Wow. I never would have thought when I wrote out my little rant called "Who The Fuck Is Jackie Chawn*?" way back in issue #4 that I would be sitting here, months later, with Jackie having the number one film in the country! Sure, nine million dollars is peanuts compared to what he made for the opening of Rumble in the Bronx over a year ago in Asia, but, still, I was darned impressed.
While I wasn’t too happy with the Americanized Rumble with its missing scenes and over-zealous dubbing (who was worse, the Uncle or the Kid? "You’re number one!" had to be one of the biggest laugh-lines both times I saw it), I am glad that with so much support, it looks like a sure bet that New Line will exercise it’s option on releasing Drunken Master II, Thunderbolt and The Story of CIA: First Strike(call me nutty, but I have a feeling this will get another title if it gets released here).
Jackie has been getting a lot of shit from the North American Chinese Society who feel he’s denying them access to his films and selling out to the gwielo. With the rights being bought up, Jackie’s newer films can’t be shown in Chinese communities like they used to be. And when Jackie’s last few films come out, they'll be dubbed in English and shown in theaters outside of Chinese-American communities. It’s kind of ironic, but there might come a day where Chinese-Americans might be struggling as hard as I used to to find subtitled Jackie Chan videos (but I doubt it).
It’s strange, but I actually enjoyed Rumble in the Bronx more the second time I saw it than the first even with the Star John R having some major sound problems the second time. Maybe it was that I knew what to expect. I knew how unconvincing the lead biker was, and how garish his gang’s costumes were (they looked like something out of a Broadway musical from the mid-eighties). I knew how annoying the dubbing was. I knew that there were big chunks of story gone and that the scenes just didn’t fit together very well in some cases. And I knew Anita Mui, one of the most kick-ass women in the world, really was wasted in her role. So, the second time I just kind of sat back and let the movie wash over me. I still really want to see a letterboxed, subtitled version of the original Cantonese version of the film, but I don’t want to give any money to Video Search of Miami so I guess I'll hold off until I can find a cheap bootleg someplace else.
In comparison, I hate to say it, but The Big Brawl’s half-baked story-line was better than that of Rumble’s. Of course, Rumble’s action is much better and I feel that this movie will finally do for Jackie Chan what he desired over fifteen years ago. He’s firmly on the map and now it’s actually up to New Line to decide whether he goes on to bigger and better things. I hope they play their cards right with successful marketing and well-timed releases of his other films. Now, if only someone would make some of his better films widely available on video tape, we could really get down to business.
Until then, I still recommend the Evergreen Supply Company for readers here in Detroit. It’s on Lahser just north of 8 Mile in Southfield. Rentals are cheap and membership is free. They’re open until seven p.m. every night of the week.
Back to Issue 6