The fast paced Jackie Chan is back with another Szechuan thriller as he fights for his life and that of his daughter in Bleeding Steel. The film has a lot going for it in the excellent cinematography, fighting choreography, and Chan’s trademark combat skills. Although the script may tend to give the feel that it’s a bit clichéd, Chan still dominates the screen enough to create his signature excitement mixed with comedy. For me, his acting never grows old. Now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD you may want to watch the film a second time to see the clues to what the beginning was all about.
The film opens with Hong Kong police inspector Lin Dong (Jackie Chan) getting a call from Dr. Peter Wu (Bowie Lam) that his daughter Xixi’s (Elena Cai) Leukemia has gotten worse and she is deteriorating. He says she has passed into a coma and will likely die. Lin tells him he’s on the way to the hospital. Frantic he drives erratic almost losing control of his car. He then gets a call from police Officer Susan (Erica Xia-Hou) who notifies him that they have a problem with their witness protection and their custody subject has been exposed. She says the witness is Dr. James (Kim Gyngell), a reclusive geneticist, recently defected from working for the biggest arms dealer on the coast.
During the move to a new safe house a melee ensues involving the evil Andre (Callan Mulvey) with Dr. James slipping through the cracks and injecting himself with his bio-engineered blood serum. The film jumps to 13 years later where we find that Andre is still after Dr. James’s serum that can sustain his life. He has been using his henchmen led by The Woman in Black (Tess Haubrich) to do his dirty work. Still pursuing is Inspector Lin who has taken on help from Officer Susan, Nancy (Na-Na OuYang) and Leeson (Show Lo).
So begins a tale of violence and revenge as Agent Lin tries to sort it all out. Director and writer Leo Zhang movies his fast paced film along for a speedy roller coaster ride of violence and death. He uses every ounce of the word action and puts his terror show in a lofty place to which most directors have a problem rising. His creativity may be a bit over the top, but in all it makes for very good entertainment. With the exception of his reverse storytelling being off somewhat, there’s not much to pan about in his film.
Jackie Chan is magnificent as the police Inspector who’s out for revenge and restitution for his not being by his daughter’s side when she succumbed to Leukemia. But, most of all not being able to take Andre down has put him head first into a long wait for retaliation. As usual Jackie puts on a remarkable show fighting off his adversaries and just about getting his character killed in the process. The most amazing feat comes with his hand to hand combat against The Woman in Black high atop the Opera House in Australia, you’ll love it.
Bleeding Steel has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and some language. There’s also a scene of sexuality and brutality. The film is available in DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD. Keep the immature youngsters busy somewhere else during this violent film, especially the first 15 minutes of non-stop chaos.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Not the top Jackie Chan movie, but it’s up there with many of his best hits. (4 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Jackie Chan, Show Lo, Na-Na OuYang, Callan Mulvey, Bowie Lam and Tess Haubrich
Director and writer: Leo Zhang
MPAA Rating: R for violence and some language
Genre: Action, Sci-fi, Thriller
Running Time: 1hr. 49 min.
Video Release Date: August 21, 2018
Original Theatrical Release Date: July 6, 2018
Language: English (changeable to Mandarin)
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Video: Widescreen 16×9, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc plus Digital Code
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released in: Blu-ray, DVD, Digital HD
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
