DAY 26: Jackie Chan!

When filmmakers hit the fourth installment of a franchise, you expect things to slow down. Maybe the stunts get softer, the plot gets thinner, and the star starts looking for a stunt double to handle the heavy lifting.

But we aren’t talking about some bored Hollywood action star. We’re talking about Jackie Chan.

Police Story 4: First Strike is a different beast entirely. It ditches the gritty, urban police-procedural vibes of the first two films for something much bigger, more international and, honestly? Even more insane.

If the first Police Story was a hard-hitting HK action masterpiece, First Strike is Jackie’s version of a globe-trotting spy flick. We’re moving from the humid streets of Hong Kong to the snow-covered mountains of Ukraine and the urban maze of Brisbane, Australia. Jackie is playing “Supercop” Chan Ka-Kui, but he’s basically operating as a one-man wrecking crew for the CIA and Russian intelligence. The plot? Something about stolen nuclear warheads and a missing drive. Honestly, who cares? You aren’t here for the espionage beats; you’re here for the physics-defying lunacy that only Chan can deliver.

If you haven’t seen the ladder fight in the Australian theme park, have you even lived? And yes, Jackie fights a shark. In a tank. While underwater. It’s the kind of high-concept, they actually did this practical filmmaking that modern CGI-bloated blockbusters have completely forgotten how to do. Or maybe they’re the sane ones. In this same movie, Jackie straps on a snowboard and jumps onto an actual helicopter.

New Line Cinema cut the U.S. release by over 23 minutes and dubbed the non-English dialogue, even though most of this is in English. There’s also a different opening title sequence and a completely new music score composed by J. Peter Robinson.

Police Story 5 was planned to be directed by Jackie’s “brother,” Sammo Hung. It was supposed to be about Chan Ka Kui and May getting married in Australia. When canceled, it became Mr. Nice Guy.

The Arrow Video release includes the Hong Kong and international cuts. Extras for the Hong Kong version include a commentary by martial arts cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto; Breakout! Part 4, a new featurette in which critics David West and James Mudge look back at the film, outtakes and an image gallery. The international cut includes Striking Back, a new interview with martial arts cinema expert Frank Djeng; scenes added for the U.S. network TV version, with dubbing unique to this version and the U.S. trailer. You can get it from MVD.