Given the immense success of Project A (‘A’ gai wak), the swashbuckling martial-arts comedy that cemented Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong movie stardom in 1983, it was to no one’s surprise that he made a sequel several years later. Chan’s box office prowess had only increased in the years between the two films, as he had starred in and directed the major hits Police Story (Ging chaat goo si, 1985) and Armour of God (Lung hing foo dai, 1986). While both of those films had contemporary settings, Project A II (‘A’ gai wak 2) allowed Chan to return to the world of late 19th-century Hong Kong under British colonialism. The film picks up right where the first one left off, although not before replaying many of the first film’s best action moments as both a reminder of how good the first one was and to set up what Chan hoped to surpass in terms of comedic stuntwork.

And Project A II is loaded with everything that Chan’s fans were clamoring for, although there is nothing in the film that quite equals the sheer insanity of the first film’s Harold Lloyd-style dangling from a three-story clock tower. Chan comes pretty close in the film’s climax, which involves a great deal of complex martial arts choreography mixed with nods to various comedic moments from the silent era, most notably an homage to Buster Keaton’s standing beneath a collapsing building in Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928). There is also a delightfully funny extended comic sequence derived from The Marx Brothers’ A Night at the Opera (1935) in which various characters are shuttling around a single house trying to hide from everyone else, with several of them at one point stuffed inside a wardrobe. There is a lightness to the comedy that belies all the action violence, reminding us that Chan was capable of all manner of humor, not just amusing martial-arts stuntwork.

Project A II lacks two of Chan’s main co-stars from the first film, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, but he makes up for their absence with a crammed plotline and a number of new characters, including Maggie Cheung’s Yesan, a member of a group of political agitators who are angling for a Chinese revolution. Chan’s Sergeant Dragon Ma Yue Lung is assigned to the police force headed by Superintendent Chun (David Lam), whose widely mediated heroism is often a cover for cold-blooded murder and corruption. Dragon, ever the straight arrow, tries to play by the rules, but finds that he is outmatched by both the inherent corruption of the police force to which he is assigned, where the officers are bribed and cowardly, and Tiger Au (Michael Wai-Man Chan), a local gangster with whom Chun is secretly working. Meanwhile, in the background lurk the surviving pirates from the first film, who have sworn vengeance against Dragon and are biding their time (often comically) while they wait for the perfect opportunity to slice him to pieces.

As with the first film, the plot, which was concocted by Chan and his regular co-writer Edward Tang, is a tangle of familiar devices that works primarily as justification for the various action sequences. Chan takes full advantage of the period setting, at one point staging a massive ballroom dance that has his character policing the scene in an absurd tuxedo. Chan’s stuntwork is duly impressive, as is his ability to merge the comical and the thrilling, especially in an extended sequence in which Dragon finds himself handcuffed to Chun and having to fight off the axe-wielding pirates together. All manner of inanimate objects are put to surprising use—chairs and tables and ladders and anything else Chan can get his hands on. He flings himself from great heights, slides down rooftops, and generally throws himself into the melee with wild abandon. Even when it doesn’t entirely hold together, it still has more energy, audacity, and sheer creativity than the vast majority of action vehicles produced in Hollywood.

