What is this movie? A sequel thematically unlike its predecessor? A ode to silent comedians? A good kung fu movie? A political statement about colonialism, China's relationship and history with Hong Kong, socialism, and the police?
I don't know.
This could be the "best" Jackie Chan movie, if only in its coherence, not in its stunts or fight scenes. Why does John Woo get acclaim and Chan doesn't? This film is pieced together better than Hard Boiled, but film cannon will never savor over Chan the way it does a lot of other filmmakers.
There's the state of Chan's movies in America. Most are edited, poorly translated and dubbed with the same actors over and over again. They're relegated to studios that put out pointless trash. The Criterion Collection this isn't. Do movies need some sort of serious undertaking in our economics (in our DVD library) before they can be studied academically or on the merits of filmmaking?
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