City Hunter (Hong Kong 1993) - Movie Review

When thinking of Jackie Chan movies, most people don’t think of this. Which is a shame because nowadays it could be considered a Jackie Chan classic.

Based on the hugely popular 1980’s Japanese manga of the same name, and written and directed by one of the funniest men in Hong Kong cinema, Wong Jing, this movie, while looking a little dated in these modern times, is always worth a watch.

Welcome to this review of an underrated Jackie Chan classic – City Hunter

What's this Movie About?

Chan is Ryo Saeba, a womanising private investigator who has taken on the job of bringing home the runaway daughter of a Japanese newspaper magnate.

Due to a remarkable coincidence, Ryo ends up on a cruise boat full of wealthy travelers while trying to both find the runaway daughter and his secretary Kaori, who has decided to run away with her cousin after she gets frustrated that Ryo won’t stop his womanising ways and settle down with her.

But to make matters worse, the cruise ship is suddenly hijacked by a gang of vicious terrorists, throwing Ryo into a rescue mission with an undercover secret agent Saeko.

And on top of all of this, Ryo is just looking for something to eat.

Is it Worth Watching?

If you like your hijacking and private investigator movies to be serious, then this one isn’t for you.

But if you’re after some utter hi-jinx, hilarity and horseplay then this is your ticket.

There is a non-stop cast of beautiful woman alongside the baby faced Jackie Chan, coupled with a group of foreigners who speak decent Cantonese, although I wouldn’t put it past the fact it was probably dubbed over.

There’s always something going on in this movie, keeping your attention for the whole 100 minute run time.

What are Some of the Memorable Moments?

There’s too many to list in such a short review video but instantly coming to mind is the classic Street Fighter 2 scene in the cruise ship arcade, where Chan and his foe don the costumes of several of the Street Fighter cast, such as Ken, Chun Li and E Honda, and battle it out in a humourous scene that even resort to using the game characters special movies.

The humour in this movie is an acquired taste, and not for someone who is into political correctness. Watching Jackie traverse over this ship desperately trying to find a bite to eat while surrounded by beautiful women is either going to make you audibly laugh or cringe in your seat.

And of course, there’s the brilliant theme song, where the catch cries of “City Hunter” frequently feature on the movies sound track at the perfect moments. If you aren’t saying “City Hunter” around the house hours or days after watching this film, then I can tell you right now this isn’t a movie for you.

What's Not So Hot?

The terrorists in this movie are strangely violent, indiscriminately killing many of the hostages. And while its framed as humourous, its still worth noting that the body count in this movie is quite large.

Part of the remastering process which unfortunately was lost are the scenes that feature digital or computer effects. Very noticeable in the remastered version are these scene, where shots are blurry and soft of focus, indicating that the mastering team didn’t have access to all the source material, or it’s been lost. Its especially prevalent in the Street Fighter scene, where shots will cut between old and remastered footage. This might be one movie where your VHS copy is still the best way to watch it.

And of course, there’s the over-acting. And your tolerance of that will depend on how much you connect with all the characters in this film.

Overall Impressions

As mentioned, this is a very underrated Jackie Chan film. However I have two different recommendations for this movie.

If you are a Jackie Chan fan, or a fan of the manga, and have never seen this film, then…

My recommendation is: Must Watch.

However, if your ambivalent towards Jackie Chan, not a fan of overacting or if you are politically correct, then..

My recommendation is: Your Choice.

If you’ve seen it, what did you think?