Besides the emotional and inspiring story of how Jackie Chan went from a teenage stuntman in Bruce Lee films to become a star on his own, his films available on YouTube are alone to make anyone a fan.
Unlike the Messi-Ronaldo, Rihanna-Beyonce, and Wizkid-Davido rivalries, you can be a Jet Li fan too. Since Chan began starring in films as far back as the late 1970s, it is understandable if you are not a fan.
To understand why people are devoted to this slapstick acrobatic comic actor, you will need to watch ten of his best films. They are selected to show his range and ability to turn every role into an entertaining display.
Caveat: Avoid his 2011 Chinese historical drama film “1911”, which has been described as a propaganda vehicle, as it does not do his fame justice.
Here are the ten must-see Jackie Chan films available on YouTube:
10. Project A
https://youtu.be/OfDKAOXReeo
This is a 1983 Hong Kong action comedy film series that blends Chinese martial arts with bawdy comedy and spectacular stunts. Chan worked with Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao, two actors he knew from his opera school days. With this film, he was able to establish himself as a foremost entertainer.
Before the release of “Project A”, martial arts films have been viewed as too serious and many viewers only watched it for the fight scenes as many other action films. Comedy-action genres were just getting early acceptance at the time with Jackie Chan at the forefront for films like “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow” and “Drunken Master”. He got most of his international fans after the film’s success, although he was still only popular in Asia at the time.
9. Drunken Master
https://youtu.be/v-xyxpYth_w
“Drunken Master” is iconic because it was the second time that directors gave Jackie Chan a platform to be himself after several attempts to model him into a new Bruce Lee. He was just coming off the set of “Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow”; which was the first attempt to bring the new comedic-king-fu concept.
The film was a comedic relief through-and-through with innovative fighting scenes and improvised stunts as well that will come to characterise most of Chan’s films in future.
8. Armour of God II: Operation Condor
https://youtu.be/J0jTQD9gHTI
Moving away from the traditional martial arts duel-style fighting, “Armour of God II: Operation Condor” took Jackie Chan from an Asian star to a global superstar. The film got released in North America, the UK and later in the US.
He played the character of an adventurer fighting a former Nazi to retrieve gold from an abandoned German base deep in the Sahara Desert. Chan masterfully maintains his comedic style of fighting while facing off against heavily armed oppositions in believable choreographed fight scenes.
7. Rush Hour
https://youtu.be/V3_TG_p2TgA
While this is another action comedy film, it is one of the actor’s most famous role in an American film. He starred alongside actor and stand-up comedian Chris Tucker, and they delivered one of the most cohesive performances by two main characters in modern history.
“Rush Hour” grossed a total of $244 million in the box office and proved to be one of Chan’s most commercially successful films. But apart from its earnings, it is an entertaining film that you will never get tired of watching, and it has two sequels to keep you going for as long as you have.
6. Police Story
