Rumble in the Bronx

Starring: Jackie Chan, Anita Mui, Francoise Yip, Bill Tung, Marc Akerstream, Garvin Cross
Directed by: Stanley Tong
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
1996

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: A visitor (Jackie Chan) to America comes to see his uncle's wedding, but gets caught up in a battle against a local street gang threatening his uncle's grocery store.

Review:

Tim: Rumble in the Bronx was Jackie Chan's breakthrough American film- the one that launched his career here in the United States. It was the first Jackie Chan movie I'd ever seen, and it has stuck with me for a few reasons over the years. I don't believe I've watched it since the first time I saw it, back in the mid 90s.

I remembered this movie for two reasons- 1. The jaw-dropping stunts Jackie Chan does 2. The horrible dubbing job. We'll start with number one. I still remember seeing Jackie Chan in action for the first time. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. His fighting style was unique- it was acrobatic, almost artistic. It was amazing to see as he used his body, objects around him, and other people as weapons against his foes. Several of the fight scenes in this film remain among my favorite of all time. It's hard to describe watching Chan in action, especially because it was well known he performed almost all his own stunts. In that regard, this movie is amazing.

Unfortunately, it suffers from some flaws as well. The biggest flaw has to be the awful dubbing job of American voices for the Asian characters in the film. The dubbing is done so poorly that it almost makes certain scenes unwatchable. The dialogue is cheesy, forced, and laughable. It really hurts the movie immensely. It renders the entire story almost pointless, because you can't really believe any of the characters.

Another big flaw is the story itself. The first forty minutes are excellent, as Chan battles a street gang who wants him dead. Defending the neighborhood grocery store from these thugs presented a clear protagonist and antagonists, and set up some very good fight scenes. However, at a certain point, the story takes an absurd turn- suddenly there are diamonds, men in black, and a mysterious crime kingpin, which all lead to a pretty crazy hovercraft battle. However cool individual scenes might be, the story becomes completely ridiculous.

While absurd, the hovercraft chase scenes are pretty spectacular. It features incredible action, impressive stunts, and is clearly one of the best scenes of the film. It is totally implausible and completely silly, but it's also very, very entertaining. Regardless of how bad it might be, it's also a hovercraft chase scene. A hovercraft chase scene. Amazing.

If I was rating Rumble in the Bronx just on Chan's action scenes, this movie would be incredible. Unfortunately, the film's many flaws ultimately prove to be too much. This film launched Chan's career in the U.S. and for that, I am thankful. Unfortunately, this movie also misses the mark.


Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Operation Condor, Thunderbolt, Jackie Chan's First Strike