Based on a comic by Tsukasa Houjo, City Hunter was made because a Japanese fan mentioned to Jackie Chan that he looks like Ryo Saeba.
Ryo Saeba (Jackie Chan) is asked to bring back Seiko (Kumoko Goto) back to Japan. On their way back, the luxury liner carrying both gets high jacked by gangs. Ryo, Seiko and others battle the gang inside the luxury liner.
The movie is made to appeal to both Hong Kong and Japanese audience, and actor Joey Wong who was popular at the time in Japan appears as Ryo Saeba's girlfriend. Kumiko Goto who was popular in Japan at the time also appears. All star cast of Richard Norton, Leon Lai, and Chingmy Yau also appears to appeal to audiences in both countries. There's a comical scene where characters that looks like the Street Fighter appearing in fight scenes.
This movie is bit different from other Jackie Chan movies, in that body exploitation with many men and women in their swim suit appearing, and overt comedy is part of the story. But the fight scene between Richard Norton and Jackie Chan is pure Jackie Chan movie.
Many people say this is the only Jackie Chan movie that doesn't work, but it is an entertaining movie with some good action spread in between.
Plot summary
While searching for the daughter of a Japanese publishing magnate, private investigator Ryu Saeba and his assistant Kaori are caught up in the middle of a cruise liner highjacking. It's up to Ryu to save the day...but can he do it on an empty stomach?
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A comedy with action
Wow, what a stinker
Has to be one of Jackie Chan's worst movies. Intended as a campy satire-- the only time I laughed during the whole movie was during the blooper scenes at the end.
Honestly, Chan has made some funny films and we've enjoyed some amazing acrobatics, but the choreography in this was horrible, the schtick not funny. This had all the feeling of martial arts by Jerry Lewis.
I figure there will be a wide range of mixed reviews on this. But halfway through I seriously considered hitting the off switch; the only reason I kept watching was because it was Jackie Chan. But even he couldn't save this unfunny schlock. Some people might find this hilarious. I found it to be bad directing, horrible English voice-overs (the actor they chose to play Chan could not have been a worse voice decision),and the choreography some of the worst I've seen in any martial arts film, schlock or not.
Only positive thing I can say for it is that they had many lovely actresses playing various parts. Beyond that, wow, what a stinker.
A bit too madcap, but it has lots of great moments
A very atypical kind of movie for Jackie, this ups the dumb Chinese humour level tenfold and the result is an amazingly stupid and inane movie with many annoying moments
and yet, it is saved thanks to some expert choreography and half a dozen genuinely funny action sequences which raise the bar for similar fare. Chan's character is based on an anime hero, but the simple plot seems to be a comic reprise of UNDER SIEGE, with plenty of cheeky nods to other Hollywood fare like DIE HARD (for instance, when the hostage is negotiating and starts laughing). The humour comes thick and fast but is very lowbrow and of the slapstick variety, with the typical clichéd Hong Kong supports: the cowardly guy with the thick hair; the screaming, clumsy damsels-in-distress; the extremely annoying sidekick who fancies Chan and, of course, the big, bulky foreign bad guys.
My advice is to ignore the plot and inane scripting and concentrate on the great scenes intermingled with the bull. The opening skateboard chase is a little too cheesy for my liking, but once Chan gets onto the ship the action starts to roll – especially when he fights villainous henchmen and ship guards alike. There are plenty of great moments to choose from, but his first battle with British villain Gary Daniels is a must-see and the second, literally eye-popping. This involves the pair battling in a video arcade and turning into various characters from 'Streetfighter 2'; this is a perfect combination of cheese, costumes and amazing special effects and camera tricks that really makes you feel like you're watching the game. It's insanely funny, as is the bit where he fights two huge henchmen using Bruce Lee's GAME OF DEATH for inspiration.
There are other good bits in the film – the gambler character with his deadly cards is great, as is Jackie's escape from the exploding corridor – but the final martial arts battle between Chan and Richard Norton is really phenomenal. It goes on for ages and never lets up, using props to their full extent, and one of the most painful fights I've watched! Chan goes over the top as the script requires and is pretty annoying in some places, but redeems himself with some of the most acrobatic moves I've seen him display. The female support is large, but only the backside-kicking policewoman, played by Chingamy Yau being much cop (no pun intended) – not forgetting her accomplice, whose breasts are always getting her into trouble!
Bad guys include a brief appearance from Jackie's bodyguard Ken Lo and the aforementioned Gary Daniels. This is really Daniels' breakthrough role and what better way to introduce the formidable actor than in an intense training sequence with an incredible splits manoeuvre! Norton is a treat as the charismatic villain, and his performance here makes me determined to track down more of his movies. A very weird film, easy to dislike and hard to get into for the first half, which evens out to offer some classic action moments.