New Police Story (2004)

An unusually downbeat opening sets the tone for a Police Story reboot. I don't know why it needed a reboot, but at least it still has Jackie in the lead role. Except he's a different character, Inspector Kwok-wing. The grim feeling that kicked it off remains for a very long time, making the first 40+ minutes as much a hardship on the viewer as they are on the guilt-ridden alcoholic cop.
The villains are a gang of youths who treat life and death like a video game, awarding points for specific actions. Chan and his new partner (Nicholas Tse) try to track them down. The motivations of the primaries are foundation for a story of redemption, but it's somewhat stunted by its own gritty nature.

2½ damaged goods out of 5

Heroic Duo (2003)

An upstanding HK police officer commits a crime against his own station, but he doesn't know why. Tough cop Ken Li (Ekin Cheng) is on the case, but he needs help, so enlists hypnotist and convicted criminal Jack Lai (Leon Lai).
There's a recurring theme of weaknesses being either overcome in time of need or preyed upon by a stronger willed individual; and because everyone in the film has a secret that they're guarding, they're all vulnerable to attack.
It has some neat ideas that are forced to share space with obligatory action scenes, but overall the film is too scattershot for my liking. An attentive rewrite that brought strengths to the fore and evened out everything else could've made a huge difference to the final product.

2½ unlocks out of 5

Robin-B-Hood (2006)

Safe-crackers Thongs and Octopus (Chan and Koo) will rob anything of value to fund their expensive habits; gambling for Thongs, women for Octopus. Being in something of a rut means they can't pass up the opportunity when a big score comes along. The R2 cover doesn't give the game away, so I won't either, suffice it to say that the item in question is unlike anything they've looted before. The antics thereafter are hit and miss, as are the action scenes, inventive but making occasional use of wires and green screen. The finale is old-school Chan, though, and almost makes up for the other stuff.

2½ free falls out of 5

Jackie Chan's Who Am I? (1998)

Aka: Wo Shi Shei / Who Am I? /  Jackie Chan Is Nobody / Amnesia

There's some very dodgy dubbing going on during the first ten minutes of Chan's Who Am I?. Mercifully, it disappears and settles into a regular adventure wherein Jackie's lost his memory and has no idea why people are trying to kill him. It’s light on action for a long time, but the second half brings the Chan! Some long takes prove he's no fake.
Most of the acting is laughable for all the wrong reasons.
The US release is cut by nine minutes.

3 dogs and clogs out of 5