Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageFirst Strike (1996)
Director: Stanley Tong
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A lot more fun than the Bond movies it gets into bed with, this sprawling action-adventure (nominally No 4 in Jackie Chan's Police Story series) shuttles from Hong Kong to the Ukraine and on to Australia for a climactic fight under water amid real live sharks. The McGuffin is the usual stolen nuclear warhead, but the stunts are the movie's raison d'être: a chase/shoot-out up a snowy mountain, immersion in an icy lake, a tussle on the outside of a tall building, a fight with improvised weapons including an aluminium step-ladder. The highpoint is Chan singing 'I Will Follow Him' while stripping at gunpoint. Watch out for substantial differences between the original Chinese version and the re-edited, dubbed US version.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Stanley Tong
Producer: Barbie Tun
Cast: Jackie Chan, Jackson Lau, Annie Wu, Bill Tung, Jouri Petrov, Grishajeva Nonna full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 107 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now