In a relatively short time, YouTube has become the repository of the entire recorded history of the human race. Its sheer gargantuan size means that millions of videos lurk out there beyond the Trending lists, just waiting to be discovered by the discerning time-waster, if only they knew the right keywords to enter. Damn the luck! Fortunately, Popwell is here with a monthly tidbit that you can enjoy right this very minute, in the privacy of your own home, yard, vehicle and/or workspace.
Jackie Chan is one of the greatest action stars ever—maybe the greatest, period. Throughout the 80s and 90s, he cranked out a string of (mostly) Hong Kong-based movies featuring some of the most intense, eye-popping and imaginative action scenes ever committed to film. For action movie fans, there are few things more satisfying than watching Jackie Chan tear through one of his insanely choreographed fights or stunt scenes.
Of course, as every Jackie Chan fan also knows, a lot of his movies are pretty crappy aside from the action scenes. Every HK action buff has had to sit through hours of hammy slapstick and/or schmaltzy romance for every 15 minutes of frantic Jackie Chan-style mayhem they’re allowed to savor. For the most part, that means that the Fast Forward button on the remote gets some heavy use during many of his films.
Over the past few years, some enterprising fans have done the rest of us a favor by editing down some of Chan’s best flicks. These streamlined, edited versions cut out everything but the action, leaving all the extra mugging and wackiness behind. What’s left is pure Jackie Chan goodness. My favorite example is the “fights only” cut of 1988’s Dragons Forever by prolific YouTube editor Matiau2.(Sadly, many of his other great Chan edits have been blocked by the good folks at Miramax.)
Dragons Forever contains some of Chan’s best action work, alongside longtime collaborators Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung, who also directed. You have to wade through some fairly slow-moving plotlines and hammy comedy to get there, though. This insane supercut shows why people have been willing to do that: these are some of the wildest fight scenes you’ll ever see, with some seriously painful looking falls and amazing stunt work. It ends with a wild clash between Jackie and kickboxing legend Benny “The Jet” Urquidez that’s among Chan’s best one-on-one battles.
So please enjoy 15 minutes and 18 seconds of pure action greatness: the fight scenes from Dragons Forever.
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