Jackie Chan was the executive producer of this action vehicle,
which premiered in Asia as Te wu mi cheng in January of 2001.
Perhaps because the film was a bit derivative, borrowing some gags and
concepts from such films as Rush Hour 2 and Speed, it
worked its way through international markets and bypassed theatrical
distribution entirely in North America, released directly to video and
DVD here in Region 1 as The Accidental Spy.
Jackie Chan is again playing a sincere and kindhearted innocent who
is about to be drawn into a conspiracy that will put him at risk. An
energetic but nonassertive fitness equipment salesman, he's studied
martial arts and dreams of becoming a policeman. So when a local bank
is robbed, he steps in to thwart the villains. This brings him to the
attention of private investigator Many Liu (Eric Tsang), who believes
that Jackie may be the long-lost son of a retired North Korean spy who
is on his deathbed. (How a good Samaritan who happens to know Kung-Fu
provides any hint to his lineage is not clear.) He travels to Korea to
meet the dying man and is essentially challenged to accept a game that
could bring great wealth. The old man soon dies and Jackie inherits
the clues that take him to Turkey. There, he becomes involved in a
struggle between two illicit drug gangs attempting to recover the only
surviving sample of a particularly potent form of
narcotic. None of this really matters, and the vast
plot holes aren't resolved by the little twist at the end. The plot is
merely a means of giving Jackie the chance to entertain us with his
amazing athleticism and fearlessness. He still moves well and the
action choreography will bring a smile to your face. But we've seen
some of the plot devices before. As in Rush Hour 2, Jackie
finds himself naked in the streets, running from the heavies while
trying to cover his crotch. And a prolonged sequence onboard a burning
tanker speeding down the highway, unable to slow for fear of a fire
working its way forward to ignite the fuel, feels like it was lifted
directly from Speed. But these are only two of the many
original action sequences in the film. Director Teddy Chan maintains a
brisk pace, not allowing the momentum to slow too much before his star
once again does battle with the bad guys. Chan was 46 years old when
this film was made, but he's still in great shape and ever willing to
put himself in danger to entertain. He's quick. He's clever. He knows
how to satisfy his fans. And don't miss the traditional
Jackie Chan flubs and gaffes during the closing credits. Not only do
they amuse, but we learn that even Chan now wears a safety harness if
the stunt is too outrageous.
Several readers have been kind
enough to point out that The Accidental Spy had been severely
altered when it was released in Region 1. The film's original runtime
was twenty-one minutes longer than was released on this DVD. I did
some research and found that Te wu mi cheng originally involved a
terrorist plot and a new and more deadly form of Anthrax. But the
tragic events of 9/11, and American distribution may have been
scheduled for after 9/11 as well. I can only assume that this film was
modified as a reaction to the terrorist attack on New York City and
the Anthrax incidents that killed innocent people. It's unfortunate
that rather than postpone the release, as was done with Collateral
Damage, the distributors decided to heavily edit the film and dub
new dialog to mask the original plot. The arbitrary editing and the
missing twenty-one minutes may very well account for the vast plot
holes I found and mentioned in this review. Jackie Chan's antics are
no less entertaining here, but I believe that if the American people
were ready for both the theatrical and DVD releases of Collateral
Damage, that this film could have been released intact. It's a
pity that Dimension Home Video underestimated the audience.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The film's theatrical
aspect ratio of 2.35:1 is presented in anamorphic video. Halos are a
bit more obvious in this Dimension Home Video release than I would
have liked. Yet, small object detail and textures are reasonably good.
Colors are natural, well saturated, and noise-free without any
bleeding or smearing. Contrast and brightness are well balanced, but
there are no scenes that push the need for outstanding shadow detail.
Blacks are usually deep and rich, but in a few scenes the brightness
seems slightly exaggerated, pushing blacks into dull browns. I noticed
no compression artifacts.
Audio: How Does The Disc
Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is obviously dubbed;
don't bother watching for lip sync, and the original Cantonese version
is not included. Jackie Chan did his own looping and the rest of voice
cast is quite good; there is virtually no self-conscious or
rhythmically uncomfortable dubbing here. The voices are always crystal
clear. Sound effects are persuasive, with a reasonable extension into
the bottom octaves. Aircraft and automobile pans are satisfying. And
listen to Jackie Chan's voice as he hollers through one of the film's
outtakes; when he swings from the bridge around and behind the viewer,
his voice travels smoothly among the surround speakers. Nicely done.
Michael Wandmacher's effective orchestral score has a Western rather
than Eastern flavor; my impression is that he may have been influenced
by some of David Arnold's James Bond work.
The
alternative language track is in French 2.0 surround, and the audio is
supported by English subtitles and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
There are very few
extras here. Sneak Peaks offers a Dimension Home Video promo
and three DVD trailers for Impostor Director's Cut, Jay and
Silent Bob Strike Back, and Iron Monkey. All are in full
screen, plus there are sixteen chapter stops.
DVD-ROM
Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?
Nothing happens at all, as there are no DVD-ROM features
included.
Parting Thoughts
Jackie Chan remains in
fine form; his antics and stunts rarely fail to amuse me. The film
shouldn't be taken too seriously, but simply considered a vehicle for
his special style of entertainment. The Accidental Spy is a
good-looking film; the production values are high, thanks to a
generous budget of $25 million. Unfortunately, the DVD is feature-
starved and the price is high considering the content. But if you're
as much of a Chan fan as I am, you'll might be tempted to pick this
one up anyway, despite the deletion of over 20 minutes of footage.
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