Review Of : Police Story 2013

A friend of mine decided to guest blog at my blog by reviewing on the movie "Police Story 2013". I have yet to watch this movie yet though hmm. 

Check out his blog at www.wongzeeway.blogspot.com (: 

Directed by : Ding Sheng

Starring : Jackie Chan, Liu Ye, Jing Tian

When I saw Jackie Chan on the movie poster, I thought the movie was going to be a comedy movie mixed with a typical cop story. Instead, POLICE STORY 2013 is a serious movie on how a cop from mainland China, who goes to a bar looking for his daughter, gets caught in a plot to discover truths and seek revenge. The cop, Detective Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan), has to try and make amends with his daughter (Jing Tian) for not playing his role as a good father, negotiate his way out of life-threatening situations, while finding a way to subdue the mastermind (Liu Ye) and saving everyone. Not an easy task.(P.S : Jackie Chan looks older in the movie)

Compared to many other Jackie Chan movies, the amount of actions and stunts performed are significantly less and are more serious. However, the action starts at the early parts of the movie as Zhong Wen (Jackie Chan) spies on the criminal and the hostages.

Throughout the movie, Detective Zhong Wen also converses with Wu (the mastermind played by Liu Ye) to try and figure out his motives and plans. Flashbacks are inserted subtly at suitable moments to develop the plot and unveil the story line bit by bit. 

Something I don't really like is the conflict between flashbacks and imaginations in the movie. Because there's no indicator whether it's a flashback or an imagination, it's hard to discern between them and left me a little confused at the end of it. Maybe the director was trying to build up more suspense but I think its just annoying. (You'll see what I mean if you watch the movie)

Nearing the end of the movie, the action dies down to highlight the story and the motive of the criminal. I like how the movie has a balance between action and plot development, instead of some movies which only focus on one particular aspect. 

In terms of the scenes and cinematography, I think they did a good job as most of the scenes were realistic and vivid. The background and setting was prepared really well and that's something I appreciate. The subplots also blended well with the big picture and although the emotions were different, I think they blend in just fine.

The ending wasn't the best but I guess it's alright. Something else I didn't really like was that the plot became a little predictable at the end, but I guess there really aren't many variations for a revenge story. 

To sum it up, if you're looking for decent cop story with a little mystery, action and emotion, this is a suitable movie.

Rating : 

Plot : 3.5/5

Storyline : 3.5/5

Characters : 3/5

Effects : 4/5

Overall : 7.5/10