As far as Jackie Chan films go, the Armor or God
series always shines. From beginning to end, it's a non-stop ride of
action, acrobatics, and hilarious antics.
Armor of God stars Jackie Chan as Asian Hawk, a
sort of Indiana-Jones type adventurer who's contacted by his old friend
Alan (Alan Tam) to rescue his girlfriend Laura (Rosamund Kwan) from a
cult of weird monks. Laura used to be Hawk's girlfriend, and the monks
have taken her in order to force him to bring them the remaining parts
of a mystical relic known as "God's Armour," which Hawk had once
retrieved in the past.
The collector who owns the remaining three pieces
agrees to loan them to Hawk if he returns with the whole set. The catch
is that he has to take his daughter May (Lola Forna) along with him. The
trio set off after Laura and manage to rescue her from the monks.
However, she's been drugged, and so she returns to the monk's mountain
hideout with the armour and Alan, forcing Hawk into a showdown with the
cult's sinister leader and his minions.
A take on Raiders of the Lost Ark given a Hong
Kong spin, Armour of God is one of Jackie's more famous and inventive
films. This is, however, as much due to the now infamous botched stunt
which occured during the shooting of this film that nearly cost Jackie
his life as it is to the film itself.
A simple leap into a tree went horribly wrong, and
during the credit reels you get to see Jackie rushed off for brain
surgery. Despite this, the film itself is a bit sluggish. It doesn't
really kick in until the end of the movie, when Jackie finally takes on
the bad guys. Fortunately, the last part of this film is classic Chan.
It's not a non-stop thrill ride, but it is an ok film nonetheless.
DVD:
List Price: US $22.95
Sale
Price: US$9.95
Language:
Cantonese / Mandarin
Subtitle:
English / Traditional Chinese
/ Simplified Chinese
All Regions
(Can be played on any DVD player in the
world)
Letter Box
Rating:
II -
"May be Inappropriate For Children" (Broad
rating may be roughly equal to an MPPA rating of
"PG-13" to "R". In the late 1980s
this rating splintered in two ratings: IIA and IIB) Films
rated Category II may contain mild to strong violence,
nudity that is usually not sexually oriented, explicit
language and adult situations.