Director: Teddy Chan
Stars: Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang, Min Kim, Hsing-kuo Wu, Lillian Ho, Vivian Hsu
An ordinary salesman dreams of big adventures, so when he learns that he’s the orphaned son of a rich businessman he gets involved in a hunt for drugs.
So The Accidental Spy is an American cut of the original film and apparently it cut a little over twenty minutes of the original film. It’s also been dubbed in English. I’m not a fan of dubbing and would much rather have subtitles. The dubbing leaves the characters feeling flat and lifeless, and it’s hard to get invested in the already-messy story. The cutting is particularly obvious at the end, as the climax comes out of nowhere. Also, Jackie Chan’s character is called…Jackie Chan, which just struck me as bizarre. At first I thought it was a semi-spoof where Chan was playing himself.
But perhaps you’re not watching Jackie Chan films for the plot. The fight scenes are decent but nothing mindblowing, and the one I most enjoyed was set in a Turkish bathhouse, but this didn’t last long. However, it did lead to a fun streak through a marketplace. The finale was dramatic as well, but given the nature of the film it didn’t have any real impact.
This is going to be one for people who need to see every Jackie Chan film. I would avoid this one if I were you.
