Thunderbolt (3 Stars)

Please don't get this film confused with "Thunderbolts", which I watched last week. "Thunderbolt" is a Hong Kong sports film starring Jackie Chan, made in 1995.

It's one of Chan's strangest films because it sidelines the very thing that made him famous. Instead of wall to wall martial arts, the film spends most of its running time on high speed car racing, leaving fans waiting far too long for the action they came to see.

Chan plays Chan Foh To, a gifted mechanic whose driving skills attract the attention of both the police and an infamous street racer known as Cougar. After helping the authorities catch a criminal, Foh To becomes the target of Cougar's revenge. The ruthless racer kidnaps Foh To's sisters and forces him into a series of increasingly dangerous races, knowing that defeat could cost innocent lives.

The film builds towards a climactic race rather than a climactic fight. The final showdown is an extended, high stakes motorsport spectacle featuring exotic cars, spectacular crashes and dangerous stunts. The racing is undeniably well executed, but it leaves martial arts fans short changed. Apart from a handful of brief fights scattered throughout the film, Jackie Chan has surprisingly little opportunity to showcase the acrobatic combat that made him an international star.

Viewed purely as a racing thriller, "Thunderbolt" is entertaining and technically accomplished. Viewed as a Jackie Chan film it's a disappointment. The cars get far more screen time than Chan's fists, making it one of the least satisfying entries in his Hong Kong career for fans of his trademark action style.

That's three films in a row that I've watched which star Jackie Chan. I'm taking a short break now. I already know what I'm going to watch next, because the Blu-ray is already in my player. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what it is.