Some actors are just so good at what they do that they get type cast. In many cases this limits their potential roles since film makers can only see them in one specific type of role. Then there is the actor who is able to embrace type casting and use it to create a new sub genre of film. One example of such an actor is Jackie Chan. He has been placed in the same basic role for most of his career; the bumbling detective. Still, Chan has such incredible talent and connects so well to audiences that each time he takes the screen the viewers are wowed. He turned the action oriented Hong Kong flicks into something complete different. He infuses comedy into the mix in such a way that you are thrilled, amazed and laugh all at once. He has not only been a constantly working actor for over forty five years but has successfully branched out into production, writing, direction and stunt coordinator. One of his longest lasting and popular roles is in the series of films he created ‘Police Story’. The latest of these films to get the two disc ultimate DVD treatment is ‘Supercop’ also known as ‘Police Story 3’. In order to make the film more attractive to a global audience this third installment of the franchise was given a new, catchier name. This film is admittedly not up to the level of the previous two but does manage to hold on to what made the others a hit. Like most series of movies the quality tends to diminish with each successive installment. At least in this movie the effect is less obvious than usual. A large part of this is no matter what Chan is just great fun to watch. This ultimate edition has been released by Dragon Dynasty, the Asian action branch of the notable Weinstein Company and Genius Pictures. In typical fashion you not only get the film in pristine condition but an entire second disc crammed full of extras. This is one to get and enjoy. It is like pizza; even when it isn’t great it is still pizza. In fact having some friends over and ordering a pizza wouldn’t be a bad idea at all as a way to watch this flick.

The author behind this lucrative franchise of movies is Edward Tang. He returns once again to help provide the script although this time out he has a couple of names sharing the screenplay credits; Fibe Ma and Lee Wai Yee. This was a first script for Ma but he has gone on to write two subsequent films for Chan. Yee has only this script on his resume. Tang has been with this series of movies since the start and initially developed the major characters. He has also been with Chan for well over twenty five years providing screenplays for some of his most successful projects. This shows in the end result. Tang and Chan know each other well enough to be able to gauge what will work and more importantly not work. It also has to be an advantage for the writer and star to go back such a long way. Even if you are Jackie Chan age will have its toll on you physically and the stunts that were possible twenty years ago won’t come off as well know. Chan has a writer in Tang who knows just how to writer for an action star at every era of his career. I’ve seen the previous two films in the series and you can see that there is a natural progression of the character and what he is able to do. With that said Jackie Chan in 1992 was at the peak of his action abilities and this is one of the better examples of his martial arts prowess. As with many films of this genre the story is there to provide a scaffold for the action. I can’t think of anyone that I know who can’t wait to see the next Jackie Chan movie for the engrossing plot. As such the screenplay is fairly common place with the belabored police inspector Chan Ka Kui (Chan) on the trail of international drug smugglers. He goes undercover and later found out and his girlfriend is kidnapped; all seen many times before. The point is you just don’t care; you are having too much fun watching it.

This was the first film of this franchise not directed by Jackie Chan. Taking over the job was Stanley Tong, He has a long resume directing some of the greatest martial arts actions heroes around including Jet Li. With this movie Tong also started a new aspect of his career as the film’s martial arts choreographer. This is normally a difficult function since you have to make the stunts look unbelievable while making sure no one gets hurt. An added degree of difficulty is present here since the leads are doing all of their won stunts. This has been a trademark of Chan’s throughout his career and what he is able to with his body not only defies gravity it challenges the imagination. This is the heart of a Jackie Chan movie and fans will not be disappointed here. Tong also knows how to tell a story no matter how hackney it may be. Here he pulls you into a dark world of deception and betrayal.

The previous films in the series have set up Police Inspector Chan Ka-Kui as Hong Kong’s best officer. He is now the go to guy for the most difficult cases around. His superior, Uncle Bill Wong (Bill Tung) comes to Chan with a new assignment. He will be placed on loan to Interpol to get inside and break up one of the largest international drug smuggling operations in the world. To accomplish this Chan will have to go to mainland China. Not wanting to upset his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung) he comes up with a cover story that he is being sent for some advance police training. He he gets to China Chan is introduced to the Interpol director in charge of the operation, Jessica Yang (Michelle Yeoh). She is the complete opposite of Chan; a by the book sort of person. The drug lord being targeted by the mission is Chaibat (Kenneth Tsang). In order to work the criminal organization from the inside Chan has to get close to the number one lieutenant Panther (Yuen Wah). He is currently imprisoned in a Chinese work camp so Chan has to go undercover as a petty criminal. Once there Chan befriends Panther and helps him escape. This is enough to get him and introduction to the boss and place in the gang. Unfortunately Chan is eventually discovered as a police officer and they mob kidnaps May for leverage.

There have been previous DVD releases of this film over the years but none of them come close to the presentation of this one. First of all the video is excellent. After all these years it still pops. The other releases typically were restricted to just the dubbed version but for purists this set includes the original Cantonese mono sound track plus dubbed English DTS and Dolby 5.1. Subtitles for English are also available. The second disc goes behind the scenes in depth. This is a film to get and have a lot of fun watching.