Rumble in the Bronx – Review

Ma Hon Keung (Chan) arrives in New York and meets his Uncle Bill (Tung) who drives him into the Bronx and to the supermarket he owns. Keung is a Hong Kong cop of 10 years who is looking for a working man’s life in America, helping his family like his father used to do.

Keung looks to fit into the slower and less dangerous civilian life while helping his disabled nephew Danny (Lam) and his uncle marry a new woman while stocking store shelves. Too bad as soon as he settles, two rival gangs led by White Tiger and Tony clash outside his store late at night. As dirt bikes zoom over parked cars in a race, thugs chant and cheer the competition on.

Keung watches from above, unsure how to keep the peace near the store. Things look tense, shaky even. There is about to be some kind of kung fu bonanza in a New York borough.

Rumble in the Bronx is a basic action movie setup for Jackie Chan to do some very impressive stunt work and fight scenes, per usual. Moving his quick feet to New York was a cool choice and the film was part of his international career expansion. A fresh setting and wild fights set this film up for success even if there are some weaker elements.

The bad guy hoodlums are goofy overacting bags of dog feces, which I suppose is exactly what you want for foot and fist fodder. The silly gang vehicles are both funny and ridiculous. The over-the-top nature of it all may be a detractor for some viewers, but I didn’t mind the vibe.

Some of the humor doesn’t land for me, but I appreciate a lighter element in a slightly darker Jackie Chan action flick like this one. The romance element is meh, but whatever, it doesn’t detract too much. Mostly if you want a good action flick, this remains a solid choice.

Chan is outstanding with his furious fight choreography and fast stunt work. A basic plot doesn’t really hold back enjoyment levels, as long as you don’t expect Oscar caliber acting. This is definitely a good one to try if you want to get into Jackie Chan’s filmography.

The Hong Kong Cut of the film is the original version, and restores some characters, sub plots and minor exposition, adding about 20 minutes in total. This is my preferred version now that I have finally seen it, and it has the original language track, which I find better than dubs myself.