The Project A Collection 4K UHD + Blu-ray Limited Edition Four-Disc Box Set
This four-disc 4K UHD / Blu-ray set contains two films: Project A (1983) and Project A Part II (1987).
Aspect Ratio	2.39:1 (both films)
Audio	Cantonese Dolby Atmos (both films) Mandarin Dolby Atmos (both films) Cantonese Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural (both films) Mandarin Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural (both films) English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural (both films)
Subtitles	English
Supplements	Project A Audio commentary by Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto (Hong Kong Cut) Audio commentary by Frank Djeng (Hong Kong Cut) Interview with Jackie Chan’s stunt double, Mars Cheung “Dancing With Danger”: interview with stuntman Mars “Master Killer”: interview with Grandmaster Lee Hoi-san “The Elusive Dragon”: interview with Yuen Biao “The Pirates Den”: interview with Dick Wei “Can’t Stop the Music”: interview with composer Michael Lai “Project Collector with Paul Dre” “Plan B”: writer Edward Tang on Project A Outtakes Japanese version ending “The Making of Project A” featurette Lunar New Year Introduction Hong Kong trailer English trailer Stills gallery Project A Part II Audio commentary by Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto (Hong Kong Cut) Interview with Anthony Carpio “The Big Boss”: interview with Chan Wai-Man “Someone Will Know Me” 1988 documentary focusing on three members of the Jackie Chan stunt team Japanese version ending Full-Screen Jackie Chan Recording Session Hong Kong trailer Export trailer Tai Seng trailer Stills gallery Six double-sided collectable art cards Double-sided foldout posters for both films 100-page illustrated collectors’ book featuring “Labor of Love: Jackie’s Plan A Worked Out” by Thorsten Boose, “Project A, No Plan B: A Look Into How Project A I & II defined the Jackie Chan 1980s Style” by Paul Bramhall, and “Someone Will Know Me” interview with Roberta Chow by Thorsten Boose Double-sided artwork for both sleeves featuring new art by “Kung Fu” Bob O’Brien & original Hong Kong posters
Distributor	88 Films
Release Date	October 15, 2024
COMMENTS
This impressive, beautifully packaged four-disc boxset from 88 Films brings together both Project A and Project A II in its various manifestations, and I cannot imagine that Jackie Chan fans will be anything less than absolutely elated to have it in their hands. Both films have been given brand-new 4K/Dolby Vision HDR10 remasters from the original 35mm camera negatives that have them looking brand-new in their original 2.39:1 aspect ratios (each is included on both a 4K UHD and a Blu-ray disc). Project A is included in both its 106-minute Hong Kong cut and its 115-minute Taiwanese cut, while Project A II includes its 107-minute Hong Kong cut and its 98-minute export cut. The Hong Kong versions of the films include both Cantonese and Mandarin-language options in Dolby Atmos and English monaural. The images on both films look fantastic, with good texture, excellent color saturation, and an almost complete absence of any signs of age or wear. I can’t imagine them looking much better. The newly mixed Dolby Atmos tracks are also great, opening up the soundtrack with some good surround effects and giving all the various punches, crashes, and breaking glass extra depth and punch. In addition to the first-rate picture and audio quality, 88 Films’ box set is stuffed with supplements. On the Hong Kong cut of Project A, we get two new commentaries: one by Hong Kong film specialist Frank Djeng and film producer FJ DeSanto and a solo commentary by Djeng that covers some of the same ground, but also offers a lot of unique insight and history. There are also six video interviews: “Dancing with Danger” is a 16-minute interview with martial-arts actor and stuntman Mars Cheung; “Master Killer” is a 22-minute interview with grandmaster Lee Hoi-san; “The Elusive Dragon” is an 18-minute interview interview with actor Yuen Biao; “The Pirates Den” is a 14-minute interview with actor Dick Wei; “Can’t Stop the Music” is a 17-minute interview with composer Michael Lai; and “Plan B” is a 15-minute interview with screenwriter Edward Tang. In addition, we get “Project Collector With Paul Dre,” a 16-minute tour of Dre’s massive collection of Jackie Chan ephemera; 24 minutes of outtakes; the Japanese version ending; “The Making of Project A,” which, despites its title, is not a documentary, but rather 12 minutes of silent behind-the-scenes footage; a Hong Kong trailer and an English-language trailer; and a stills gallery. Project A II also offers a great new commentary Frank Djeng and FJ DeSanto on the Hong Kong cut, as well as two more substantial video interviews: one with actor Anthony Carpio (25 min.) and one with actor Chan Wai Man (20 min.). We also get a fascinating, 13-minute archival documentary called Someone Will Know Me (1988) that focuses on three members of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team— Mars, Chris Li, and Rocky Lai—against the backdrop of Project A II’s production. There is also a 2.5-minute video of Jackie Chan recording the film’s theme song (which we see in the upper lefthand corner of the screen during the closing credits), three trailers (Hong Kong, export, and Tai Seng), and a stills gallery. And I would be absolutely remiss if I did not mention that the boxset is packaged with six double-sided collectable art cards (three for each film), a double-sided foldout poster for each film, and, best of all, a 100+ page perfect-bound book that is full of informative essays about Jackie Chan and the making of these two films. As I was not deeply familiar with them before reviewing this boxset, I found the information in the book to be very enlightening about their significance, and it helped me to better understand Chan’s career trajectory and why the Project A films were so important to his cementing his global superstardom. The book is well designed and beautifully illustrated with tons of archival images and documents, as well.

Copyright © 2024 James Kendrick

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