THUNDERBOLT (1995)

Starring: Jackie Chan, Anita Yuen, Michael Wong, Kayama Yuzo, Eguro Mari, Sawada Kenya, Chin Kar Lok

Performance cars and racing have always been a passion for Jackie, as he is frequently seen at the Macau grand prix amidst a number of nubile beauties. Thunderbolt is Jackie's fantasy, his own chance to make a racing film, and basically a vehicle to satisfy his own ego. As for the film, Thunderbolt offers little in the way of entertainment, and doesn't feature much of Jackie's trademark fight sequences. Sure, there are a couple of decent fight scenes (one in a garage, and one at a pachinko centre), but these are nowhere as good as previous Chan's films. The Pachinko fight scene is undoubtedly the highlight of the film, offering some superb kicking and punching techniques, but disappointingly, you could obviously see Jackie frequently being doubled in that scene, for reasons I could not fathom.

But if you're not that bothered about the lack of fight sequences, and hoping that the racing scenes would compensate, then you're in for some more disappointment. There are two major racing sections in the film: one near the beginning of the film, where Jackie race a bloke called Cougar on the night streets of Hong Kong; and the finale, where Jackie enters a Japanese grand prix, racing against Cougar yet again. The reason for this is that Cougar has kidnapped Jackie's two sisters, and would only let them go if Jackie will race with him. The scene where Cougar demolishes Jackie's home (with them still in it) with a bulldozer is one of the highlights of the film, and you can painfully see Jackie being thrown around.

But the film never attempts to solve the plots that are established early on. The ongoing relationship with police officer Michael Wong and Cougar is never really explained, nor is the eventual kidnapping of Jackie's sisters. We don't see where they were hidden, or how they were rescued in the end; they just turn up with a beaming Michael Wong behind them. Gaping plot-holes and inconsistencies are some of the problems with the film, as it is nothing but a showpiece for Jackie to drive a racing car. In my opinion, the best part of the film is the Pachinko fight scene - it is a great scene, worth watching again and again.

Overall, Thunderbolt is a disappointment, certainly from Jackie's standards. The races are not exciting enough to sustain the film, nor are the two fights. And excuse me, but a Mitsubishi FTO outrunning a Nissan Skyline GTR ? Get outta here.

RATING

6 / 10