THE ACCIDENTAL SPY

Did you know that once upon a time I accidentally became a super-spy? Yeah. I'm not kidding you, folks. I was told by unnamed parties to check-out what other unnamed parties were really up to. The only problem I had with this though, was that I was unsure who either party really were. Just like the following 85 minute movie made in 2001. It was Directed by: Teddy Chan; and Starred: Jackie Chan, Min Kim, with Eric Tsang.

The Accidental Spy


THE STORY:
Now listen here, Carmen (Min Kim)! Over the last couple of days I've gotten myself into a whole heap of trouble because I couldn't say the word 'no'.

I mean, I should have said 'no' to that disheveled private investigator, Many Liu (Eric Tsang), when he asked me to pop over to Seoul, and pretend to be the long lost of some super spy, hoping he would bequeath me with a top secret formula before he kicked the bucket.

But no. I didn't say 'no', did I? And where did that get me? That got me here -- in Turkey -- because the spy died and now you want me to continue this case in a more official capacity!

But come off it, lady. See sense. I'm not a spy. I'm a keep-fit salesman from China named Buck Yuen (Jackie Chan). And I know absolutely nothing about secret-codes, secret-keys, secret-pacts, or anything else you can think of that's involves something being secret.

OK. So when the mood takes me maybe I can fight off a couple of henchmen for you, or deduce hidden endeavors whilst running around the streets of Istanbul buck-naked (no pun intended). Still. Where will this get me next?

Then again, that's most probably why what next transpires all goes to Wok when Carmen looks over at me and says, 'I tell you where that will get you, Buck. It will get you to meet a very pretty lady called Yong (Vivian Hsu)'. As good intentions lead to no good - sometimes activities can be misunderstood - a girl's last letter spells doom and gloom - and at the end of the day, everything just seems to go... BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

THE REVIEW:
Now when I first heard that Jackie Chan once made a movie called 'The Accidental Hero', I honestly thought to myself 'Fantastic! I hope that's one of those jovial adventures where Jackie jumps around from pillar to post, and get's involved with some sort of mad cap scenario'. And was I right? Yeah. To a certain extent I suppose I was. Although I was fairly inaccurate about the jovial part of the equation.

You see, as the title implies, I presumed the story was going to be in the same vein as something like 'The Tuxedo' or 'Armour Of God'. But no. It's wasn't. I'm afraid to say that this film was a rather mumbled affair overall. Where we see our ever good natured Jackie contend with one obstacle after another, without really explaining why the hell he wanted to do so! 

Granted, I know that Jackie's character was meant to be a very nice chap. Yes. I understood that completely. Yet that wasn't my problem. The problem I had with this adventure was how the obstacles were presented to him. Unraveling as if they were a stream of dominoes falling one after another, toppling as if one set of circumstance's then presented another set of circumstances immediately thereafter. And personally speaking, this was just too clinical for my own tastes. Clinical, as it almost touched upon the 'action adventure by numbers' genre type of production. 

But having said that, dear reader, on the opposite end of the spectrum there were these magical action scenes on show too. Wow! They were a right blast to watch, plus I especially enjoyed Jackie's 'kick and run' style of kung-fu. You know. Where one minute he and a bunch of guy's kick each others arses with whatever at's hand, and the next minute he would run away as best he could.

Also, I best mention some of the more extravagant action scenes on offer. Like the one where Jackie jumped off of a tall building whilst hanging onto three umbrellas for example. Or what about when Jackie fought off a bunch of Turkish men in the Baths before running through the streets butt naked! Oh! And let's not forget about that tanker-truck scene either! BOOM! Speechless. It left me speechless. Honestly.

Heck, one of the only reasons to pick up this film is for the action alone! The story -- nah -- fast-forward through that -- because it didn't make much sense anyway. Particularly that whole Father and Son scenario it was trying to convey. In my book 'The Accidental Hero' is only good for the action and Jackie Chan himself. That, plus of course, the following filmic-facts. Ha! (1) 'Golden Harvest' first released this production in Hong Kong on the 18th of January, 2001, and eventually clawed back $30 million Hong Kong dollars at the box office. (2) Loosely translated, this project was entitled 'Spy By Chance' in Greece; 'Agent From Hong Kong' in the Czech Republic; and 'Gold Fists in Istanbul' in Turkey. (3) There are approximately three versions of this film now available to the public. The Hong Kong version is 108 minutes long. The Argentinean version is 92 minutes long. And the American version is 87 minutes long. (4) Although this adventure was slated in the press -- getting a 21% rating on the website, 'Rotten Tomatoes' -- it did pretty well at the 21st Hong Kong Film Awards. Tung Wei won for 'Best Action Choreography'. Kwong Chi-leung won for 'Best Film Editing'. And Kinson Tsang was nominated for 'Best Sound Design' and 'Best Visual Effects'. (5) The majority of this movie was shot on location in Istanbul, Turkey; Hong Kong, China; and Seoul, South Korea. (6) Two people associated with this flick -- the director: Teddy Chan, and the actor: Eric Tsang -- both starred in one of my most favorite Hong Kong gangster based films, 'Infernal Affairs 2'. (6) Now if you look very closely I'm sure you can spot a number of mistakes made in this movie. Firstly, when the SUV pushes the Hyundai into the pond, you'll notice a member of the crew quickly jumping out of its way. Secondly, when Jackie is attacked at the Turkish Baths, you'll notice the shadow of the camera upon the walls and floors. Thirdly, whilst Jackie is hanging from the arm of the crane during the initial 'bank robbery scene', you'll notice he's wearing a safety-line. And fourthly, when the masked assailant open's the door to the shed, you'll notice the 'dead body' slumped at his feet still twitching and blinking. (8) The 2011 Bollywood movie, 'Thank You', reproduced the scene where Buck shielded himself with the cloth, so the thugs wouldn't spot him.

Overall I'd say the only mistake 'The Accidental Spy' made, was that it accidental forgot to think about it's general story-line. Well, even though the action scenes where out of this world, what let it down the most was the fact that the tale ultimately presented never made much sense. And trust me, folks, this is from someone who can do something like this...

Yep! Say no more. Nuff said. 

THE RATING: B+