Shinjuku Incident |  | Director: Derek Yee
Actors: Jackie Chan, Naoto Takenaka, Masaya Kato, Xu Jinglei, Daniel Wu
Studio: Joy Sales Film
Category: DVD
List Price: $31.98
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Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 115693
Format: Color, DVD, Import, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Cantonese (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 0
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 119 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5
EAN: 4895074425547
ASIN: B002IRDDE8
Theatrical Release Date: 2009
Release Date: August 18, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
Unreleased in mainland China due to its excessive violence, Derek Yee's crime picture Shinjuku Incident is a rare attempt at serious drama for action star Jackie Chan. As Steelhead, a taciturn mechanic who endures the punishing life of illegal Chinese immigrants in Japan while looking for a missing sweetheart, Chan drops his trademark balletic martial arts and broad comic style, and for the most part he's successful at conveying the character's basic goodness and dismay (and finally, anger) at the situation faced by his compatriots. Daniel Wu is also fine as a hapless friend whose entanglement with gangsters forces Steelhead to team with the local yakuza for a gruesome showdown. Stateside audiences who've grown accustomed to Chan's Mr. Nice Guy persona may find his darker turn, as well as the jaw-dropping violence, off-putting; fans of Asian action cinema, however, will appreciate Yee's noirish aesthetic but may also be split over a Chan who displays neither his astonishing skills nor his considerable charm. --Paul Gaita
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
 A very violent and bloody departure from his light-hearted martial arts antics November 24, 2009
buru buru piggu (New York, NY USA)
Fans of Jackie Chan's American body of work need to know that this film is quite different from his usual lighthearted and comedy-filled jaunts like Rush Hour/Rush Hour 2, Shanghai Noon / Shanghai Knights, and Forbidden Kingdom. Don't expect comic kung-fu mischief, bus-top acrobatics, or any kind of comedy. This is a dark and violent crime drama like New Police Story, except here, Chan is the bad guy instead of a cop.
At the start of the film, a ship smuggling illegal Chinese immigrants has run aground somewhere off the coast of Japan. Next, we see Jackie Chan's character, Steelhead, wandering the streets of Tokyo, avoiding police as they round up prostitutes and other vagrants. He has left his village and entered Japan illegally in search of his fiancee, Xiu Xiu, meanwhile finding shelter among other illegal Chinese immigrants and doing menial labor to support himself.
He soon discovers that she now goes by the name Yuko and is married to a high-level Yakuza figure, Eguchi. Unlike other Yakuza, he is sympathetic to the situation of Chinese immigrants in Japan, and offers Steelhead employment as his bodyguard. Steelhead refuses, saying he prefers to make an honest living no matter how arduous. However, survival in Tokyo is difficult and he is quickly sucked into a downward spiral of violence and criminal activity as his clan clashes with Chinese and Japanese gangs.
Through a series of improbable events, Steelhead rises through the ranks of the criminal underworld, becoming Eguichi's right hand. What follows is one orgy of violence after another, with turf wars, Yakuza in-fighting, and other viscous acts. Be warned. There are some very graphic depictions of violence, torture, and gore. The second half of the movie just degenerates into one bloody mess of incoherent and senseless violence, leading up to a final (and preposterous) confrontation reminiscent of the showdown at the end of Black Rain. There is a half-baked and abortive romance between Steelhead and a hostess with a heart of gold named Lily (played by the beautiful Fan Bingbing), and another thread of friendship, alliances, and loyalty, but all that got chucked out the window once the blood started flying. My reaction is not against the level of violence in it, as violence is a part of the crime genre. It's against the level stupidity and gratuity of the violence. Yakuza do not travel in large packs with samurai swords! Clumsy gang wars happen in broad daylight, in full crowds. Important bosses are assassinated without so much as a guard in sight. All very hard to accept.
The story of rags to kingpin riches is possibly patterned after Once Upon a Time in America. Not well-written and full of mind-numbing violence, this film is hard to recommend, except maybe as an example of schlock or to see Naoto Takenaka try to speak comically-bad Chinese.
The Shinjuku Incident November 9, 2009
Clinton Enlow (Kansas)
You can always feel in certain Jackie Chan movies a need to be more than the funnyman who puts his body on the line for entertainment. In the past He's had movies like Heart of the Dragon, and New Police Story but those are more action oriented with a heavy dose of melodrama. The Shinjuku Incident as one of his newer films is one of Chan's better efforts at dramatic acting since Crime Story thanks to the work of Derek Yee. Yee as a filmmaker has directed two of the better Hong Kong films in Protege and One Night in Mongkok. His films are more drama oriented with action more grounded in reality than over the top theatrics. Shinjuku Incident as it is, is a weaker film compared to those two films but it is good never the less thanks to a good story and a great cast of actors Japanese and Chinese alike.
The Shinjuku Incident is about Chan's character Steelhead who enters Japan illegally looking for his love interest. He hooks up with a friend, Jie who is living eeking out a living with other imigrants working odd jobs for bad pay or stealing from street vendors for pay. Steelhead makes friends in a friendly madam and more importantly in Inspector Kitano whom Steelhead saves while fleeing from him in the sewers. The main conflict involves Eguchi, the new husband of Chan's love Xiu Xiu who she's married and had a daughter with. Eguchi is second in a Yakuza family who's been elected to the top spot of the Yakuza (I'm probably badly interpeting Yakuza politics but my only exposure to the subject involves the films of Takeshi Kitano and Kinji Fukasaku)Eguchi is being targeted by his rivals and when they make a move against him Steelhead saves him, thereafter becoming an enforcer for him.
