The New Hampshire

Issue date: 11/3/06 Section: Arts & Living

Media Credit: Courtesy Photo

We all have secrets; secrets that no other soul on earth could even imagine. I have one of those secrets. I am not ashamed of this secret and it is about time that I come clean and let the whole world know my secret. One of my favorite movie stars just so happens to be none other than…Jackie Chan. I am not talking about the current Jackie Chan who stars in movies such as "Rush Hour," "The Tuxedo," or "Shanghai Knights." I am talking about the original masterpieces of Jackie Chan that include "Drunken Master," "Rumble in the Bronx," and "Mr. Nice Guy." However, there is one Jackie Chan film that stands above all the rest; a film so magnificent that I get goose bumps just thinking about it. This masterpiece of cinema is none other than, "Jackie Chan's 'Who Am I?'"

Jackie (Jackie Chan) is a commando of some sort who along with his team captures a group of scientists. The mission is a success but the team is double crossed and eventually killed. Jackie escapes out of the doomed helicopter but is badly hurt. He wakes up in the midst of an African tribe of some kind. He has no memory of who he is or how he got there. Eventually, Jackie leaves the African tribe and travels to the city where he tries to regain his lost memories. Morgan (Ron Smerczak), the man who ordered the killing of Jackie and his fellow commandos, befriends Jackie and attempts to manipulate him. As Jackie slowly regains his memories, he is forced to battle the numerous amounts of hit men sent by Morgan to kill him.

Okay, so no, the acting is not the greatest, but honestly when I watch a Jackie Chan movie I am not watching for the acting. I am watching because of his crazy action scenes. It is easy to forgive the sometimes not so great acting of Mr. Chan right after he has a fight while wearing wooden shoes.

The story of "Jackie Chan's 'Who Am I?'" is not complicated. We do not find out that the villain is really the father of Jackie or that Jackie is involved in a love triangle between Morgan and his wife. There are no juicy twists in this movie at all. It is as simple as this; guy gets amnesia, bad guys try to kill guy, guy beats them up. Does this simple plot make it any less entertaining? Certainly not.

Now if the acting isn't the greatest and the story is as simple as it can get, you may be asking: why should I watch this movie? Two words: Fight Scenes. If you saw any of Jackie Chan's most recent movies with Owen Wilson or Chris Tucker then you obviously saw a bit of his fighting skills. You may even have thought that he was an amazing fighter. Yet, you still haven't seen anything. What you saw were the Hollywood versions of Jackie Chan fight scenes. In "Jackie Chan's 'Who Am I?'" you get the good stuff. Every fight is magical in its own magnificent way. My personal favorite is a rooftop duel between Jackie and two of Morgan's henchman who I refer to as "Kicks" and "Punches." Their names pretty much describe their styles of combat.

If you are looking for a deep emotional movie that makes you think about life, then I suggest not renting this film. But, if you are looking for a simple action movie that you will no doubt enjoy, then go out and rent, "Jackie Chan's 'Who Am I?'" It has great fight scenes, it gets a few laughs, and it even has the classic Jackie Chan blooper reel at the end.

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