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Kung-Fu Fighting Flashback to RUMBLE IN THE BRONX

For this installment of Flashback to the Present, I wanted to have a little fun. I was at a loss as to what my subject would be, until it hit me – why not get inspiration from the “special place?”

And no, that’s not some gross euphemism…

My special place is probably the last of its kind; one of a few ancient temples of entertainment left in this crazy world of instant, online viewing.

A video store.

So I entered Danny’s Videos and instantly flashed back to the rental experience – wandering up and down the aisles, flipping boxes to see the synopsis, looking at the artwork, when I found it!

A movie I remember fondly watching whenever I had a sick-day from school.

Rumble in the Bronx.

Released in 1995, Rumble in the Bronx is an action/comedy starring Jackie Chan in what was his first major US box office winner. Wonderfully corny yet a true Jackie Chan-style action movie, Rumble in the Bronx was my first Jackie Chan experience with that lovable acrobat or martial arts.

As expected, the film takes place in The Bronx, NY (although painfully obvious it was filmed in Vancouver as I doubt the NYPD police helicopter sports a maple leaf). Chan plays Ma Hon Keung (Keung), a Hong Kong cop who is visiting his uncle Bill (Bill Tung, who actually worked with Chan in a number of films) for his wedding.

In typical Hong Kong action movie-style, Keung stumbles into a situation where a gang run by Tony (Marc Akerstream) is running the streets and he is thrust into the position of protector/avenger. However, with this film it is definitely a more comedic spin on things as our hero is more skilled yet goofy fish-out-of-water than man in black.

That’s not to say Chan’s movies never venture in to this comedy/action area, but this was my first experience with a truly goofball charming hero.

So the film moves on to introduce a BIGGER gang than the street thugs mentioned earlier, led by their boss White Tiger (Kris Lord) that has misplaced some diamonds in an exchange gone wrong – well, really White Tiger tried to double-cross the other gang and screwed it up.

In the double-crossing ruckus, one of Tony’s gang members steals the diamond out from under White Tiger’s gang and hides it in the cushion of Keung’s friend’s wheelchair.

A tad complicated on paper, but relatively simple when watching.

As expected, the movie is ridiculous. Characters come in and out of the movie, you can choreograph every move in this movie, and it’s horribly dated.

However, this is Jacky Chan at his most Chan-iest!

His goofy charm drives this movie into so much fun and so much action that it’s hard to deny how great Rumble in the Bronx is on a cheeseball level.

Also, you absolutely need to see the stunt work Chan does for this film. There is a reason this was a breakout hit for western audiences and propelled Chan’s career in the US.


Rumble in the Bronx gets a big recommendation from me; especially on a sick day from work.

Until next time!

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