Serious action fans would be appalled to hear it, but Rumble in the Bronx is my favorite Jackie Chan movie. Yes, yes, I know he's done far more ambitious and better movies like Armour of God, Project A, Drunken Master 2, and Police Story, but Rumble brings me the fondest memories.
It wasn't easy to see Jackie movies for a long time. I loved his episode of The Incredibly Strange Film Show, but the movies themselves were elusive. There were poorly dubbed and edited videotapes, murky bootlegs, and confusing re-titles. I couldn't see any of them in the theater until New Line Cinema gave Rumble in the Bronx a wide distribution in 1994.
Horror, as we all know, was in the doldrums in the '90s. Jingoistic war movies were out of fashion. Big budget action turned bloated with pungent flatulence. I fed my cinematic habit with independent, foreign, and underground productions.
Hollywood was finally taking notice that Hong Kong was the action capital of the world, and the films were being distributed and imitated by the studios. Directors were, heh heh, wooed into coming West to show us how to do it right.
I saw quite a few around the same period. Hard Target was John Woo's American debut. Robert Rodriguiz put his playful slant on the genre with Desperado. By the way, Desperado was filmed as Pistolero, but Miramax felt audiences wouldn't know what the word meant, and had the title changed. Pistolero is a more accurate and evocative title than the bland Desperado. Sadly, though, I think they were right to change it.
And there was Rumble in the Bronx. I distinctly remember leaving the long-dead indie theater. I loved the movie, and I was energized. The movie horizons were bright, and the next several years were a kind of nirvana to film fans. I miss the nineties.
Rumble in the Bronx has a lame story, iffy acting, clunky dialogue, but it's pure Jackie Chan. It's impossible to dislike him as you watch the movie. He's a white-hat good guy and he not only kicks villainous ass, he converts some to the side of good. The action is typically jaw-dropping, the humor usually works, and despite all the violence, the whole film feels joyous.
It is one of my best '90s movie experiences.
Years later I had a family, and we had a special needs daughter. Life was hard for us all, but especially so for her. She struggled with everything, and bringing her happiness was always challenging. I tried to show movies she would like. Some worked and others didn't. One night we watched Rumble in the Bronx.
There wasn't a lot of reaction from her, but a night or two later she asked if we could watch Rumble in the Branches again. I laughed, but not in a mean way. I was delighted she enjoyed the movie enough to wish to see it again so soon.
She later confessed to her mother that she would like to marry Jackie Chan. That wasn't rare. Many of Jackie's fans declared love for the man. He even had to downplay romance in his films, because some women literally became suicidal because of it.
Jackie Chan represents everything good and noble about the human species. The man is incredible. A physical miracle, he does unimaginable things with his body. He accepts unbelievable challenges and seems to succeed at all of them. One gets the feeling he could take any hit and come back smiling and victorious.
Jackie came to our town once. It wasn't publicized. He was invited to a tour of NASA. After it was done, Jackie had some time, so he asked his limo driver to look for some children. They found an elementary school on a road I've driven down hundreds of times. Jackie jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the kids. He performed stunts and made jokes as the children laughed and cheered. Jackie told them they could be like him, or do anything, but they had to do well in school first.
Some celebs would indulge in local cuisine and go rest. Others might desire exotic pleasures. Jackie wanted to spend time with children.
Yes, Jackie Chan is a hero of mine. His charm is out in full force in Rumble in the Bronx, but I will always think of it as Rumble in the Branches.
Written by Mark Sieber
It wasn't easy to see Jackie movies for a long time. I loved his episode of The Incredibly Strange Film Show, but the movies themselves were elusive. There were poorly dubbed and edited videotapes, murky bootlegs, and confusing re-titles. I couldn't see any of them in the theater until New Line Cinema gave Rumble in the Bronx a wide distribution in 1994.
Horror, as we all know, was in the doldrums in the '90s. Jingoistic war movies were out of fashion. Big budget action turned bloated with pungent flatulence. I fed my cinematic habit with independent, foreign, and underground productions.
Hollywood was finally taking notice that Hong Kong was the action capital of the world, and the films were being distributed and imitated by the studios. Directors were, heh heh, wooed into coming West to show us how to do it right.
I saw quite a few around the same period. Hard Target was John Woo's American debut. Robert Rodriguiz put his playful slant on the genre with Desperado. By the way, Desperado was filmed as Pistolero, but Miramax felt audiences wouldn't know what the word meant, and had the title changed. Pistolero is a more accurate and evocative title than the bland Desperado. Sadly, though, I think they were right to change it.And there was Rumble in the Bronx. I distinctly remember leaving the long-dead indie theater. I loved the movie, and I was energized. The movie horizons were bright, and the next several years were a kind of nirvana to film fans. I miss the nineties.
Rumble in the Bronx has a lame story, iffy acting, clunky dialogue, but it's pure Jackie Chan. It's impossible to dislike him as you watch the movie. He's a white-hat good guy and he not only kicks villainous ass, he converts some to the side of good. The action is typically jaw-dropping, the humor usually works, and despite all the violence, the whole film feels joyous.
It is one of my best '90s movie experiences.
Years later I had a family, and we had a special needs daughter. Life was hard for us all, but especially so for her. She struggled with everything, and bringing her happiness was always challenging. I tried to show movies she would like. Some worked and others didn't. One night we watched Rumble in the Bronx.
There wasn't a lot of reaction from her, but a night or two later she asked if we could watch Rumble in the Branches again. I laughed, but not in a mean way. I was delighted she enjoyed the movie enough to wish to see it again so soon.
She later confessed to her mother that she would like to marry Jackie Chan. That wasn't rare. Many of Jackie's fans declared love for the man. He even had to downplay romance in his films, because some women literally became suicidal because of it.
Jackie Chan represents everything good and noble about the human species. The man is incredible. A physical miracle, he does unimaginable things with his body. He accepts unbelievable challenges and seems to succeed at all of them. One gets the feeling he could take any hit and come back smiling and victorious.
Jackie came to our town once. It wasn't publicized. He was invited to a tour of NASA. After it was done, Jackie had some time, so he asked his limo driver to look for some children. They found an elementary school on a road I've driven down hundreds of times. Jackie jumped out of the vehicle and ran to the kids. He performed stunts and made jokes as the children laughed and cheered. Jackie told them they could be like him, or do anything, but they had to do well in school first.
Some celebs would indulge in local cuisine and go rest. Others might desire exotic pleasures. Jackie wanted to spend time with children.
Yes, Jackie Chan is a hero of mine. His charm is out in full force in Rumble in the Bronx, but I will always think of it as Rumble in the Branches.
Written by Mark Sieber
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