Rating: 
Summary: Looking forward to Chan?
Review: Jackie Chan is not the main character, he isn't even dubbed in his own voice. Minimal fight scenes, and the fight scenes they had could've been done by any acter. This is unlike other Jackie Chan films, the fight scenes just aren't fun. I wouldn't spend my money on this, instead save your money and buy Drunken Master, or Who Am I, two other Jackie Chan dvds that are worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: Jackie Chan is not the main character, he isn't even dubbed in his own voice. Minimal fight scenes, and the fight scenes they had could've been done by any acter. This is unlike other Jackie Chan films, the fight scenes just aren't fun. I wouldn't spend my money on this, instead save your money and buy Drunken Master, or Who Am I, two other Jackie Chan dvds that are worth it.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good Prison Flick
Review: JACKIE CHAN IS THE PRISONER (originally titled ISLAND OF FIRE) is a group effort all the way so those expecting to see Jackie Chan in all of the scenes will be disappointed, but not terribly disappointed as the rest of the cast is top notch and the film itself is pretty good. The story involves a cop (Tony Leung) who believes something fishy is going on within the walls of a certain prison and then goes undercover as a prisoner to try and prove it. Once inside, however, he finds that this dangerous assignment just may be his last. Supoporting stories include a desparate young man (Jackie Chan), who kills the brother of a well-known gangster while trying to raise money for his girlfriend's liver transplant, an ingenious convict (Sammo Hung) who always manages to escape from jail to see his son on important occasions, a convicted gang boss (Jimmy Wang Yu) who earns respect from prisoners and resentment from wardens, and the gangster (Andy Lau) who's brother Jackie killed who purposely gets caught and sent to the same prison to avenge his brother's murder. Also, along the way are the usual tough guys, weaklings, sadicious wardens, and corrupt officials. The film is a low budget affair lensed mostly in Taiwan (probably in an old airplane hangar redesigned into a prison according to audio commentator Philip Rhee), but this actually helps to convey the real sense of grittiness the characters feel behind bars. The fights are well staged with Jackie being given the most opportunities to display his acrobatics and martial artistry, although there is one brief car stunt involving Sammo escaping that, while simple, is a real doozy. Sammo, Tony, and Jimmy are also given the chance to shine as dramatic actors in many poignant scenes showing they're truly more than just action actors. Sammo's comic touch isn't ignored either as witnessed in two especially fun moments, one involving a large breasted woman and a flat tire, and the other involving a race between a mouse, a lizard, an insect, and some cigarettes! The film's flaws are that it does try to cover a lot of ground in one movie, and that ground is rather familiar. If you've seen one corrupt prison movie chances are you've seen elements that appear in this one (bullies, weaklings, fightings, beatings, solitary confinements, lousy food, breakouts, etc.) However, the lead actors succeed in giving their characters unique and very human qualities, the individual stories are plausible and moving, and the fight scenes are appropriately dirty with every move visible and suspensefully logical as the fights build to exiting finales. I recommend this film to fans of Jackie Chan to show that he is as capable an ensemble player as he is a star. His fight scenes here are plentiful and well staged, and he really gives his all when he's on screen. I'd also recommend it to fans of the other four leads, fans of modern day Hong Kong action films, and those who just like prison movies in general (as long as you don't mind that the actor's mouths don't match the words since this version's been dubbed into English from Chinese). Give it a try! 3&1/2 stars! For other takes on Hong Kong or martial arts action styled prison flicks try: PRISON OF FIRE (starring Chow Yun Fat and Tony Leung), BAMBOO HOUSE OF DOLLS (starring Lo Lieh), THE STORY OF RICKY (with Yukari Oshima), DEATH WARRANT (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme), and IN HELL (also starring Van Damme).
Rating:
Summary: The Prisoner (1991)
Review: JACKIE IS ONLY IN 30 MINUTES OUT OF THE WHOLE FILM! Though it is still a good film! it's about this cop who goes undercover in a prison to find out who ordered the assasination of his father-in-law. What he finds instead is a prison system so fraught with abuse that it's hard to tell who is part of an elite group of assigns recruited by the prison warden. THE REAL NEGATIVE POINT ABOUT THIS FILM IS THAT THERE IS NOT A POSSITIVE THING IN ANY CHARACTER IN THE FILM!!
Rating:
Summary: The Prisoner (1991)
Review: JACKIE IS ONLY IN 30 MINUTES OUT OF THE WHOLE FILM! Though it is still a good film! it's about this cop who goes undercover in a prison to find out who ordered the assasination of his father-in-law. What he finds instead is a prison system so fraught with abuse that it's hard to tell who is part of an elite group of assigns recruited by the prison warden. THE REAL NEGATIVE POINT ABOUT THIS FILM IS THAT THERE IS NOT A POSSITIVE THING IN ANY CHARACTER IN THE FILM!!
Rating:
Summary: This Is A Bad One
Review: Jackie must've seen "Cool Hand Luke" and thought he could do it better than the Academy Award winning film. He thought wrong. This is a terrible film. Bad writing, bad editing, bad acting...the works. If you want to see a good Jackie Chan movie check out Drunken Master, Young Master, Drunken Master 2... I'm a big fan of most of his movies, but if you watch this one you will be disappointed. We all make mistakes.
Rating: 
Summary: The best jail-film I have ever seen
Review: Jackie plays not the biggest role in this movie, but maybe the best. Great fight-scenes and dramatical moments. Samo is also great and you can see him at his father role. great! You have to see this movie at the original version. It will be your favorite prison-movie ever.
Rating: 
Summary: NOT A JACKIE CHAN MOVIE
Review: Not a bad movie for this genre, but the title of the movie ("Jackie Chan is the Prisoner") is a Big Fat Lie. This is not a Jackie Chan movie -- he's just one of many in the cast. Maybe it's naive to let such bold face lying (marketing) bother me, but it still does. We got the movie, actually believing that it was what Columbia/Tristar Studios promised it would be ...
Rating:
Summary: NOT A JACKIE CHAN MOVIE
Review: Not a bad movie for this genre, but the title of the movie ("Jackie Chan is the Prisoner") is a Big Fat Lie. This is not a Jackie Chan movie -- he's just one of many in the cast. Maybe it's naive to let such bold face lying (marketing) bother me, but it still does. We got the movie, actually believing that it was what Columbia/Tristar Studios promised it would be ...
Rating:
Summary: NOT A JACKIE CHAN MOVIE
Review: Not a bad movie for this genre, but the title of the movie ("Jackie Chan is the Prisoner") is a Big Fat Lie. This is not a Jackie Chan movie -- he's just one of many in the cast. Maybe it's naive to let such bold face lying (marketing) bother me, but it still does. We got the movie, actually believing that it was what Columbia/Tristar Studios promised it would be ...
|
