Who Am I? VCD

A nameless superagent, he's konked on the head while retrieving a piece of rock (this being a Jackie Chan movie, the konking is that which occurs between a helicopter and a large tree; and the rock is the kind of super-evil rock that blows up cities when it's shaken), causing Jackie to lose his memory. Who am I, indeed. Barely skirting out and out racism, a primitive African tribe finds him and, knowing a cute-as-a-button international superstar when they see one, promptly adopt him. Jackie goes native, but he knows there's something else he's supposed to be doing. What is it? Turn off the gas? Water the plants? Save the world? That's it! Save the world! And off he goes on a conveniently passing motorcross.

Well wouldn't you know it, there's a conspiracy afoot and in order for the conspiracy to live, Jackie Chan must die. You'd think conspirators would watch more movies, but they don't, and they try to kill Jackie, and he kicks them in the faces in all kinds of funny ways, until finally they give up. This movie roams from Africa to Amsterdam, with some naughty Americans behind the scenes, and that's the problem. Off his home turf Jackie loses some of his vitality. He's not a fish out of water here, he's just a fish. When he stands on top of buildings and screams, "Whooooo ammmmm IIIIIII????" (mercilessly parodied in Last Ghost Standing by Chin Kar-lok) it almost looks like an outtake. Project A represented the first of Jackie Chan's movies to include all the now-familiar elements of a Jackie Chan movie - choreography, comedy, stunts, outtakes - and it also featured that famous fifty foot fall from the clock tower. Fifteen years later it's significant that there's another famous fall, filmed exactly the same way, except instead of Jackie Chan falling from a clock tower in Hong Kong it's a BMW falling from a parking garage in Rotterdam. There's significance in there somewhere.

by Grady Hendrix (USA)