User:FrostFairBlade/sandbox/High Risk (1995 film)

Conception

 * Chan publicly criticized City Hunter and its director, Wong Jing
 * In his 1998 autobiography, he stated that City Hunter "is okay, but not one of my favorites."
 * In response, Wong wrote, directed and produced High Risk, which satirized Chan as a womanizing drunkard
 * Chan admitted in a later memoir that he "was quite a nasty jerk" during his rise to fame, spending his fortune on "drinking, gambling and girls" and confessing that he had repeatedly engaged in drunk driving
 * Richard Meyers reports an alternate version, where Wong made the film after Chan dropped out of co-starring in one of his movies with Jet Li

Writing

 * The film satirized American action movies, namely Die Hard (1988)
 * The film's Chinese title is meant to be a reference to the Chinese name of the 1988 film Die Hard
 * According to Richard Meyers, Wong incorporated the rumour that director Stanley Tong performed Rumble in the Bronx 's jump between buildings into the film

Critical response

 * Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: "Director Wong Jing does an impressive job of keeping the film's many moods in harmony."
 * Noted that such a satirical film would never be made in America, due to how much of a scandal it would cause
 * Described the film's climax as "restrained and tasteful"
 * Stephen Hunter, The Baltimore Sun: Described the film as "an amusing parody of Jackie Chan that both mocks the form of the Hong Kong kung-fu action picture while also delivering one"
 * Noted that the director "shunts between incredible farce and incredible spectacle"
 * Sean Axmaker, The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide: "Wong Jing [...] is a shamelessly slapstick-oriented director, but he knows how to stage an action scene- gunplay, explosions, terrific martial arts battles, and a spectacular helicopter stunt highlight this comic action picture."
 * Walter Addiego, The San Francisco Examiner: "In all, the film offers 98 minutes of fast-paced silliness for those willing to overlook some lapses in taste and more than a few subtitle gaffes."
 * Noted that the humour was "sometimes juvenile", but highlighted a scene where Li fights with a movie lighting track
 * Sean P. Means, The Salt Lake Tribune: Described it as a "bombastic piece of Hong Kong action that borrows heavily from Hollywood explode-a-thons"
 * Surmised that English-language audiences would find the poorly-proofread subtitles funny
 * Noted the film uses plot elements from American action movies, such as the bomb defusal from Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
 * Noted that "Cheung has a field day lampooning Chan's slapstick mugging and superstar narcissism", Wong's propensity for "[adding] lots of in-jokes for maximum comedic effect"
 * Philippa Hawker, The Age: The film is "a sometimes funny jibe at a well-known action star"
 * Noted the film borrows heavily from Die Hard

Post-release

 * In an 1998 interview with IGN, Chan dismissed the film, saying that he was pleased that the film did not perform well at the box office and that Wong "always [wanted] to make quick money"
 * Chan and Li would eventually co-star together in The Forbidden Kingdom (2008)

Home media

 * It was released in the United States as Meltdown