Shinjuku Incident (2009)

Fresh and Exciting

disgusting, overrated, pointless

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Bit of a surprise this film. Recorded it as was a Jackie Change film. Seen numerous of his films over the years when I was a kid, but tended to avoid his latest stuff which was just dirge. This though looked and sounded different.Note, there's no martial arts, there's no comedy and there's no 'Jackie'. He practically doesn't even smile. Instead we have Jackie Chan playing it straight as an illegal immigrant to Japan from China, aiming to make a living. Up against it, he and his cohorts get tangled up in the local mafia problems, and find that crime is their only way to survive. Some though have their limits, others don't know when to stop.This was an interesting enough movie, and Jackie Chan shows he has good acting ability away from his comedy family friendly fare. Ably assisted by a good ensemble and some good cinematography, the whole piece is well put together.Yet it still lacks something. It doesn't help that despite the change, Jackie Chan is still at the end playing the little guy with a heart and soul. There could have been a bit better developed story too. It wasn't bad but nothing special, yet was still good. Reverting to type for Jackie Chan's character in the last quarter was not a good move I think.It's a fair film, and if you like your Asian gangster movies then this is not a bad choice. For Jackie Chan it was nice to see a change, but it's also a lost opportunity too.

First, don't see this if you like Jacky Chan movies. Don't even read this review. Just go away. Sure, you might like it, but I think on average you are too likely to love comedy action above all else, and then you give it a bad review. Think of it instead like Goodfellas. Add a bit more of the pure immigrant story. Trying to make your way from the under-class. Crime because that's all you can do. Changing of the guard in the mob. Getting rank and power because you are reliable, getting screwed because you have some sense of morals, and try to protect your family. There is no absolutely good or evil, at all. People we hate at one moment evolved to that, and even then still act like humans. It's an epic crime family drama in every way and truly well made. Gore: Except for a few just terrible effects, Is correct for the location and genre. Just as many killings with guns would have seemed less violent due to the way firearms wounds are mostly depicted in movies. Knives and swords offer much more visible wounds, and so on. DO NOT watch a dubbed version. It's a drama. The dubbing is terrible so it is just not worth it.

Fans of Jackie Chan will know that the great man is no stranger to the gang scene. However, his experiences in the entertaining "Shinjuku Incident" cover a side to the genre which has, until now, not been seen in his previous work. Indeed, "Shinjuku Incident" probably owes more to a film like "Scarface" than anything from Chan's back-catalogue and the gritty, uncompromising world his character finds himself in is unlike any other he has seen.This is the story of Steelhead (Jackie Chan), a Chinese labourer who immigrates illegally to Japan in hope of finding an estranged girlfriend, Xiu Xiu (Jinglei Xu). However, though serving as the underlying motivation for his arrival in Japan, this mission is quickly replaced by the more immediate concerns of finding work. Through his eyes, we are taken around the back-alleys and black markets of Japan, a seedy and violent world run by Taiwanese mobsters and Yakuza crime-bosses. Though the actions of Steelhead and the other Chinese start out ostensibly unrelated to the schemes of these larger gangs, they very quickly find themselves treading on the wrong feet. When fellow immigrant Jie (Jack Gao) is attacked, Steelhead seeks revenge – a decision that changes the fates of Steelhead and his gang, and places them right in the middle of a Yakuza power struggle, all the time being watched closely by the snooping Police Inspector Kitano (Naoto Takenaka).It all sounds very typical for a gangland script and it could have been easy for director Tung-Shing Yee to over-focus on action to the detriment of the story but he doesn't, and with Jackie Chan turning in a solid performance as the good-guy-in-a-bad-situation, there is enough emotional connectivity here to elevate "Shinjuku Incident" above the dross. It is reassuringly even-handed on the sensitive issue of immigration; whilst links between illegal immigrants and criminal activity are mooted, the first half of the movie especially highlights how they are both exploited and trapped, all in the quest for a better life. Unfortunately this message does waver at times in the latter half, as some characters undergo radical character transformation, notably the character of Jei who moves from being a timid, out-of-his- depth victim to being a cartoonish Cruella-deVille-meets-"Beyond the Thunderdome"-esque parody of corrupting power. A few story elements become strangely ignored, not least the relationship between Steelhead and a female bar-owner (Bingbing Fan) whose character seemed explicitly created to act as translator between Steelhead and the Yakuza, and whilst I applauded the resistance to any form of "Hollywood"-ending, it was difficult to come away without feeling that there were some very noticeable threads left loose. The camera-work is fresh, with lots of well-constructed internal shooting, although the climactic fight between the Chinese and Yakuza was too poorly lit and needlessly chaotic for my tastes. The soundtrack was standard Hong Kong fare. Overall, "Shinjuku Incident" is a watchable film that deals with a very real issue and kept my attention piqued throughout. The acting is solid and the message bold, with some refreshing social commentary on the relationship between illegal immigration and crime. Though there are some particularly gritty and violent moments, the action is surprisingly small throughout and really overshadowed by some powerfully-charged scenes between the ever-sympathetic protagonist and his fellow underworld prisoners. Though the film never quite does enough to be considered totally recommendable, it is engaging and interesting enough to hold the attention of most viewers and I am glad to have caught it on TV.

Steelhead arrives in Shinjuku from China in hopes of finding the woman he loves. But his innocent world is soon tainted with crime and bloodshed as well as heartbreak.If you are expecting a Kung-Fu movie...Wrong film. This is about Jackie's acting skills, and he demonstrates that he actually is a fantastic actor who can play heart wrenching roles just as well as the Kung-Fu funny man. I honestly loved the story of Steelhead pursuit to be reunited with his lover, and when he finds out that she is with another man, he descends into the world of organised crime, threatening the Yakuza.There are flaws in the film, the second half is a let down with Daniel Wu taking on the look of a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' character. But apart from that there is not a bad actor among the cast, everyone gives a hundred percent...Yes, there are a lot of characters, which is another flaw, but you look past that and focus on Steelhead.The last Jackie Chan movie I watched was Rush Hour 3, and I just felt that his heart was no longer in mindless fighting films..I'd seen the genius of his intellect as he combined comedy with kung-fu in his earlier films...And this has re-invented him...Good job Jackie!