FILMS - The Armour of God

THE ARMOUR OF GOD, directed by Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang, 1986 

ACTION STUNTS: WHEN ENERGY SAVES THE MESS

Hong Kong's answer “Indiana Jones” - is an action-adventure spectacle which is as memorable for its spectacular fight scenes (some filmed on the walls, the lookout, and in the courtyard of Motovun), as it is for the fact that director and lead actor, Jackie Chan, almost lost his life on set.

Although his name is Jackie in the film, he is better known by his nickname, The Asian Hawk. He is a paid adventurer on a mission in Europe: he must find five pieces of a sacred artifact, a relic known as the “Armor of God” - a combination of an armour and a sword worshipped by a pre-Christian cult. A mysterious cult of hooded men hidden in a mountain monastery engages in drug trafficking and organizes dark rituals, including importing prostitutes for their orgies.

When May, a young woman from Europe, buys the Sword of God, one of the pieces of the armour, at an auction, Hawk thinks his quest is over, but things quickly get complicated. His former best friend Alan arrives with news that Jackie's ex-girlfriend and Alan's current fiancée, Laura, has been kidnapped. A mysterious cult is behind the kidnapping, seeking to unite all the pieces of the armour and thereby gain its supposed power, so they kidnap Hawk's ex-girlfriend in Paris, demanding the remains of the armour owned by the wealthy Count Gregorić. He is joined in the rescue of Laura by her current partner Alan, a Hong Kong pop star, and the count's elegant and dangerously accurate daughter May, a professional sniper.

Pop star Alan Tam provides a sympathetic counterbalance to Chan's energy, while Rosamund Kwan and Lola Forner bring charm and strength to the female roles – the former as Laura, a “damsel in distress” with more depth than meets the eye, and the latter as May, who evolves from an elegant sniper into an equal ally.

There is lot of action: Chan takes on entire groups of opponents, races through landscapes in cars and motorbikes, and culminates in a spectacular fight with four Amazons in high heels, which break in the fight. The car chase scene, choreographed by French expert Rene Julienne, further raises the bar for technical execution and imaginative audience entertainment.

Although Chan brings his signature playfulness and infectious energy, the film has a drawn-out structure, and the plot is confusingly fragmented, often losing its thread and therefore its meaning. The ridiculous confusion caused by dubbing makes it even harder to understand and connect the disjointed parts of the plot into a structural whole. In such a fragmented plot in which the main narrative thread is presented, but due to the wandering in the scene until the assumption is fulfilled, what we are currently watching can often hardly be connected with the rest. The characters are written quite flatly, as if from a boyish perspective, but all these shortcomings are ‘made up’ for by numerous spectacular action bravura, which is why this film actually exists. Jackie Chan is the bravest stunt actor in the world whose physical performance, positivity of performance, perseverance and motivation were admired by the entire film community, and a considerable number of fans, trying to imitate his manoeuvres.

After the great success of “The Cop Story”, Chan wanted to make something even more ambitious – a film that would combine humour, acrobatic fights and adventure with big-budget splendour. Production began and the director was his long-time collaborator, Eric Tsang. However, one stunt scene changed everything - while filming the opening scene in the castle in Samobor, a branch broke while he was jumping onto a tree. Jackie fell, hitting his head on a stone and sustaining a serious skull injury. He was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for 8 hours. Despite the fact that Jackie Chan has a whole series of fractures, sprains and other types of traumas in his biography, from almost every film he has filmed, this was an extremely dangerous injury, because of which he still has a plastic plug 'mounted' in his skull to replace the part that broke off during the blow to the head, and his hearing is permanently damaged.

After a seven-month recovery, Chan returned to filming and took over directing himself. The opening scene, in which he has short hair, remained a kind of prologue to this cinematic adventure. The rest of the film brings Chan's recognizable energy: comic charm, impeccable fight choreography and visually attractive action sequences. The emotional tone – not only because of the relationships between the characters but also because of Chan's dedication to finishing the film, despite a serious injury, gives this film additional significance and another dimension through which it can be viewed.

“The Armour of God” is certainly not Jackie Chan's most coherent film and definitely leaves the impression that he does not know where he is going or why, but it is certainly one of his most exciting. Full of adrenaline, charm and authentic physical risk that once inspired spellbound viewers of all ages with its endless stunts, this adventure remains a must-see for all fans of Chan's work – and is an unwavering reminder of the times when action was still filmed with one's own body, and not generated by computer graphics.