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(成龍) Jackie Chan: The ultimate action legend

PoliceStory 02
PoliceStory 02

When they name the greatest action stars ever to grace the movie screen, who would they mention? Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis? Well there is only one guy who stands out above all, and his name is . If is his final big action movie, then we need to sit and watch this legend at the age of 58, show what he can do for one last time. It will be a sad when Jackie finally calls it a day and stays behind the camera, but at least his choreography and directing will still be on gong for many more years.

Jackie Chan does not need a gun to win a battle, all he needs are his fists, feet and the occasional object IE. Ladders, chairs, chains, you name it, Jackie can use it. But that's not all, if you think you can corner him and win that way, he will just run up the nearest wall and laugh for above, Jackie is the true action king. Jackie Chan has been acting since the 1960s and has appeared in over 150 films if you include cameos and stunt work, Chan has also received stars on the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He always seems to reinvent new ways of making movies, breaking boundaries even in the 70's, when he changed Kung Fu movies forever, bringing us action comedy. In the 80's, he changed Hong Kong cinema once again with high tempo action in movies such as project A and .

Free-running
Many have asked me, Is Jackie Chan the first free-runner in movies? My answer is, quiet possibly, if not then he certainly made it a worldwide sensation. Jackie as been running and kicking of things for many years now, weather it be jumping from one place to another, running up walls to get away from enemies, great examples of movies which include these kind of things include, project A, police Story series, Rumble In The Bronx, Dragons Forever, Miracles, so hard to name them all.

Jackie as won countless awards for his action sequences and stunt work in his movies, his high impact action since the mid 80's till today with movies such as Police Story, Project A, Rumble in the Bronx, Rush Hour have earnt him the right to be the greatest action star ever.

Stunts
Jackie Chan has performed most of his own stunts throughout his film career, which are choreographed by the Jackie Chan Stunt Team. He has stated in interviews that the primary inspiration for his more comedic stunts were films such as The General directed by and starring Buster Keaton, who was also known to perform his own stunts. Since its establishment in 1983, Chan has used the team in all his subsequent films to make choreographing easier, given his understanding of each member's abilities. Chan and his team undertake many of the stunts performed by other characters in his films, shooting the scenes so that their faces are obscured.

The dangerous nature of his stunts makes it difficult for Chan to get insurance, especially in the United States, where his stunt work is contractually limited. Chan holds the Guinness World Record for “Most Stunts by a Living Actor”, which emphasizes “no insurance company will underwrite Chan's productions in which he performs all his own stunts”. In addition, he holds an unrecognized record for the most number of takes for a single shot in a film, having shot over 2900 retakes for a complex scene involving a Jianzi game in Dragon Lord.

Chan has been injured numerous times attempting stunts; many of them have been shown as outtakes or as bloopers during the closing credits of his films. He came closest to death filming Armour of God, when he fell from a tree and fractured his skull. Over the years, Chan has dislocated his pelvis and broken his fingers, toes, nose, both cheekbones, hips, sternum, neck, ankle, and ribs on numerous occasions. Promotional materials for Rumble in the Bronx emphasized that Chan performed all of the stunts, and one version of the movie poster even diagrammed his many injuries.

Best stunts
*Police Story – Hanging from a moving bus
*Police Story – Sliding down a pole filled with electricity
*Project A – Clock Tower fall
*Who Am I? – Building slide
*Police Story III: Supercop – Hanging from a helicopter
*Winners and Sinners – Skating
*First Strike – Skiing down a mountain onto helicopter

Jackie Chan is the ultimate action icon in my eyes, but if you see it differently, please let me know in the comments box at the bottom of the page. Please take a moment to view the videos i have made for the legend, thanks.

Source:Wikipedia

About the author

kingofkungfu

Hi my name is Justyn Hughes, I have been involved or watched martial art kung fu movies most my life. I started muay thai when i was around 4-5 years old for ten years. I became a fan of kung fu flicks after watching prodigal Son in the mid 90's and that blew me away. Some of my favorite stars are: Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Biao, lam Ching Ying, Lau Kar Leung, Ti Lung, David Chiang, Chen Kuan Tai and many more.

King Of Kung Fu (Justyn Hughes)

Favorite movie: The prodigal Son

  • Have I got good news for you: Jackie retracted his statement back in July-he promises he is NOT done with action movies. Personally, I will watch him in anything he does. My only beef with 1911 was tiny sub-titles that could barely be seen. I loved Shinjuku Incident. But I will always have my Police Story series when I need an action fix, and Drunken Master for when I want a good laugh with my kung fu.

  • I for one was very happy when Jackie retracted his statement and Promised us that he will be making more action movies. I am happy though that he stated that he will just refrain from doing the more dangerous stunts, as we want him healthy and around for a long time to come. I personally have loved every Jackie Chan movie he has made to date. Jackie Chan in my opinion is a genius at combining action and comedy, he has no equal at this talent. Jackie’s latest Project Chinese Zodiac aka CZ12 in my opinion after looking at all the trailers, trailer teasers and behind the scenes making of the movie;makes this film look as if it will be one of his most exciting block buster Jackie Chan Films to date. Jackie Chan is the very best at what he does and is a great humanitarian, so it is no wonder to me why he is loved by so many many millions of people around the world. I myself have and always will be one of Jackie Chan’s most devoted fans.

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