Mr. Nice Guy (US Version) DVD Region 1

After directing the action on Thunderbolt (as a secret uncredited collaborator), Sammo Hung was invited to direct Jackie in Mr. Nice Guy. Set in Australia, the movie is an extended chase that levels a devastating critique of all things Western while bouncing off the walls. Sammo's as nasty and naughty as ever as he demolishes capitalism, art and Australia itself, while the movie spazzes out trying to please you, hyperventilating so hard you're worried it's going to pass out. Chan is the host of "What's Cooking Tonight", a nurturing Chinese granny eager to whip up some noodles by hand or to help a damsel in distress. He's so gentle and reasonable that he stops in the middle of a chase to try to convince his pursuers that he isn't worth their time.

There are three kinds of Australian in Mr. Nice Guy: drug dealers, super-evil drug dealers, and people who work on TV. The drug dealers and super-evil drug dealers (represented by Richard Norton) are all after an incriminating videotape made by a lady who works on TV. The tape comes into Chan's possession and one chase streaks into another with an occasional interlude for a Sammo Hung cameo or a mass Hell's Angels wedding. Things climax when Jackie, driven to the end of his rope, uses heavy machinery to affect massive property destruction. It's the wheels of capitalism and industry that want to grind up the hapless Jackie, and so it's capitalism and industry that he must destroy.

Endlessly referencing earlier Chan movies, Sammo replicates the three female co-star setup from Operation Condor and he throws in moves from Miracles and The Protector in a construction site bashdown. You can't tell if he's cribbing or creating, but that's the magic of Sammo: he's part charlatan, part genius; half rip-off artist, half old master.

by Grady Hendrix