Gorgeous (1999)

There's a fight scene in Gorgeous that I genuinely think belongs in the conversation for the best ever committed to film. Not best action sequence, not best stunt work, best fight scene, full stop. The kind where you're watching someone do something that shouldn't be humanly possible, and yet every single movement is so precise, so perfectly timed, that you forget to breathe. If Jackie Chan had made nothing else, this sequence alone would've earned him a place in the pantheon. That it exists inside a film that's, frankly, a bit of a mess for its first half is one of cinema's more delicious ironies.

Because make no mistake: the opening act of Gorgeous is rough going. The romantic comedy framing comes soaked in Hong Kong soap-opera melodrama, all cheesy misunderstandings, over-the-top mugging for the camera, and humour built around spoiled heiresses and mistaken identities that lands with a thud more often than not. The tone is broad to the point of exhaustion. If you're not already predisposed to forgive that kind of excess, or if you've wandered in expecting something more like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's elegance and emotional weight, the first thirty or forty minutes might have you reaching for the remote. I won't lie to you: it's a slog at times, and the romance never really convinces on any level.

But then the gears shift, and it's like someone opened a window in a stuffy room. The action arrives and with it comes everything you actually came for. What follows is Jackie Chan operating at the absolute peak of his powers: dangerous, inventive, and wickedly funny all at once. That's the thing people sometimes forget about him. The best Chan sequences aren't just impressive athletically, they're genuinely comedic. The timing is as sharp as anything you'd find in a Chaplin or Keaton routine. There's a wit baked into the choreography that separates him from everyone else who has ever worked in this space. Watching it, you're reminded that this is an art form, and he's its greatest practitioner.

The story, such as it is, remains silly throughout. The romance is forced, the emotional beats telegraphed from a mile off, and the tonal whiplash between fluffy comedy and breathtaking physical spectacle never quite resolves itself. This is not a tightly constructed film. But here's the thing: I'm not sure it needs to be. The fluff exists to give you somewhere to rest between the brilliance, and if you make peace with that, the back half feels like a genuine reward for your patience.

I've reviewed some of Chan's earlier work, including Hand of Death (1976), which shows just how far back that physical genius goes. Gorgeous sits at the other end of his golden period, and even in a compromised vehicle like this one, the craft is undeniable. He's the undisputed king of physical comedy married to martial arts, and no amount of dodgy plotting can obscure that.

So where does that leave Gorgeous overall? It's flawed, unevenly made, and asks a fair bit of patience from the viewer before it delivers the goods. It's not essential Chan, not the first film I'd hand someone who wanted to understand why he matters. But for fans already in the fold, there's a hidden gem buried in here, and the fight sequences alone make the journey worthwhile. Push through the fluff. The payoff is real.

Three and a half stars.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 1999  | Watched: 2025-10-05

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Brew
Rent: Apple TV Store · Brew
Buy: Apple TV Store · Brew
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Brew · Darkroom
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Brew · Fandango At Home
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Brew · Fandango At Home
Physical: Amazon US

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More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)