Chan Hits the Pedal
Thunderbolt Takes Jackie on the Road

Back in the 1990s, when Jackie Chan was just beginning to be recognized by mainstream audiences in the US, he made a film that diverged from the martial arts formula by introducing car racing as part of the equation. What has emerged is Thunderbolt, a story that hints at the current trend in racing movies but with more heart and a lot of action.

Jackie Chan races for the lives of his sisters in his action-packed film Thunderbolt. (New Line Cinema, 1995)

Directed by: Gordon Chan
Written by: Gordon Chan, Hing-Ka Chan, and Wai Chung Kwok
Starring: Jackie Chan, Anita Yuen, Michael Wong, and Thorsten Nickel

Rated

(for violence)
Running time: 110 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 7 out of 10.

Chan plays Chan Foh To, a young man who has left a job in an automotive plant to work as a tow truck driver for his father (Yun Chor). In Hong Kong (apparently) it is against the law to modify cars for street racing, so his father works with the police to catch and tow modified cars. On one such fateful night, a black car runs the roadblock -- nearly killing an officer. Only Foh's quick thinking saves them. The mysterious car immediately becomes the most wanted by the police.

A few nights later, Foh is helping a reporter (Anita Yuen) whose car ran out of gas when he sees the black car race by. Without hesitation, Foh jumps into the reporter's car (with her still inside) and races after the black car. After a high speed chase the man is captured. He is identified as Warner 'Cougar' Kaugman (Thorsten Nickel) a crime lord wanted by Interpol. Cougar's lawyer threatens to have him out of jail if no witnesses come forward. When Cougar's men lean on Foh to keep quiet, he finds himself compelled to tell the police that Cougar was the man he saw.

The consequences of Foh's action is a weird revenge tale that involves his family in a kidnapping plot. Foh must get to Japan to rescue his sisters and meet Cougar in a race for ultimate superiority. (Cougar's challenge to race is a weird element to throw in, and it seems more like a pissing contest.)

The film should delight Jackie's fans who get to see him in some excellent fight scenes and in the role of a race car driver. The action sequences hit a high point when Foh takes on the Yakusa in a pachinko parlor. As Foh smashes the machines to get the thugs' attention, his martial arts turn the room into a complete shambles culminating with a load of metal balls falling from the rafters and covering everyone in the room.

The car chase through Hong Kong is a lot of fun, although it seems that they have roadwork cones spread out the entire length of the chase scene. Is all of Hong Kong under construction, or were the cones there to warn drivers to stay off a closed track? As far as the race in Japan, the track becomes littered with wrecked cars making it look more like a demolition derby than anything NASCAR would offer.

Jackie Chan has been a big hit with me since his 1996 debut in American theaters with Rumble in the Bronx. Since that time, I have been a devoted fan and try to see all of his latest films. I prefer his Hong Kong action flicks like the Police Story series (parts 3 and 4 known as Supercop and First Strike in the US) and Drunken Master II (aka The Legend of Drunken Master). His Hollywood films seem a little too, well... Hollywood. For my money, I'll stick with films like Thunderbolt when they finally become available on DVD rather than watching another awful pairing with the likes of Claire Forlani.

Chan Hits the Pedal Thunderbolt Takes Jackie on the Road

Chan Hits the Pedal
Thunderbolt Takes Jackie on the Road