Derek Childs (totalovrdose)
The opening of the film depicts police office Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan) holding a handgun to his temple, resolving to commit suicide. What could motivate a man, after committing himself to a life of law enforcement, to take his own life? This powerful question is what initially draws the viewer into Police Story 2013, a film about crime and punishment, right and wrong, family and survival. Throughout the duration of the feature, arachnid related imagery that appears in the shape of windows, tattoos, toys, amulets and other like items, heightens the idea of being trapped, with no capacity for escape. During one scene, Zhong is strapped by wires (representative of spider silk) to a chair, depicting a massive web, metaphorically developing the notion that he is caught within its trap.Mr. Chan is superb in this thrilling police drama, and though he is potentially not in quite as many fights as demonstrated in some of the former features in the Police Story franchise, the maturity and intelligence of the script and the plot, alongside the acting, really immerses the viewer in the experience. Mr. Chan develops a character who is professional, mature and family oriented, allowing the audience to be emotionally vested in his character as we fear for his safety, and those around him, his desire to save everyone being not only his gift, but a curse in equal measure. Despite much humor having been used in previous installments, this element takes a backseat over the course of the production.Zhong, not long into the movie, finds himself traveling to a bar to meet with his daughter, Miao Miao, who has had minimal contact with him over the past five years, the underlying reason behind this lacking familial bond being explored over the course of the feature, the narrative amazingly tying everything together. After arriving, Zhong, and many of the other patrons, find themselves held hostage at the hands of Wu Jiang (Liu Ye). Though there is no doubting his antagonistic attitude, Wu has a set of principles, and is capable of being negotiated with, the reason for holding Zhong, and the others at gunpoint, being slowly explored.As it is not immediately revealed, the mystery surrounding the plot engrosses the viewer onwards. The film occasionally travels backwards in time, not being consistently set in chronological order, to reveal what has happened previously. Sometimes this is articulated to provide visual guidance for the audience as characters discuss their version of past events, however, it is never truly known if what they emphasize is in fact the truth, or if they are ensnaring people within their own web of deceit, again, linking back to the arachnid imagery. Although Zhong is being deliberately held by Wu for a purpose, he is not the only one, and though we comprehend how he arrived at the establishment the film is primarily set in, how the other characters arrived voluntarily, or through coercion, is largely unexplored.The incredibly beautiful Jing Tian moreover, provides, quite possibly, one of her best performances. Though Ms. Tian is not quite as physically active in this feature as she has been in some of her other films, she plays not only as Zhong's daughter, but as a nurse, and in a hostage situation, this role gives her reason and purpose. In some of her other films, it seems Ms. Tian may have been cast due to her unparallelled beauty, rather than her talent, however, in this feature, the audience are equally graced by both. Possessing her father's desire to save everyone, alongside an opinionated character with the willingness to survive, Ms. Tian brilliantly spends almost half of the film suffering traumatic emotional agony.Accompanying the film is an entertaining musical score that helps immerse the viewer not only into the environment, but the situation's climate. Despite the score also heightening the accompanying action scenes, these moments, which are occasionally explosive, seem to be in the background, rather than the fore, unlike in previous movies staring Mr. Chan. Though a car chase offers viewers nothing they haven't seen before, the fighting that transpires at the bar never feels out of place, fitting purposefully with the setting. However, it is the tension and suspense that really draws the viewer in, the action being more of an added benefit.From the intensity of the beginning, through to the epic close, Police Story 2013 leaves viewers wondering if there will, in fact, be another sequel, and after the quality performances and storyline exhibited in this feature, the answer, is hopefully, a resounding 'yes'.
friendios
Starting good, the pros: good writing, good acting, good direction, good character, good action. There is nothing really wrong with this movie(except for a few times where the shaky cam is just too much). However, it could've turn into an exceptionally amazing film, but the director/writer/producers/studios played safe on the ending. All this movie, the dark, gritty tone and the characters, builds up to the final showdown(gunshot on the train-track). It made me feel the same feeling(kudos to the director and writer) as I did with Se7en's showdown: the moral conflict within the character. Could've gone Se7en's route and leave an emotional impact on the viewer by killing off Chan's character, but they instead backs away, and instead gave us a minor fight and a happy ending. What a wasted opportunity.
celluloidkiwi
As a long time JC fan and movie buff, I found the fast paced editing too distracting. Why the editor decided to hack even dialog sequences into constantly shifting angles and tiny bits is beyond my knowledge of film making. The director and photography certainly covered ALL the bases, but editing tried too hard to evoke or imply action where it was not needed, or, at other times, cover for poorly directed choreography. I do understand JC is not a spring chicken and that plays a role in edits. Still...could be handled more concisely without jumping edits. Seemed as if the editor was a character at times. Hmmmm.The story was fairly solid, production values were very high. Acting was spotty at times due to seemingly weak characterizations in the script. The premise had merit, though the finale was not entirely consistent to such.Again, it was the frenetic editing and confusing camera direction that distracted from the core elements of the story/narrative and knocked two stars off the review. At the same time, two stars added for seeing JC in a serious role and incorporating family values regarding a single father trying to amend his relationship was great. There is, as always, tremendous talent there. As to those that criticize JC for this effort, I'd suggest they be more gracious toward a man that is evolving on personal levels, and one who strives to entertain at all costs. Go Jackie!!
