Best Kungfu movie in China: Project A
By admin on 2014-12-26

Directed by Jackie Chan
Produced by Raymond Chow
Leonard Ho
Edward Tang
Written by Jackie Chan
Edward Tang
Starring Jackie Chan
Sammo Hung
Yuen Biao
Dick Wei
Lee Hoi San
Music by Michael Lai
Cinematography Cheung Yiu Tsou
Editing by Peter Cheung
Distributed by Golden Harvest
Release date(s) 22 December 1983 (1983-12-22)
Running time 106 min.
Country  Hong Kong
Language Cantonese
Followed by Project A Part II

Film poster for Project A

Project A (A 计划) also known as Pirate Patrol and Jackie Chan's Project A is a 1983 Hong Kong film directed by Jackie Chan and starring Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao.

Set in the 1900s in old Hong Kong, Project A blends comedy moments and spectacular stunts, including set-pieces reminiscent of Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd. One stunt in particular involved Chan hanging and falling from the hand of a clock tower some 60 feet high, tearing through awning canopies before hitting the ground head-first. It was inspired by Lloyd's famous clock-tower stunt from the 1923 film Safety Last!.

Plot summary

Marine Police officer Dragon Ma (Jackie Chan) is part of the Marine Police's effort to suppress the pirates, who have been raiding ships for months. Members of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force and the Marine Police, who have a strong bureaucratic hatred for each other, get into a fight in a bar. Shortly after this, Captain Chi (Kwan Hoi-San) releases all of the sailors to their commanding officer, and two of the Marine Police's ships get blown up.

Gangsters Chiang and Mr. Chow meet at a VIP Club, and discuss fleeing to Vietnam. As soon as Chiang leaves, he meets one of the pirates and they laugh about sabotaging the Marine Police ships. In the course of the conversation, the pirate tells him that his boss, San-po (Dick Wei), wants 100 police rifles.

As they do not have enough ships, Dragon Ma and his squad are forced to become regular police officers. They have to undergo "hard training" with the police, under Captain Chi's nephew, Hong Tin-tsu (Yuen Biao). After the police learn that Chiang is at the VIP Club, and that the guests there are not to be disturbed, Dragon and Tin-tsu go to arrest Chiang, but a big fight breaks out. After tiring of the blatant corruption in the police force, Dragon drags Chiang out and tells Tin-tsu to take the credit. That is his last official act as an officer with the Hong Kong police.

Fei (Sammo Hung) finds Dragon in the street. They have a conversation, in which Fei reveals that someone from within the police force is selling rifles. Fei tells Dragon that all he wants are the guns, and Dragon can catch the traitor. At night, Dragon and Fei interrupt a gun deal between the Army and the police Captain. After pushing everyone into the water and making off with the guns, Fei hides the rifles inside a log and marks it with a red flag. When he later tries to sell the guns to the gangsters and pirates, but Dragon has intervened by removing the red flag and putting flags on other logs.

After the Admiral arrives, Dragon has a conversation with the Admiral's daughter, Winnie. He learns that the Captain wasn't smuggling guns for San-po, he was buying the guns from the army to arm his men. On overhearing this, Fei gets into an argument with Dragon. The gangsters come after Fei, so he tells them that Dragon is to blame for the missing guns. Dragon is forced to flee with Winnie. After teaming up with Fei, being tortured for information about the guns, and falling from the face of a clock tower, the police track Dragon down for a third time, and help him get away as they arrest the gangsters.

As the pirates have lost the guns they kidnap everyone on board a ship, including a Rear Admiral. The Colonel has a conversation with Mr. Chow, which Dragon overhears. Mr. Chow proposes an arms for hostages deal. He tells the Colonel that this will "greatly expedite matters," and the Colonel consents. After Mr. Chow leaves, Dragon confronts the Colonel and convinces him that the gangsters and the pirates will never fear the law if the police force are corrupt. After it is agreed that Dragon will assume all responsibility for the mission to save the hostages, the Colonel allows the Marine Police to be brought back into full force.

Mr. Chow is brought in by the police and beaten until he tells Dragon and Tin-tsu how to get to San-po. Dragon, posing as Mr. Chow, gets onboard a ship that takes him to San-po's hideout, and they are followed by the rest of the squad. Fei sneaks aboard and poses as a pirate. After a lot of tricky undercover work, the cavalry arrives, and there is a final confrontation in the middle of the pirate's lair. Dragon, Tin-tsu, and Fei engage in a hand-to-hand battle with San-po, eventually killing him with a hand grenade when he's rolled into the carpet.