Jackie Chan’s journey to success in American movies wasn’t an easy one.
Or so you might think.
The premise is fine.
Sadly, almost every stylistic or narrative choice made in telling this simple story is the wrong one.
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A blink-and-youll-miss-it Larry Drake cameo acts almost everyone else off the screen.
When Jackie first strapped on the skates, I thought YES!
Now were gonna see some stunts!
The action is all stilted like that.
The fights are just punches and kicks that connect badly, with little of Jackies trademarked acrobatics.
As a martial arts film, this barely even registers its more like Saturday afternoon wrestling.
Far too much so for a hardcore action crowd.
Yet its not entertaining nor goofy enough to be a family-friendly romp either.
I really wanted to find some love forThe Big Brawlon a rewatch but its still not working for me.
Its not explored in the film but unlike Jackies usual characters Billy Wong is kind of a psychopath.
The problem is just two good filmmakers with opposing creative visions.
You couldve swapped Robert Ginty in for Jackie Chan without too much impact on the end result.
Jackie, understandably, looks uncomfortable with all this.
The plot is nothing new.
Jackie plays Keung, a Chinese everyman who comes to visit his uncle in New York.
It is absolutely off the scale.
The mass brawls here are fabulously choreographed.
Theres so much joy in this film, its contagious.
People have criticised the characters and the acting but I disagree with this stance.
The three leads are great.
She gives a charming and goofy comic turn as Elaine and hits all the right beats.
Everything feels so OTT, its wonderful and pitched exactly right.
That no one does action better.
Watch Rumble in the Bronx on Amazon
Its interesting to look back on these three films now.
