New Police Story (2004)
New Police Story is a 2004 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan, and also produced by and starring Jackie Chan. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 24 September 2004. The film is a reboot of the Police Story series and is the fifth installment of the series. New Police Story relies much more on drama and heavy action than its predecessors.
Plot.
A group of 5 rebellious youths rob a bank with the intention of shooting police officers before making their escape. Inspector Chan Kwok-wing (Jackie Chan) and his squad are called to arrest the gang after their hideout is revealed. However, the place is rigged with traps, and the entire squad is decimated. After being defeated at several challenges with the rebels, Chan, the sole survivor of the incident, takes a year long leave from the police force to binge-drink after losing the squad, including Hong, the younger brother of Chan’s girlfriend, Ho Yee (Charlie Yeung). Chan is discovered by a stranger (Nicholas Tse), who identifies himself as Frank Cheng, Chan’s new partner. Frank tries to convince Chan to cancel his leave and reopen the case; Chan refuses, but comes to his senses by apprehending two youths who robbed him earlier while Chan was drunk. Chan’s superior Chiu Chan (Yu Rongguang), initially believing that Chan’s overconfidence alone was responsible for the disastrous raid, challenges them to solve the case before he does.
Frank explains to Chan about his persistence on the case that he is kin of a deceased squad member.
Frank and Chan visit and convince former colleague Sam Wong (Dave Wong), who is hiding in a bar, to reveal a clue from the night of the first robbery, a watch which he snatched from one of the robbers. Wong tells them that one of the gang members is a woman and that they like to play X-games. Chan and Frank are tailed by Chiu and the police as they search for the owner of the watch at an upcoming X-Games event; Sam has been arrested by the police to assist in the investigation. At the event, held on the rooftop of a skyscraper, Frank and Chan manage to locate one of the gang members, Fire (Terence Yin), while Sam and the police interrupt the event and single out the woman robber, Sue (Coco Chiang). Before they can apprehend them, Fire fatally wounds Sam, and the two escape. Sam confesses to Chan that he was blackmailed by the gang to aid them in ambushing Chan’s team. Chiu, upon overhearing this, has a change of heart.
Production, Box office.
Principal photography took place in Hong Kong between 1 January and 31 December 2003. New Police Story opened in Hong Kong on 23 September 2004 where it made HK$5,625,746 in its first three days. It ended its run with HK$21 million to making it the fourth highest-grossing domestic release of the year. The film received a limiting release in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2006. In its opening weekend the film grossed $19,332 having been shown in 16 theatres. It ranked #21 at the box office and averaged $1,208 per theatre. As of 22 October 2006, New Police Story had grossed a total of $33,404 in its two-week release in the UK. British television host and film critic Jonathan Ross gave the film a fairly positive review and felt that Chan could “still do the business”.