Director: Stanley Tong
Screenplay: Fibe Ma, Lee Wai Yee, Edward Tang (characters)
Starring: Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, Kenneth Tsang, Wah Yuen, Bill Tung
Running Time: 96 min (HK cut), 91 min (US cut)
Country: Hong Kong
Year: 1992
BBFC Certificate: 15
The first Police Story film was a big box office success in East Asia and Jackie Chan counts it as his favourite film he’s made in terms of action and stunts, so it’s no surprise it soon spawned a sequel, Police Story 2. That also proved a hit with audiences so, after a few years on other projects, Chan continued the franchise with Police Story 3: Supercop (or just Supercop in the US).
There are a few notable differences here though. One, the film got picked up by an American distributor (Dimension Films), which gave Chan a hit US release, albeit a few years after it was finished. Also, Chan chose to share the starring credit with Michelle Yeoh.
This is not only unusual due to Chan headlining the previous two films himself, but also because throughout the rest of his filmography, women had been given pretty poor roles (including Maggie Cheung in the Police Story series). Obviously aware that Yeoh could handle the action scenes without a problem, on top of the selling point that it was her first film back after briefly ‘retiring’ to get married, Chan gave her the credit she deserved. The result was another hugely popular feather in both Chan and Yeoh’s caps.
I’m ashamed to admit that, despite being a self-professed fan of martial arts movies, I’ve never seen Police Story 3: Supercop. For a long time, I believed I owned it on DVD, but when I finally got around to watching the disc I realised I’d been duped by a dodgy distributor who’d labelled the inferior Supercop 2 as simply Supercop.
So, with the UK never actually getting a genuine Supercop release on DVD and my purse strings being too tight to import one from elsewhere, I’ve been patiently waiting for someone to answer my kung-fu movie prayers.
Of course, I should have put my faith in Eureka, who are now bringing the film out on Blu-ray as well as in a new Police Story Trilogy collection on 4K UHD. I don’t have 4K facilities (yet) so I got hold of the Blu-ray and my thoughts follow.
In the film, Hong Kong Police Inspector Chan Ka Kui (Jackie Chan) is sent to mainland China to help crack down on drug smugglers terrorizing East Asia. He’s assisted by the Chinese Inspector Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh), Director of Interpol.
The pair manage to successfully go undercover into a criminal gang by breaking tough guy Panther (Wah Yuen) out of prison. Through this connection they’re able to get close to drug kingpin Chaibat (Kenneth Tsang).
As Ka Kui and Yang get involved in a big deal in Malaysia however, the arrival of Chan’s girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung) threatens to blow their cover.
Much like the first two Police Story films (which I reviewed here a while back), Supercop provides a hugely enjoyable showcase for Jackie Chan’s expert stunt work, physical comedy and martial arts action. It balances these attributes in arguably a better way than its predecessors too, feeling more cohesive than those earlier films, without the episodic feel of the first or the tonal inconsistencies of the second. Here the action, drama and comedy scenes gel together nicely, as they always serve the story.
Much of this better cohesion is likely down to the director, Stanley Tong. Chan had directed the previous Police Story films himself but didn’t take this on, partly as he was finding it too difficult to wear so many hats on set, but more likely because Golden Harvest were fed up of the perfectionist’s schedules and budgets spiraling out of control.
Chan must have been happy with Tong’s work on the film, as they would collaborate another 5 times following this (plus a Jackie Chan cameo in Supercop 2).
The film also has an added level of sheen through being the first HK film Chan made with sync sound. Films from the country had usually been dubbed previously. After watching a lot of his early work recently, it was quite odd to hear his natural voice on screen but sounded all the better for it.
I did feel Supercop took a little while to get going though. There aren’t any action scenes of note until about 18 minutes, so those looking for the wall-to-wall action of early Jackie Chan films might get fidgety.
Once the film kicks into high gear it doesn’t stop though. The final third of the film is astounding in terms of action. There’s an explosive gunfight that John Woo would be proud of and then, shortly after, you get into the epic finale, which features several death-defying stunts involving a helicopter, motorbike and train. It’s truly mind-blowing stuff.
There’s a bit of a James Bond vibe in the film’s globe-trotting settings and some of its set-pieces, particularly the speed boat chase. The next official Police Story sequel, First Strike, would take this style much further though.
Yeoh more than holds her own alongside Chan when it comes to the stunts in Supercop. She might not have done every shot herself as is claimed, but she did a healthy proportion of them, including some real hair-raising stuff in the final act. She’s not martial arts trained but uses her background in ballet to enable her to do graceful and complicated yet powerful movements. I’ve always been a big Michelle Yeoh fan and this counts among some of her best work.
So, Supercop lived up to its reputation and I’m thrilled to finally be able to see it. I still slightly prefer the first film in the series, but I suspect a few more viewings of this might unsettle Police Story from its throne. With more polish than its predecessors, plus a stupendous final act, it’s a real treat for HK action fans.
Film: 
Police Story 3: Supercop is out on 26th September on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by Eureka as part of their Eureka Classics series. It’s also available in a new 4K UHD Blu-ray release of The Police Story Trilogy, which Eureka are bringing out on the same day. Click here for more information.
