-fast, simple, dynamic and completely untrammelled film where Chan proved he can also direct himself and his own impossible stunts with ease. The funniest moment that will probably stay the longest in the viewers' memory are probably the one where 6 people are hiding from each other in the house and constantly moving. Regarding the action, the most memorable is the fight between Chun and Ma who are handcuffed to each other. Also, this movie also shows unquestionably that Chan's idol is Buster Keaton in the scene where a wall falls on him, but he is saved by a hole in it, which mirrors the classic image from "Steamboat Bill Jr."

Grade:++