Growing up, I was obsessed, I mean OBSESSED, with Jackie Chan and his unique blend of hard-hitting, defense-based action and the side-splitting humor that he brought to films like Rumble in the Bronx, Jackie Chan’s First Strike, and so many others. So, when I was given the opportunity to talk about the best Jackie Chan movies available, I couldn’t pass it up.
Seriously, there are few actors who have done more for the martial arts film genre than Chan, and his legacy is one that we’ll remember and talk about for decades to come. And with Karate Kid: Legends on the way, now seems like the perfect time to go back and revisit these cherished classics.
Rumble In The Bronx (1995)
What It’s About: A Hong Kong police officer travels to New York City to attend his uncle’s wedding only to find himself caught in the middle of a turf war between rival gangs.
What To Expect: On top of the story, there’s so much to love here, from Keung getting chased by motorcycles on a line of parked cars, the hovercraft barefoot skiing finale, and the traumatizing wood chipper scene.
Jackie Chan’s First Strike (1996)
What It’s About: A police officer works with the CIA to bring down a black market arms dealer before uncovering a massive conspiracy involving a terrorist, shady businessmen, and the threat of nuclear war.
What To Expect: When people think of iconic Jackie Chan action sequences, the ladder fight scene in Jackie Chan’s First Strike (also known as Police Story 4: First Strike) is undoubtedly one of the first to come to mind. But let’s not forget the bonkers scene later on where Jackie fights an army of goons in suits and scuba gear, in perhaps the best underwater fight of all time.
Rush Hour (1998)
What It’s About: A straight-laced Hong Kong detective works alongside a wisecracking Los Angeles detective to help find the kidnapped daughter of a Chinese diplomat. But the clash of cultures becomes the least of their worries in this buddy comedy.
What To Expect: The movie has everything you would want from a great buddy cop flick, including some electric chemistry between the leads, a fun take on Chan’s signature fighting style, and a few of the actor’s most quotable lines.
Police Story (1985)
What It’s About: An honest cop protects the girlfriend of a powerful Triad boss while also trying to clear his name after being framed for the murder of another officer.
What To Expect: With plenty of drama and insane fights – like that killer mall sequence – there’s a reason Police Story spawned multiple sequels and further propelled its star to the top of the genre.
Drunken Master (1978)
What It’s About: After his mischievous ways pushes his dad to his breaking point, a young martial artist is forced to undergo training from a feared master with a history of crippling his students.
What To Expect: Throughout the kung fu comedy, we see wild fight scenes, a series of over-the-top villains, and the use of the Drunken Master style. A breakthrough for Chan, Drunken Master helped propel his career to new heights in the late 1970s.
The Foreigner (2017)
What It’s About: A mild-mannered restauranteur goes down a dark path of revenge after his daughter is killed in a terrorist attack in London.
What To Expect: What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between the grieving father and a politician, which unravels the dark pasts of both. Dark, brooding, and filled with explosive sequences and great pain, The Foreigner isn’t your typical Jackie Chan movie and lacks his signature comedic style, which can be refreshing.
Supercop (1992)
What It’s About: A successful Hong Kong police officer goes undercover in a Chinese prison in order to infiltrate a notorious drug cartel and bring it down from the inside.
What To Expect: Supercop (aka Police Story 3: Super Cop) features some remarkable choreography from Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh, who tears it up on the screen in one her best performances.
Crime Story (1993)
What It’s About: Loosely based on a real-life 1990 kidnapping, this 1993 crime thriller follows a dedicated police detective who is tasked with tracking down the men responsible for abducting a wealthy businessman.
What To Expect: Though more serious than other Jackie Chan movies of the era, Crime Story still has the perfectly-choreographed fight sequences and signature charm we’ve all come to know and love.
The Legend Of Drunken Master (1994)
What It’s About: When a man and his friends uncover a plot by a British consul to steal priceless Chinese artifacts, he does the one thing he told his father he would never do: become the Drunken Master again.
What To Expect: Considered one of the best action movies of all time, the hilarious and hard-hitting The Legend of Drunken Master (or Drunken Master II) has everything you’d want in a Jackie Chan movie and then some.
Shanghai Noon (2000)
What It’s About: An imperial guard goes to the American West and teams up with a wild cowboy to track down a kidnapped princess.
What To Expect: Released after the success of Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon takes the “fish out of water” premise and sets it in the Old West. With comedy, action, and a great on-screen pairing with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, this 2000 Western is a fun watch.
Jackie Chan’s Project A (1983)
What It’s About: A marine teams up with a navy admiral, a police captain, and a thief to take on a band of pirates who are getting assistance from corrupt government officials in 19th-century Hong Kong.
What To Expect: One of the films that would lay the groundwork for Jackie Chan’s high-stakes stunts in the years to come, Project A features one of the most daring of his career up to that point: the iconic clock tower fall with nothing more than two awnings for protection.
Operation Condor (1991)
What It’s About: A secret agent is sent to the Sahara Desert to track down stolen Nazi gold and prevent the loot from falling into the wrong hands.
What To Expect: With logic-defying car chases that would make Xander Cage faint, and some of Chan’s most insane fight sequences up to that point, Operation Condor is a worthy addition to a Jackie Chan marathon.
Wheels On Meals (1984)
What It’s About: A pair of cousins go from bumbling cooks with a mobile restaurant to reluctant heroes when they are forced to rescue a young pickpocket kidnapped by a violent gang.
What To Expect: Humor, drama, action, and so many hard-to-believe stunts can all be found in Wheels on Meals, one of Jackie Chan’s early hits.
Mr. Nice Guy (1997)
What It’s About: A TV chef falls into a world of trouble after saving an investigative journalist while walking home from the market. The accomplished cook and fighter finds himself stuck in the middle of yet another battle between good and evil.
What To Expect: Mr. Nice Guy features some of Jackie Chan’s best work, especially when he acts like he doesn’t know what he’s doing while deflecting blow after blow.
Jackie Chan has spent more than a half-century making some of the most unique action movies, comedies, and thrillers the world has seen and continues to do so even in his late ‘60s. Each of these is great in its own way…
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