Supercop looks fantastic on Blu-ray. The picture is clean, boldly colourful and detailed. You get a wealth of audio options too (see below for details). I watched the HK cut with the original Cantonese mono track and it came through cleanly and clearly.
THE SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY INCLUDES
– Limited Edition slipcase featuring new artwork by Darren Wheeling
– Reversible sleeve artwork featuring new and original poster artwork
– 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut [96 mins] from a brand new 4K restoration of the original film elements
– Limited Edition set of facsimile lobby cards
– 1080p HD presentation of the alternate US version [91 mins]
– Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Original Cantonese mono audio, as well as an optional alternate Cantonese audio track featuring original, unaltered, sound effects
– Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Brand new Cantonese Dolby Atmos Surround Sound Audio
– Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Classic English dub track
– Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Brand new audio commentary with Asian film experts Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival) and F.J. DeSanto
– Hong Kong Theatrical Version – Brand new audio commentary with action cinema experts Mike Leeder & Arne Venema
– US Version – “American English” dub track, including Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh voicing their own characters
– US Version – Original Cantonese audio
– Newly translated English subtitles
– Brand new interview with Stunt Coordinator and Action Film Historian John Kreng
– New featurette on rarely seen Jackie Chan video games, Kung Fu Master & Fists of Fire by Arne Venema
– New featurette on the filming locations of the Police Story trilogy
– Archival interview with Jackie Chan (20 mins)
– Archival interview with Michelle Yeoh (23 mins)
– Three archival interviews with director Stanley Tong (Combined runtime approx 65 mins), including a half-hour interview from the 2005 Cannes Film Festival courtesy of the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive
– Archival interview with Jackie Chan’s long-time bodyguard and co-star Ken Lo (21 mins)
– Outtakes (50 mins) – a huge selection of NG (“No Good”) shots from the film
– Trailers
– PLUS: A LIMITED EDITION collector’s booklet featuring new writing by James Oliver, as well as archival materials, imagery, and ephemera
The inclusion of the US cut will be a big bonus for many. Personally, I rarely sit through alternative versions unless they’re markedly different but I understand why people get excited about extras like this. I haven’t seen all of the US cut here, but reportedly it keeps the action but loses most of the mainland China/Hong Kong cultural comparison bits as well as any local humour that might go over the heads of western viewers. I did watch the opening, which has been jazzed up with a very 90s title sequence before cutting right to Jackie Chan’s entrance, excising the HK opening which sets up the drugs problem central to the story. I can see why they got rid of it, as it’s a bit of a flat opening, but it makes the narrative less clear in my opinion.
The Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto commentary is excellent, with the pair digging into what makes the film great, as well as telling some personal stories about their connection with the film. DeSanto spends a little too much time bashing Police Story 2 for my liking, but I can see where he’s coming from in comparing it to Supercop.
Mike Leeder and Arne Venema are a joy to listen to, as always. They have loads of anecdotes to tell, as well as fun things to point out about the film. Both they and Djeng show up on these discs so often they can repeat themselves a bit but I didn’t get the sense of deja vu here that I occasionally get. Oh, and they manage to fit an Ace of Base reference into an HK action movie commentary, which is quite an achievement.
In his interview, Jackie Chan is honest about issues he had on some of his films with their directors, explaining why he wouldn’t work with some of them again. He also describes how terrifying the helicopter scenes were to shoot. Later he talks about the difference between the US and HK versions of his films. It’s an illuminating and seemingly honest interview.
The handful of Stanley Tong interviews are very good too. He tends to focus on different aspects of either his career or Supercop in particular in each interview, meaning there isn’t too much crossover. I particularly enjoyed the older piece where he talks in detail about how he pulled off some of the set pieces, including how he managed to shoot 28 complicated action setups in only 4 hours and how he almost died doing one of the helicopter sequences.
Michelle Yeoh is also interviewed and she describes how she got into the industry before talking about her time on Supercop. She’s a pleasure to listen to, with a charming demeanour and some fun stories.
In his interview, John Kreng shares some enjoyable anecdotes about his time in the industry and expresses his admiration for the film itself. It’s a lot of fun and a nice inclusion to the set.
Ken Lo tells of how he met Jackie and was brought into his ‘family’, working with the actor in numerous capacities on his films. He also has some eye-opening stories to tell about the making of Supercop.
I loved the piece on the Jackie Chan video games that never officially made it to the West. It’s a welcome break from the standard commentary and interview extras and a fascinating story to boot.
I’m not usually a fan of location featurettes but the one here is actually pretty good as Arne Venema takes us around the locations himself and clearly points out where specific shots were filmed, rather than merely showing the dry wides of before and after we normally get in these pieces.
The outtakes are a cool addition too. They’re all silent, so the numerous dialogue fluffs don’t work in this context, but the piece works best in showing behind the scenes of the production. Indeed, a good portion of the material is pure behind-the-scenes footage rather than outtakes, which makes it a valuable extra. It’s rather long at 50 minutes though, particularly considering the lack of sound (other than a music bed).
In the booklet, James Oliver spends much of his essay discussing the difference between the US and HK cuts of the film, not necessarily in on-screen detail, but in terms of the politics taken out, which makes for interesting reading.
So, Eureka have pulled out all the stops to deliver a superb package after us Brits have waited decades for a decent release. I’m pleased to hear that more Michelle Yeoh titles are coming our way soon too!
Disc/Package: