a_chinn Review of Police Story: Lockdown

Police Story: Lockdown (2013)

Jackie does Die Hard in a night club, but without the humor

[5/10 · 5 February 2018]

Weak fifth Police Story film, has Jackie as yet another police detective and in a film with a decidedly darker tone. The first Police Story was a departure for Jackie by having a contemporary setting and less slapstick. The next three films got progressively more silly, but the fifth film in 2004 rebooted the series with Jackie playing a different character and had a more serious of tone. This sixth film again reboots the series with Jackie playing yet another different police detective and an even darker and more serious of tone. The story here has a glum Jackie negotiating a hostage situation in a nightclub that happens to have his estranged daughter inside and a villain who has a personal vendetta against him. It's a very contrived and unbelievable story that's made worse with absurd set-pieces involving torture chairs, cage fights, and exploding collars. These would work in a typically lighter Jackie Chan vehicle, but it doesn't in this decidedly grim action film. Still, who really watches a Jackie Chan film for the story? It's all about the fights, action, and stunt work, right? Jackie does deliver some solid action sequences, but there's a dearth of action sequences compared to most of his films, and it's much to the detriment of this film. I'm fine with Jackie taking time out for some drama ("Heart of the Dragon" is a terrific film!), but it has to be interesting and somewhat grounded in reality. This Die Hard revenge film manages to be plodding, unbelievable, and way too dialogue heavy, with characters launching into boring monologues far too many times. Still, there's enough action to make this overly serious mess worth watching for Jackie fans.