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The Accidental Spy

The Accidental Spy

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chan is still the man!
Review: Chan fans, this is a "must have"! How is Jackie able to keep coming up with so many fresh ideas for outrageous, clever stunts?
Any ONE of the many action sequences in "The Accidental Spy" is more thrilling and creative than an entire Hollywood action movie. There are MANY fights...just when you think things may fall into a lull, Jackie kicks it into gear again.
This Jackie film is a spy mystery with a puzzling plot (surprise). Though it can get a little dramatic at times, fear not! Jackie keeps things moving with plenty of humor and derring-do. The climactic stunt sequence alone is worth the price of purchase.
I bought the import with subtitles, so I can't speak about the editing or dubbing of an "Americanized" version. Some of the movie is in English. It rocks!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: BATMAN
Review: First of all, I'd like to say that I love this movie. I had begun to lose faith in Jackie Chan after seeing some of his latest films like The Tuxedo and Shanghai Knights, but this film reminded me why I love him. The stunts are wonderful and very nicely choreographed. The camera work is tight and very nice. The writing is well above par for a Jackie Chan film.

The only thing about this film that bothers me is the DVD itself. Whoever made the cover for this DVD was on crack. You see the three other people on the cover besides Jackie Chan? Well, they're not in the film at all. I was waiting to see the silly blonde or the angry guy with the gun show up, but they weren't there. Not at all. Also, the copy on the back is full of flaws. There's several major differences between the copy and what actually happens in the film. Aside from the cover being horribly incorrect, there's no original language track option. That made me very sad. Also, there are absolutely no extras on this DVD. Unless you count a badly dubbed French language track as an extra. I know that I don't.

In conclusion, awesome film, terrible packaging and DVD. But the actual film is amazing. Pure Jackie Chan.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Surprise Hit
Review: I am a huge Jackie Chan fan and have been for several years now. When I first heard about this movie I was a little leary about it due to some of the reviews I had read and the fact that it didn't earn a theatrical release here in the states. But I must say that I was very pleasently surprised when I popped into my dvd player yesterday afternoon.

With this film, Jackie proves once again, that he is the man of action films. No one does it better. Period. The stunts in this film are amazing as usual and Jackie still looks in top form even though he's pushing 50. The fight scenes are creative and use Jackie's usual style of incorporating many different objects and people into the scenes. The best scene in the movie is a 10 minute fight fest that lands Jackie naked on the streets of Turkey. Very creative!

The plot of the movie is pretty decent for a JC film. Basically, Jackie gets mixed up in a drug war between the Koreans and the Turkish. I watched the english dubbed version so I'm sure the plot lost a little bit in the translation. But the plot is not the main reason we watch these type of films right? The action is great and definately worth the price of the dvd alone.

The dvd is ok. The picture and audio are acceptable but the extras and menus are not.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ALWAYS stay with original
Review: I WROTE THIS BEFORE BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO IT. JACKIE CHAN IS VERY FUNNY IN THIS MOVIE. I'VE NEVER LAUGHED SO HARD AT THAT SPECIAL SCENE IN THE MOVIE(YOU'LL SEE WHAT I MEAN). SEE THIS MOVIE AND FORM YOUR OWN OPINION. SOME MIGHT FIND IT SILLY.
NO MATTER, I ENJOYED IT. I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT TOO...

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: The only thing funnier than the movie is the cover!
Review: I'm sure most of us who have ever come across, and perhaps even have grown to like, some classic Hong Kong movie (such as Police Story, Drunken Master II), would have heard the not-so-secret about how Miramax/Dimension films bought most of the Hong Kong movies distribution right. It seems like they bought more than just the right the distribute, they have bought the films and, despite the Directors/Filmmakers original intention, they cut it as they see fit.

The problem is, they don't see very well. Without a good understanding of other's cultural background, they simply categorize what they do not understand as redundant. The result are some horrific, hollow effort that will lead the American viewers believe that Hong Kong or other countries are unable to produce quality motion pictures. While Miramax/Dimension are considered to be "Independant Studios" who respect the artisic view of the filmmakers, they are nothing more than bunch of short-sighted, self-righteous hypocrites.

Though they do make an effort to digitally restore/remaster the original film to provide a sharper, clearer image, they more than often largely mutilate the film: creating new, trailor-like (useless and sometime even become spoiler) credit sequence, replacing original music score with cheesy/ridiculous techno, awful dubbing and worst of all, cutting out numerous sequences of the movie. Slap on a laughable cover and it is ready to be re-sold as a Miramax/Dimension production.

To make this long aggravation short, The Miramax/Dimension version of "Accidental Spy" is a perfect example. The cover of the DVD has got nothing whatsoever to do with the film except it features Jackie Chan (Who the hell are the two women holding pistols?). Secondly, 20+ minutes of the film was trimmed (That is the equal length of an episode of "Friends"!), thirdly, a cool(?) titile sequence is inserted basically give away all the stunt and action scenes at the beginning of the film, and finally, though most of the dialogue in this movie are originally English, for the part when the characters are speaking Mandarin/Cantonese, they somehow got Jackie himself to do his own English dubbing, only they are bad, and does not provide the story as it should be (Note: Jackie's Character "Bei" actually has a certain "psychic" power). I mean, they even dubbed the "outtake" sequence, wouldn't you think it's absurd?

