End Of An Era ?
Since the death of Bruce Lee, kung-fu fans had been searching for the next King of Kung Fu. We found him in the form of the incredible - Jackie Chan. Now that (even) Jackie has acknowledged, that the competition is coming in younger & stronger, we now look for the New sensation, in the world of kung-fu cinema. Well, look no further than this man. Wu Shu champion and heir to Chan's kung-fu crown (not his stunt one), he has proven himself a worthy successor to the throne. With crisp moves and tight action sequences, his movies have been thrilling and delighting fans into such a frenzy, you'd think they were cheering for Bruce Lee.
Whereas Jackie didn't want to be compared to Bruce Lee, so he induced Comedy into his mannerisms, (which to some fans started his fall from grace), Jet has taken us back to the Bruce Lee era, where kung-fu action rules. He doesn't do comedy well, and he shouldn't because that's Chan's territory. Remember Dr. Wai - Scripture With No Words? Well, he should, because it's films like that, that would have kept him known (only) to Hong Kong audiences, only. With the movie Fist Of Legends, he re-established himself as a major player in the kung-fu game. Now with an outstanding performance in Lethal Weapon-4 (his American debut) he has taken America by storm (something Jackie Chan had to do (3) times in order to make a name for himself with American audiences).
Jet's only problem seems to be his choice of film choices and the roles he chooses. He turned down a co-starring role in Matrix Reloaded (and it's sequel) to star in such forgettable films as The One and Cradle To The Grave (which is where his career is dangling right now). In Lethal Weapon-4, when I saw him perform, I thought, finally, martial-arts films here in America might really get the push it's needed for a long time. But, he has yet to give us such a performance, again. As with Steven Seagal, he seems to try and hook the urban crowd with the Hip-hop soundtracks and Rap-artist co-stars, when it's not necessary, because real skill speaks for itself.
Let's face it, when rappers like Ja-rule and DMX start beating up bonafide martial-artists (especially, someone with Jet's abilities), then I may have to start settling for repeats of Hong Kong Phooey, on television. They could have even brought The Hitman to theaters here, while he put something else together with frequent collaborator Corey Yuen or even Yuen Woo-Ping, with whom he's worked with before on such films as Once Upon A Time In China and Tai-Chi Master. He definitely has what it takes to be a big star here in American, but remaining a star here, now that's another story.