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Mr. Nice Guy (Jackie Chan)

Directed by
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo

Writing credits
Fibe Ma
Edward Tang

Genre: Action / Comedy / Crime

Tagline: Fight first. Apologize later.

Plot Outline: Melbourne, Australia. TV Journalist Diana tapes evidence against drug lord Giancarlo, but on her way away from the scene, she is spotted and has to run. In the street, she runs into TV cook Jackie, whose knowledge of martial arts helps her survive the threat. Accidentally, her VHS-tape then gets mixed up with some kid's films in Jackie's car and so all the bad guys are after him as well as Diana, without him knowing where to find the right tape. But when Jackie's visiting girlfriend Miki gets kidnapped for the tape as ransom, Jackie puts the image of being the nice and friendly TV cook aside and goes to see Mr. Giancarlo himself to get her back: playtime's over.

User Comments: Reasonable Chan film but not much more than that

User Rating: 6.0/10 (2,883 votes)

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jackie Chan	....	Jackie
Richard Norton	....	Giancarlo
Miki Lee	....	Miki
Karen McLymont	....	Lakisha
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick	....	Diana
Vince Poletto	....	Romeo
Barry Otto	....	Baggio
Sammo Hung Kam-Bo	....	Cyclist (as Sanno Hung)
Emil Chau	....	Ice Cream Vendor
Joyce Godenzi	....	Cook Show Audience (as Mina Godenzi)
Peter Houghton	....	Richard
Peter Lindsay	....	Grank, Demon Leader
David No	....	Victor
Rachel Blakely	....	Sandy, Demon
Judy Green	....	Tina, Demon

Also Known As:
Mr. Nice Guy (Australia) (USA)
A Nice Guy (Hong Kong: English title) (working title)
No More Mr. Nice Guy (USA)
SuperChef
Yi ge hao ren (Hong Kong: Mandarin title)
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for pervasive action violence, some sensuality and drug content.
Runtime: 94 min / USA:88 min
Country: Hong Kong / Australia / USA
Language: English / Mandarin / Cantonese
Color: Color (Cineart) Widescreen and Fullscreen
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital / SDDS
Certification: Argentina:13 / Australia:M / Finland:K-16 (video premiere) / France:U / Germany:12 / Netherlands:AL (video premiere) / New Zealand:M / Norway:15 (video premiere) / Spain:13 / Sweden:15 (direct to video) / UK:15 / USA:PG-13 / Singapore:PG

Trivia: Director Cameo: [Sammo Hung Kam-Bo]the cyclist.

Goofs: Factual errors: The film states that this is Jackie Chan's first film shot entirely in English. The Big Brawl (1980) was Jackie's first movie to be shot in English.

Awards: 1 win & 1 nomination

User Comments:

Reasonable Chan film but not much more than that, 13 April 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Jackie is a television chef who is minding his own business when he gets involved in a fight. Journalist Diana has filmed a meeting between two rival gangs that will incriminate them both in murder and drugs. When Jackie helps her escape he accidentally ends up with the videotape - thus bringing the gangs after him.

A year or so after making this film, Jackie Chan discovered a Hollywood formula of acting in a partnership with comedy stars and using that to improve plot, characters and comedy while Chan deals with the most of the action. However here he still goes for the `load of average actors, rubbish plot and cheeky action' formula that made up the lion's share of his early American films. The plot here doesn't really matter as it is only the thinnest of frames to hold a series of action set pieces and a dash of comedy. The action is good without being spectacular - fans of Chan will enjoy his physical work but some of the stunts are overblown rather than exciting. As director Sammo just points and shoots - which pretty much suits the film's style and requirements.

The cast are the usual mix of extras and thugs who can take a fall but struggle to say their lines and pretty girls who can't really act. Chan is enjoyable as he always is. Here he benefits from not being dubbed but letting his accent stand; his physical stuff is impressive still. Fitzpatrick is actually quite good but the film exploits her slightly (sticking her in her undies for no reason!). The semi-famous singer Miki Lee looks nice but she can't really act. Likewise McLymont is quite pretty but delivers her lines with big exaggerated facial expressions like she's presenting a kids' tv show.

Overall this is an average film from Chan but one that fans will enjoy. It has a poor plot, poor dialogue and some very dodgy acting but it is fairly typical for Chan's films when he was first trying to break into American films.

UPC 794043466229