Police Story 4: First Strike 4K UHD Review

First Strike has the best fight of Jackie Chan’s career. That’s understandably a loaded statement given Chan’s pedigree and the mind-blowing choreography among everything else in his on-screen career, but consider the intricacy of First Strike’s ladder brawl.

It’s most Jackie Chan of all Jackie Chan fights. He uses tables, scaffolding, a broom, pool cue, chairs, and of course, the ladder, which he slides around, flips, jumps through, and uses it as both a defensive and offensive weapon. It’s absolute perfectionism for some five minutes, flush with comedy and panic as Chan tries desperately to prove his innocence after being accused of murder. What that sequence lacks in the original Police Story’s glass-shattering spectacle, First Strike wins by sheer will and precision. The fluidity and practiced timing is marvelous.

First Strike hardly slows down

As a story, First Strike is all over the place, intertwined with multiple international intelligence agencies and a plot to steal nuclear material out of Ukraine. It’s at times awkward given the current world status, but a perfect fit for this not-subtle James Bond-ian styled effort (even the music makes cheap callbacks to the classic Bond theme).

Messy as it can feel given all of the major players in this story, First Strike hardly slows down. Opening on an intense shoot-out and bonkers snowboarding chase, it isn’t long until Chan is dueling massive men (including Nathan Jones’ first on-screen appearance) in a hotel room, then inside a warehouse, and finally an unbelievable underwater battle among sharks inside an aquarium. Jackie Chan is a man whose career was driven by action design, and playfully goofy as that back-and-forth, near-drowning battle can be, from a technical standpoint, it’s unbelievable to watch unfold. The drama isn’t lost either; it’s pure Chan.

This was the final entry in the Police Story series, the longest franchise of Chan’s career, (not that the movies are tightly interwoven by any continuing narrative). It’s a grand send off that began with a near-death jump in a mall, helicopter stunts that defy all sane behavior, and a litany of other memorable moments. That First Strike can stand out against those undeniable Hong Kong action classics as a testament to how well honed Chan became at his art, designing spectacular sequences. Given the end of First Strike is a piece of text plastered on-screen that feels like a Simpsons gag (“Poochie went back to home planet…”), it’s clear that story was always a secondary concern. So be it if that means more time with Chan juggling objects.

There’s a heavy fog in the opening to First Strike, an early challenge for the encode. Although there’s a slight sense the imagery is drifting toward digital-ness, it’s otherwise meticulous and natural. Compression is careful and has enough space to handle the job. This new 4K master comes from the original negative, undamaged and pristine.

While not the sharpest source material, there’s detail to appreciate. Facial definition appears natural and defined in close. Wide shots make use of the resolution, resolving brick buildings, snowy hills, and whatever else First Strike throws at this disc.

Splendid color under the banner of Dolby Vision brightens up ski wear, with lush primaries showing elsewhere too, like the dragon festival. Flesh tones look precise, slightly warmed, and appealing. Although snow provides possibilities, the overall HDR effect is lean, with moderate contrast. Peak brightness isn’t impressive, but sufficient. Luckily, the black levels are stable, solid, and dense.

On the Hong Kong cut, Cantonese and Mandarin tracks are available in 2.0 PCM. Stereo effects are common, with a pleasing split between the channels. Vehicles regularly split the soundstage, panning side-to-side accurately without a miss. Fidelity sounds clean, pure, and unfazed by any age or other source limitation. Treble never wavers, and the score provides a slight thump in the low-end.

On the original cut disc, Hong Kong cinema experts Frank Djeng and F.J. DeSanto return for another commentary. The fourth part of a documentary split across discs in the set is here, along with outtakes and stills. Djeng returns for an interview on the international cut’s disc, along with additional scenes and dubbing added for a TV cut.

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