Police Story 3

Infobox Film
name = Police Story 3: Supercop


caption = Movie poster.
director = Stanley Tong
producer = Jackie Chan
Leonard Ho
writer = Edward Tang
Ma Fibe
Yee Lee Wai

narrator =
starring = Jackie Chan
Michelle Yeoh
Maggie Cheung
Yuen Wah
music = Mac Chew
Jenny Chinn
Jonathan Lee
Joel McNeely
cinematography = Ardy Lam
editing = Cheung Ka-Fai
Peter Cheung
distributor = flagicon|Hong Kong Media Asia
flagicon|Hong Kong Golden Harvest
flagicon|Hong Kong Golden Way Films Co. Ltd.
flagicon|USA Dimension Films
released =
runtime = 95 min. (Hong Kong)
91 min. (US)
country = Hong Kong
language = Cantonese/English
budget =
preceded_by = "Police Story 2"
followed_by = "Once a Cop"
""
website =
amg_id = 1:119300
imdb_id = 0104558

"Police Story 3: Supercop" (zh-tcy|t=警察故事３超級警察|cy="Jing cha gu shi III: Chao ji jing cha"), also known as "Supercop" in North America, is a 1992 Hong Kong action-comedy film starring Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh. Jackie reprises his "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui character, a Hong Kong cop from "Police Story" and "Police Story 2". It is the first in the series not to be directed by Jackie, with Stanley Tong taking over the helm. It is also the last appearance in the series for Maggie Cheung as Jackie's girlfriend, May.

Plot

Police Inspector Chan Ka-Kui, the top officer of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, is assigned by his supervisor, "Uncle" Bill, to take part in an Interpol operation in mainland China. It's a dangerous assignment, and in order to keep his girlfriend May from worrying (and to protect the undercover nature of the mission), he tells her he is going for police training.

In China, Ka-Kui is introduced to the military police force's Interpol director, Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh), who briefs him on his assignment. The target of the mission is a drug lord named Chaibat. In order to infiltrate Chaibat's organization, the plan is to get close to Chaibat's henchman Panther, who is being held in a Chinese prison labor camp. Ka-Kui, posing as a petty criminal, is able to help Panther escape with the aid of Chinese military police, who eliminate Panther's men in the prison. Panther then meets up with some of his other men, and Ka-Kui helps them escape to Hong Kong. Yang joins them, and the Chinese military police help them win Panther's trust by faking the murder of a policeman by Yang.

In Hong Kong, Ka-Kui, Yang and Panther go to Chaibat's luxurious hide out. Ka-Kui and Yang succeed in winning Chaibat's trust, especially after helping his men destroy a fortified drug production lab in Thailand, somewhere in the Golden Triangle, when Chaibat betrays a number of other drug lords who are conducting a heroin deal with him.

The action then shifts to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where Chaibat's wife is being held in prison, and is facing the death penalty. However, Chaibat needs to keep her alive because she knows the secret codes to his Swiss bank account, and she will not reveal them to anyone but her husband.

More difficulties arise when Ka-Kui happens to run into his girlfriend May at a Malaysian resort hotel. She confronts Ka-Kui, and the situation turns into a misunderstanding, with Panther believing that Ka-Kui was trying to proposition a prostitute. Later, Ka-Kui is able to corner May and explain the situation, and she calms down. But then, in an elevator, May tells a co-worker about Ka-Kui, and one of Panther's men overhears her. May is taken hostage, and Ka-Kui and Yang – their cover now blown – are forced to help Chaibat free his wife.

Chaibat's scheme is successful, and May is released, as per their agreement. However, the exchange turns sour when Chaibat pushes May from his helicopter. Furious, Ka-Kui and Yang refuse to let Chaibat and his men escape. An elaborate stunt-filled action sequence begins that covers the roads, rooftops, and skies of Kuala Lumpur, finally reaching its climax aboard a speeding train, where Chaibat is killed after his helicopter collides into a tunnel and lands on him. Yang and Ka-Kui finally succeed in apprehending Chaibat's wife.

Cast

* Jackie Chan as "Kevin" Chan Ka-Kui (or Chen Chia-chu)
* Michelle Yeoh as Interpol Inspector Jessica Yang (credited as Michelle Khan)
* Maggie Cheung as May
* Yuen Wah as Panther
* Kenneth Tsang as Chaibat
* Lo Lieh as The General
* Josephine Koo as Chen Wen-Shi, Chaibat's Wife

Reception

Box office

"Police Story 3" grossed HK $32,609,783 in its Hong Kong theatrical run.

After the North American success of "Rumble in the Bronx", "Police Story 3" was released in North America on July 25, 1996 under the shorter title, "Supercop". Opening at 1,406 theatres, it grossed US $5,503,176 ($3,914 per screen), on its way to a total gross of US $16,270,600.

Awards and nominations

* 1993 Hong Kong Film Awards
** Nominated: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
** Nominated: Best Action Choreography (Stanley Tong, Tang Tak-Wing, Ailen Sit, Chan Man-Ching, Wong Ming-Sing)
* 1992 Golden Horse Film Festival
** Won: Best Actor (Jackie Chan)
** Won: Best Editing (Peter Cheung, Cheung Kar-fei)

Critical reception

The North American release by Dimension was well-received.

James Berardinelli of website [http://www.reelviews.net/ ReelViews] wrote:

In the "Washington Post", Richard Harrington said:

Alternate version

The Dimension version, which was distributed theatrically in North America in 1996, was retitled "Supercop", and was dubbed into English with the participation of Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh.

Among the changes was a musical score of hip hop sounds. Tom Jones' rendition of "Kung Fu Fighting" plays over the end credits, followed by a song specially written and performed for the film by the band Devo, entitled "Supercop".

In addition, there were about 10 minutes of cuts, including:
* Scenes of the police superiors getting a briefing about drug-related crimes.
* The police superiors discussing a plan to send Jackie Chan's character on an undercover mission.
* A scene where Yeoh tries to teach Chan about Mainland China.
* A longer version of the meeting with Chaibat in which the sexy women lounging about his mansion are revealed as drug addicts.

DVD releases

The Japanese cut of "Police Story 3" was 108 minutes. In 1998, Dimension released a 91 minute cut (though 6 minutes were credits) for Region 1 on DVD. The Region 1 release contained a dubbed audio version of the film only, and no Cantonese language track. In 2004, IVL released a superior version of this film contained within a Police Story trilogy DVD boxset (Region 0 NTSC – playable in North America).

Other cuts

* Venom Mob member Philip Kwok filmed a spectacular fight scene with Jackie Chan for this movie but it was never put into the final version. Fact|date=September 2007

pinoff

Michelle Yeoh went on to star in a 1993 spin-off called "Once a Cop" or "Project S". Though it features a cameo appearance by Jackie Chan and Bill Tung reprises his role as "Uncle" Bill, this film is not a proper part of the "Police Story" series. Confusingly, some releases of this film were also entitled "Supercop" or "Supercop 2". In most Asian territories it was called "Project S", under which title the most comprehensive DVD was released by MIA.

ee also

*Jackie Chan filmography
*"The Protector"
*"Crime Story"
*List of Hong Kong films
*Hong Kong action cinema

External links

*imdb title|id=0104558|name=Police Story 3
* [http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/policestory3.htm Review at Kung Fu Cinema]
* [http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=2120 DVD Comparison from Rewind]
* [http://www.hongkonglegends.co.uk/index.php?msg_id=3265&art_id=129&board_id=2&action=msgview DVD Discussion from Hong Kong Legends]