I've outlined too much of the plot which is a bit large and convoluted. Yee has a naturalistic approach to direction like I said which works more in the film favor and the film moves at a steady pace. And the actors are all good. While this is a good film for Chan most of his performance is more due to the fact that his performance isn't over the top but rarely comes across as forced and boring. The better performances as it is comes from the supporting characters especially Naoto Takenaka who shines in his scenes while Masaya Kato is good at being a villain who doesn't feel entirely villainous. But the best thing in the film is Yee. Like his previous films the action is built around the drama and shot in a realistic manner. The film did make news for the violence it portrays with hands being cut off, torture, and throat slashings but in truth the only action comes from a scene near the end, a well structured siege where Yakuza lay siege to a Chinese building as Chans brothers are betraying him. Its well done, reminiscent of Assault on Precint 13.
In the end its a good movie with at least two problems in my opinion. While I liked most of the actors Daniel Wu's Jie comes off a bit trite and cliche with the tortures He endures turning him into a turncoat who overacts and wears a stupid wig. As Wu was in both of Yee's previous films this is a bit of a problem compounded by the fact that it doesn't feel right for the rest of the films tone. Another problem is that while the film is set up nicely the end seems to rush to its finale. You never get a feel for Steelhead's work for the Yakuza while his chinese brethren seem to betray him for very little feeling mostly forced and uninteresting.
Despite that problem I do think this is more of a positive work for Chan and in the future I do hope He explores more of an actor side to performance than the stuntmans work. The film is an evolution of sorts for him and a good film to see for his fans.
I don't know when or if We'll see a region One DVD on this release, though it does seem to be a good choice for Dragon Dynasty. As it is if you have the capability Hong Kong films get mixed releases though they don't skimp on the features. For a film like Overheard which visually is one of my worst experiences with DVD you have something like The Shinjuku Incident which for my money looked and sounded perfect, better than many American discs I've owned. All of this is moot depending on if an American company picks the film for a release as I've said but whats there is great for those willing to spend the money for it.
Intense Gangster Film Starring Jackie Chan (Don't Expect Comic Kung-fu Action) September 18, 2009
Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan)
Shinjuku is one of the major commercial centers of Tokyo. Jackie Chan's new film "Shinjuku Incident," set in the downtown area of the capital of Japan, is a change of pace for the star known for his death-defying actions. And the change is drastic.
In a 2009 film "Shinjuku Incident" ("San suk si gin") Jackie Chan plays a hard-working tractor repairman Steelhead living in the countryside of the mainland China. His childhood friend and sweetheart Xiu Xiu (Jinglei Xu) went to Japan more than 10 years ago, but he has lost contact with her. So Steelhead decides to immigrate illegally to Japan to know what really happened to his missing love.
Steelhead manages to get to Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he is welcomed by his countrymen including his old friend Jie (Daniel Wu). While looking for Xiu Xiu and ways to survive as illegal laborer, Steelhead gets entangled in a web of intrigue and violence after the run-ins with the local gangsters ruling the underworld of Shinjuku district.
[NO ORDINARY JACKIE CHAN FILM] This is a Jackie Chan film, but surely not his usual action flick. Here Jackie doesn't kick, punch, or jump from the top of a bus. Keep this in mind, he never does. Instead of playing a likable hero of justice, Jackie Chan is a very ordinary person. Though his non-action acting is quite impressive, some fans might be shocked to see his character committing some serious crimes. His fans know Jackie Chan maintains his strict control over his image on screen - his heroic characters might "defeat" villains, but not "kill," and a big no-no is sleeping with a woman. In "Shinjuku Incident" he breaks all these self-imposed rules.
"Shinjuku Incident" is directed by veteran Tung-Shing Yee from Hong Kong, whose works as director include noir-style crime thriller "One Nite in Mongkok." In fact the film is more like a Hong Kong noir. "Shinjuku Incident" has several action scenes, but they are violent, bloody and most of all brutal. Don't expect Jackie's comical kung-fu actions with clever use of props. You will never have one.
The film's slightly complicated story is engaging enough, but some characters are a bit unbelievable or even stereotyped. Several episodes about Inspector Kitano (Naoto Takenaka) are too good to be true, and some of the characters (gangsters/yakuza/politicians) are stock types derived from other gangster/yakuza films.
Again I say this is a change of pace for Jackie Chan and you may not like what you see in his latest effort. The film is flawed, but still impressive with the strong acting from the leading star.
[TRIVIA]
1) The stranded cargo boat in the opening scene is a real one. Tung-Shing Yee heard the news of this stranded Russian cargo and quickly he changed the filming schedule to use it as background before it was removed.
2) Though part of the film was really shot in Shinjuku, most of the main actions were actually shot in Kobe City, about 570 kilometers (350 miles) west of Tokyo.
Tense + Dark + Bloody + Vividly portraits gang lives in Japan + Best drama-acting of Jackie Chan so far August 23, 2009
Cestmoi
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
- It's fast-paced, tense, dark and bloody.
- To some degree, it faithfully and vividly portraits the gang lives of some Chinese illegal immigrants in Japan. For example, it shows them making money buy selling fake phone cards, stealing from gambling machine, cleaning sewers, sorting garbage in recyclable and non-recyclable stuff, etc.
- The ending is predictable.
- It gives enough time to develop some good character development.
- This is not a typical movie by Jackie Chan. There's no joke. It's not a comedy-action movie.
- It's the BEST drama-acting of Jackie Chan so far. All his previous attempts at this are bad jokes. It's Definitely Worth Watching..
 Jackie Chan's true acting skills! August 19, 2009
C. Panther (Dumfries, VA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Jackie Chan finally delivers his amazing acting skills in this Shinjuku Incident I just watched an hour ago. I've been waiting for Jackie Chan to make a movie where there is no action-comedy (not to say i don't love those) and just take his acting to the next level. Great story, characterization, and energy given in this film. A new view of Jackie Chan.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 6
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