Police Story: Lockdown (2013)

Excellent but underrated film

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

When I think Jackie Chan, I think cool fight scenes and humor. This movie has one of the former (sort of) and none of the latter. The setting has been switched to mainland China because... soft power campaign? The plot was convoluted and not engaging. This film didn't even keep me engaged enough to finish it.

I happened to come across "Police Story: Lockdown" (aka "Ging Chat Goo Si") by sheer random luck while searching for Asian movies on Amazon. And being a fan of Jackie Chan, then it was instantly purchased, of course.I must admit that this is one of Jackie Chan's more mature and serious movies in a while. There are some like this is seriousness, but it is still quite nice to see Jackie Chan step up and perform in a serious movie such as this.The story is a fairly generic police vs. bad guys kind, in terms of it being a group of criminals having fortified themselves inside a bar and having taking bar patrons hostage. And it is up to the police to gain entry and save the hostages without casualties. But there is a twist to the story, but I will not give any spoilers. And it was also a nice way that director Ding Sheng had opted to go in terms of how more and more bits of information was revealed to the audience. It was a good way to lure people in and keep your attention focused and determined.Unlike most other Jackie Chan movies, then there is not the usual slapstick action comedy in "Police Story: Lockdown", so if you sit down to watch this movie hoping for it to be a usual Jackie Chan movie, then you will be disappointed. There is but a bit of humor to this movie, and it is subtle and well-used in the movie.Jackie Chan performs well in a serious role, and he does so with his usual grace and charisma. And the action sequences are performed with Jackie Chans usual delivery of excellence, grace and unique style.The title "Police Story: Lockdown", seems somewhat of a cash-in on the previous successful "Police Story" movies, because it is totally different police characters that Jackie Chan portrays. But still, it is wholesome entertaining.This is a good movie if you enjoy police action dramas, and it doesn't really matter if you are a fan of Jackie Chan or not to enjoy this movie. I am rating it seven out of ten stars.

Because of his dedication to duty and the demands of his job "Senior Inspector Zhong Wen" (Jackie Chan) has essentially neglected his wife and daughter for years. As a result, when his wife is seriously injured in a car accident he arrives at the hospital much too late and this causes his grief-stricken daughter "Miao" (Tian Jing) to want nothing more to do with him. However, sometime later things seem to change when Miao calls him and sets up a meeting at a night club. Unfortunately, when he gets there he is knocked unconscious and is taken hostage along with his daughter and several other people. It soon transpires that the kidnappers want more than just money and Senior Inspector Zhong Wen is the key to their plans. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this is yet another movie which focuses on the serious side of Jackie Chan. And while he certainly performs well enough I believe that this trend has somewhat diminished the overall entertainment value of his films. It's just not the same without the humor that normally accompanies the martial arts and action. Likewise, the technique used to tell the story resulted in a slow pace which didn't help either. In any case, this wasn't necessarily a bad film by any means but it clearly wasn't up to the typical standards of a Jackie Chan movie and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

'POLICE STORY: LOCKDOWN': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five) A reboot to the popular Chinese action flick series 'POLICE STORY', starring Jackie Chan. In this film, also known as 'POLICE STORY 2013' in China (where it was released two years ago), Chan plays a mainland Chinese police officer (rather than a Hong Kong one); who's trying to protect his rebellious daughter, from a hostage situation at a local bar. The movie was directed and written by Ding Sheng and it costars Liu Ye and Jing Tian. The film is quite a bit darker, and more melodramatic, than other 'POLICE STORY' movies; and for that reason (among others) I didn't enjoy it as much.Detective Zhong Wen (Chan) is a veteran mainland Chinese detective, who's visiting his daughter, Miao Miao (Tian), at a popular nightclub. Wen is angered to learn that Miao Miao, who hates him, is dating the owner of the bar, Wu Jiang (Ye). After a heated argument, Wen is also troubled to discover that the club has been taken over by terrorists; he's knocked out and held hostage as well. Wen also soon learns that he's part of the criminals' revenge plot. Things become more complicated from there, as Wen desperately tries to save his daughter.I used to be a huge Jackie Chan fan, when I was younger; I've since grown a little tired of the lack of diversity, and originality, in a lot of his films (I also really don't like him as a person, anymore, or his politics). The first three 'POLICE STORY' movies were some of my favorite martial arts action flicks though, and this installment definitely doesn't do them justice. The action scenes are OK, and Chan does give a good performance in it, but the serious dramatic tone definitely doesn't help the film out; it usually makes it seem a lot more cheesy. I was willing to give the movie a chance, despite my recent disgust for Chan (due to his personal views), but the film is definitely a disappointment; for fans of the series or Chan.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40tcsSNoQmo