Supercop (Police Story III): 4K UHD Review

When Rumble in the Bronx was released in the US in February of 1996, it was Jackie Chan’s first action vehicle to get a wide theatrical release in the states. It wound up becoming a critical and box office success. Of course, studios wanted to get more Chan films out in the U.S. market ASAP. Dimension Films acquired 1992’s Police Story III, gave it an edit, a new score, some English dubbing and retitled it Supercop. It makes sense since mainstream U.S. audiences were not familiar with the first two films. Supercop was released in U.S. theaters on October 8, 1996, which was four years after its’ international release and less than a year after the release of Rumble in the Bronx. While Supercop wasn’t as financially successful as Rumble in the Bronx, critics and action fans agree that it was a top-notch action flick with some incredible stunt work by not only Chan, but Michelle Khan (aka Michelle Yeoh) as well. This week, Police Story III: Supercop arrives on 4K UHD in the U.S. thanks to 88 Films.

If you have never seen the first two Police Story films, it truly won’t impact your ability to follow along and enjoy this final chapter of Hong Kong supercop, Inspector Chan Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan). The story may be simplistic, but the action is definitely not. Ka-Kui is sent to Guangzhou on assignment to go undercover in-order-to infiltrate the Chaibat criminal organization. To earn the organizations trust, Kai-Kui poses as a prisoner and helps Chaibat’s top lieutenant, Panther (Yuen Wah) break out of prison.

Ka-Kui isn’t working alone, Interpol Superintendent “Jessica” Yang Chien-Hua is also undercover, posing as Ka-Kui’s sister. Panther is impressed by both of their fighting skills and brings them to his boss, drug kingpin Khun Chaibat (Ken Tsang). Just like most of these undercover cop action films, it is only a matter of time before their true law enforcement identity is revealed and they must fight for their lives to take down the criminals now that their biggest advantage has been blown.

While Supercop is filled with great comedic moments thanks to Chan, it also features some of his most impressively dangerous stunt work. Out of all the films Chan has made over the decades, only a few of the ones he produced in his homeland have made their way to multiplexes in the states. There is a reason the third chapter in the Police Story saga was a good fit after the success of Rumble in the Bronx. The helicopter/train sequence in the final act is simply incredible and even more so when you know that Chan was doing his own stunts. Same goes for Yeoh to a certain degree.

Originally released in the UK by Eureka, we finally get Supercop here in the U.S. on 4K UHD courtesy of 88 Films. Included on the disk are both the 96-minute Hong Kong cut, presented in Dolby Vision with HDR10 and a Dolby Atmos track. We also get the 91-minute U.S. “Supercop” cut of the film which includes a 5.1 English audio track. While both presentations look great, the Hong Kong cut is superior in many ways. While I must admit, I prefer my martial arts films dubbed in English, the Dolby Vision and Atmos features on the Hong Kong cut put it a step above. This is especially true with the Atmos audio which helps make the action sequences much more exciting.

If you are a Jackie Chan fan, I highly recommend grabbing this release. You can purchase it here.

Bonus Features:

• The Fall Guy – Ken Lo Interview
• The Stuntmaster General – Stanley Tong Interview
• Audio Commentary by Frank Djeng
• Flying High – Jackie Chan Interview
• Dancing with Death – Michelle Yeoh Interview
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation of the International US Cut [91 mins] with English 5.1 & Cantonese mono with English Subtitles and SDH
• English Mono Dub (Hong Kong Cut)
• Cantonese-language options in Dolby Atmos, Cantonese 1.0 and Cantonese 2.0 [Home Video Mix] with newly translated subtitles and SDH (Hong Kong Cut)
• 4K (2160p) UHD presentation of the Hong Kong Cut [96 mins] in original 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio with Dolby Vision encoding (HDR10+ Compatible)
• Stanley Tong Interview (2004)
• Outtakes and Behind the Scenes
• Hong Kong Trailer
• English Trailer
• US TV Spots (x7)
• US Theatrical Teaser
• US Theatrical Trailer
• Japanese Teaser
• US Video Screener Promo
• Guy Laroche 1984 commercial with Jackie Chan & Michelle Yeoh

By: Marc Ferman