As a child I grew up watching tons of Jackie Chan movies, which very much made my generation addicted to his kind of karate. We liked Bruce Lee for sure - but he was often too serious for us Western kids. His martial arts movies were really "art", whilst Jackie Chan just made fun of everything - he was the perfect entertainer for child and adult alike.Now as an "old" man he not just plays a rather passive (compared to his former roles) main character, but also does it seriously. And honestly his work just blew my mind. I hope I won't spoiler anything, but while he may not do any funny karate moves, there are enormous amount of razor sharp blades, blood and raw violence. Yet, the story is centered around one of the biggest social problems of our days: migration. Migration brings happiness, fear, success, illegal jobs, family reunion, crime and organized crime. And Jackie Chan is no shy man to show both the bright and dark side of this topic. However, at some points the direction insterted parts of the script as rather silly sounding conversations, which might seem even more comic to those not familiar with Asian culture. In these scenes the movie wants to draw some moral or ethical conclusion out of what the characters have done so far. It is a bit pointless unless the goal was to educate the viewers about what a Chineese immigrant can do in Japan - which actually pretty much makes sense in this context. But it interrupts the movie's rhytm so heavily, that it's like an intermission cut in from some low score movie. Still, I'm quiet sure Jackie and director Tung-Shing Yee had good intentions with these scenes (as with the whole movie), so I'm just noting it for those who might think it will be 2 hours of endless killing. No, it won't - sit down, it's the perfect opportunity to learn your lesson about migration's challenges and grow some emotional intelligence if you are only in for the missing body parts.As for the actors - I'm proud of myself that I could always differentiate between Japanese and Chineese characters. Though I probably shouldn't be - it's likely the result of good casting and costume design. So a big thanks for the film crew for this - some of us just don't have the ability to tell the differences. Character development is also a strong point, couldn't really say there were "bad" roles - even minor actors did OK with Western standards, which is actually a bit of a surprise if you know how much the Chineese movies were about overreacting some years ago. So yeah - even though it has it's strange habits, Jackie Chan did not let his fans down. He just tried something different this time - but he excels just as well in this dark criminal movie, as in his own realm.

Shinjuku IncidentI am a big Jackie Chan, no doubt about that. I read about this movie as it was Jackie's first "dramatic" role. I saw this movie and i thought not good not bad but ehhh.Jackie Chan Plays Steel Head, a poor immigrant who goes to Japan in search of his Fiancé.The Pluses: GREAT depiction of Japan, Jackie Chan using his fighting skills, the girl Lily and the Yakuza members. The overall message of togetherness.The Minuses: Kinda dramatic, its gets gory to the end. Sad ending. Leave it at thatOverall, Shinjuku Incident is a good movie but has its bad. watch it for Jackie Chan.

Two men, Steelhead, a migrant worker from China, and Kitano, the detective who hunts illegal Gastarbeiters in Japan, are caught in the middle of an unfolding mob war in the very core of a heavy personal drama, set in Tokyo.A clear cut devotion to a code of honor unites two men from two distinctly different and opposing walks of life.When Steelhead saves Kitano's life in the beginning of the movie, we witness chemistry between the two, an unuttered understanding. When they later move to solve the crisis they became part of, we are hooked and seek to find out whether the two will clash or bond in the end.The movie is built on an intense plot with a tragic story that stands on social contrast and brings to light shady and unsolicited brutal details of how far a battle for survival can take you. Beneath layers of consumerist glamor, there's a well concealed life of pain and misery. As a rule people don't really want to go there, but Jackie Chan and his crew make it a point to sober us up and make us see the naked truth.This film is a shocker. It doesn't offer an escape into a surreal fun world where everything is peachy. Jackie Chan here is on top of his new game as a drama actor and he does well. His character has been through a lot and lives through many controversial choices. Steelhead tries to trick his consciousness into a compromise, but doesn't succeed even when swept away by the waves of criminal unrest. Kitano, in turn, is played with a classy Japanese reserved flavor. He walks the city to protect his people and in the end learns quite a bit about what life is really made of.

Early on Jackie figured out what he did best and gave it to a public which ate it up.What to do now that an ageing body isn't up to the trademark stunts of his earlier movies? It seems his answer is to develop a new 'persona'. Unfortunately, it's a little beyond his range right now. But, given time and a few more roles, he may learn to act.John Travolta and Frank Sinatra both developed into fine actors late in their careers. There was no sign of that in their earlier films.Jackie needs to develop a new formula - not step into a formula role which is not suited to him. Otherwise, there will be more disappointments.