I eventually obtained an original version, and enjoyed it much more as I have a better understanding of the characters, or you could say I was into the story more simply because I was not distracted by the dubbing.

The original version even include some "making-of" documentary, cast & crew bio, trailors, and oh! DTS soundtrack (though somehow the DTS track on this disc proved to be a disappointment).

If you somehow got the Miramax/Dimension version, I am sorry but you are not watching this movie as it really should be. I give 2 stars for this version. For the original version, I believe it actually deserve a 4 star rating.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chan is back, better than ever
Review: International action star Jackie Chan, is back, in the highest Hong Kong budget movie in history, and boy, its worth it. Unlike his latter, 'tamer' Hollywood starred movies, (Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon) and unlike Gorgeous, The Accidental Spy is pure action, Jackie Chan style. Even though people may say age is catching up to Jackie, I'll say other wise. The Accidental Spy, plot wise, is very intriguing with a tad of mystery. The plot shows signs of maturity compared to his other movies, where it may seem linear. In this movie, forgein languages are plentiful, ranging from Cantonese, Manderian, to English and Turkish. But what is a Jackie Chan movie without the language barrier? Even so, the film is very well done. Action wise, too, is very intruiging and it lives up to the standards of Hollywood. A lot of the stunts/fight scenes are fast paced and are very unique, courtesy of Jackie. You'll just have to watch it yourself to catch my drift. This DVD version includes behind ths scenes, character bios, etc. which is always neat to mess around with. There is also a DTS option for those lucky ones with home theatre peripherals. If you're a fan of Jackie Chan or just wanting to watch and own a pure action movie, The Accidental Spy should be it. This film, to my knowledge might be bought to be shown here in the states sometime soon. So i suggest you get your hands on this copy before they chop it up in the American release!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Classic Jackie Chan
Review: Jackie Chan is back again in this fast paced action comedy. The action starts in Hong Kong, where Jackie works as a sales assistant selling exercise equipment. The viewer is immediately thrown into an action packed chase scene where Jackie pursues robbers in a shopping mall. Jackie Chan always makes good use of the props surrounding him, which is always a delight to witness. The action is then tranferred to Korea where he meets his missing Korean father, who worked as a double agent for the Koreans and the Turkish drug lords. Jackie is now involved in the unwrapping of the mystery which surrounded his father. The decoding of a telephone number leads him to a bank in Turkey. Here he is pursued by both Turkish and Korean drug barons who are looking for the Opiate Maxe, a highly addictive drug.

Although the plot is nothing to shout about, the action scenes more than make up for it. The best chasing/fighting scene had me in fits of giggles, when Jackie is chased through a Turkish market naked with nothing but props he picks up on the way to cover his modesty! This is classic Jackie Chan, where the fight scenes are brilliantly orchestrated and with dashing of humour thrown in. One thing I can't figure out is who are the girls on the cover of the DVD. They certainly weren't featured in the film as the two main girls who do paly in the film are orientals.

Lealing

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: One of Jackie's rare disappointments
Review: Jackie Chan plays a salesman who specialises in gym equipment. His life is turned upside down when he discovers his father was a Korean double agent who had made a deal with drug dealers to make super addictive opium. Chan is assigned the task of tracking down his father, who has since defected.
ACCIDENTAL SPY is mainly lacking the slapstick humor and elaborate stuntwork that are Chan's hallmarks. The movies climactic stunt featuring a flaming oil tanker mildly rips off SPEED and LICENSE TO KILL. You'd expect more originality from Chan. The movies' final "twist" will only surprise those who haven't been paying attention, or possess the I.Q of a NZ Green Party member. This isn't one of Chan's best, but the out takes at the end are always fun to watch and ACCIDENTAL SPY is no exception. This went direct to video in NZ. It's not hard to see why. Unfortunately this ranks alongside WHO AM I and THE PROTECTOR in the lower ranks of Jackie's portfolio.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: His best one yet!
Review: This is definitely a classic. His American-made movies lack the charm and choreography of his HK ones. This is an HK one and SHINES moreso than his other treasures.

And his "nude run through the bazaar" is hilarious as well!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Jackie Chan must be getting old
Review: This movie was soo boring. I now know that comments about the film on the cover are all lies. In Sweden it said; "Its so action packed it makes "Rush Hour" go in slowmotion". This was only for Chan to prove that he can make a movie creep slower than a frozen snail. He rarely fights, and when he does, he doesnt do any cool moves and he lacks speed. He doesnt do any dangerous stunts anymore and he is even using special effects to do some athletic scenes in his other movie "The Tuxedo". He himself said "I dont use special effect, I am the special effect" what about now? Hope he gets better with "Shanghai Knights".

This ... wasnt even worth to rent. He doesnt even give many laughs these days.


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