And you didn't think it could get any worse? I was never a fan of any Jackie Chan movies. Dull, uninspiring and worst of all, cheap acting are the main reasons why I never warmed to Jackie Chan movies. Sure, the stunts and actions are amazing (and occassionally breath-taking), but overall, Jackie Chan movies are poor in quality. Chow Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li are definately the masters of Asian cinema...and crush Jackie Chan in comparison.
Like all Jackie Chan movies, we have the usual "innoncent bystander who for almost no-apparent reason gets tangled in a dangerous web of deceit and violence" blah, blah, blah. How very pathetic. Don't expect any breakthroughs or original themes in this film, because "it ain't gonna give you any". Following those boring themes audiences around the world witness in every Jackie Chan movie, 'Rumble in the Bronx' tells of a man (or rather, an almost senile, old fellow) who decides to visit his relatives in North America. For some unknown reason, he becomes involved with 'the boy from next door', a crippled teenager named Danny (played by one of the endless stream of pathetic actors in this pathetic film). Feeling sorry for him, Jackie becomes something of a guardian angel to Danny, accompanying him to almost any place he desires. Whilst in North America, Jackie also faces the daunting task of taking care of his uncle's local Asian grocery. There, he meets a nice assistant from Hong Kong (played by the excellent Anita Mui - who is probably the only acceptable being in this awful set) and as you would expect, feels some sort of attraction to her. Then later on, he becomes attracted to Danny's older sister (who in real life is probably no less than 20 years younger than Jackie) and further down the track, becomes "tangled in a web of violence". See! The same old Jackie Chan themes never die do they?
I find it very hard to believe that Danny's sister, an attractive, but again, poorly acted character, would actually fall for Jackie. Even though, the film has the usual warning that their characters do not portray anyone in real life, it still is a big disappointment to see the art of logiv not being given careful consideration. Even Star Wars at least gave logic in it's never-ending series! Furthermore, I could not stand the constant pathertic jokes and lame attempts Jackie Chan makes to get the audience to laugh. When I watched this film in a cinema, four years ago, not one single individual battered an eyelid (let alone, laugh, chuckle or even smile) at Jackie's awful "jokes".
For serious action/thriller fans, I strongly advise you people to look elsewhere for serious excitement. If Academy Award Winner, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, is like the Asian version of Titanic/Traffic, then Rumble in the Bronx is just as thrilling and action-like as Tokyo Raiders. Do yourselves a favour and avoid this pathetic excuse for an action/comedy.