Police Story 4: First Strike

"They thought they possessed the ultimate weapon. They hadn't counted on Jackie Chan."

1996 1h 47m CN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

52%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 556🥫52%Rotten Tomatoes★6.6IMDB · 23,777

ActionAdventureComedyCrimeDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Hong Kong cop Chan Ka-Kui returns, working with Interpol to track down and arrest an illegal weapons dealer. Chan later realizes that things are not as simple as they appear and soon finds himself to be a pawn of an organization posing as Russian intelligence.

“They thought they possessed the ultimate weapon. They hadn't counted on Jackie Chan.”

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Cast

Jackie Chan
Chan Ka-Kui
Jackson Liu
Tsui Kit
Annie Wu
Annie
Bill Tung Biu
Uncle Bill
Yuri Petrov
Gregor
Nonna Grishaeva
Natasha
Ailen Sit Chun-Wai
Allen
Chan Man-Ching
Golden Dragon Club Member

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
Writers: Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai, Greg Mellott, Elliot Tong Ming-Kei
Languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Cantonese
Countries: Hong Kong, Australia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Cantonese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Hong Kong, Australia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Police Story Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai, shot by Jingle Ma Choh-Sing. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Nathan Wang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jackie Chan and Jackson Liu and Annie Wu carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai directs. Jingle Ma Choh-Sing behind the camera. Nathan Wang scores. Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung cuts. Produced in Hong Kong, Australia. Dialogue in English, Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, Mandarin, Cantonese.
3International production across 2 countries: Hong Kong, Australia.
4Part of the "Police Story Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai, shot by Jingle Ma Choh-Sing. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Nathan Wang. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jackie Chan and Jackson Liu and Annie Wu carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "They thought they possessed the ultimate weapon. They hadn't counted on Jackie Chan.".
10IMDB entry: tt0116704 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 33 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jingle Ma Choh-Sing
Original score: Nathan Wang
Editing: Peter Cheung Yiu-Chung
Costume design: Jeng Man-Mei
Makeup / hair: Lai Ka-Pik
Sound: Ian McLoughlin
Stunt coordinator: Vic Wilson
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $53,168,876
Original language: CN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Police Story 4: First Strike (1996)
Rotten Tomatoes: 52% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 23,777 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

2 wins & 9 nominations total

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Police Story Collection

The Police Story film series (Chinese: 警察故事系列) comprises six Hong Kong crime-action films, directed by Jackie Chan, Stanley Tong and Benny Chan, produced by Raymond Chow, Leonard Ho, Jackie Chan, Barbie Tung, Willie Chan and Solon So. The first film Police Story was released on 14 December 1985. After the film's success, five sequels were made. Chan began work on the film after a disappointing experience working with another director on The Protector, which was intended to be his entry into the American film market. The first Police Story film is considered by fans to be one of Chan's best films. It was a massive hit in Asia. According to his book, Chan considers the film his best, in terms of action.

Also by

Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-01-18
★ 8/10
I loved the first two installments of Jackie Chan's 'Police Story' series, and wish I had seen the intervening adventures of Chan's character, Inspector Chan Ka Kui, ('Police Story 3: Supercop' and 'Project S'--though this is labeled Police Story 4, it's actually his very popular character's 5th appearance). Still, the story (basically a James Bond-type role, as he is forced by his boss to help the CIA prevent a Russian nuclear device from getting into the wrong hands) stands on its own, and is thrilling from start to finish, though something tends to be different and missing from his earlier Hong Kong exploits (though this was made there and dubbed--albeit horrendously--to help make him a star Stateside). If I had to put a finger on it, I think I prefer films that Chan directed himself. It's still extremely enjoyable, with set-pieces--especially when he defends himself with a stepladder--that approach awe-inspiring choreographed action perfection...

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