A review of Jackie Chan's "Armour of God"

Jackie Chan’s typical kung fu comedy movie "Armour of God" was a big success in 1987, almost a quarter of a century ago. It is also famous because of the Biblical name and Jackie’s near death accident while doing a stunt for the movie. This article is a review of Jackie Chan's "Armour of God."

Box office hit

The movie grossed more than $35 million dollars. The name is taken from Ephesians 6:11 ‘Put on the full Armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.’ The story is set in France. The initial meeting between Asian Hawk (Jackie Chan) and his friend Alan (Alan Tam) is in front of the Tuileries Gardens. Major parts of the film were actually shot in former Yugoslavia.

False friars

The story is action-packed with Jackie Chan’s stunts. These eventually lead to the successful release of Laura (Rosamund Kwan) from the clutches of a gang of evil monks. the latter were in fact drug smugglers. He also brings back the five swords which are considered to be part of the "Armour of God." The belt of truth is perhaps the
bomb-packed jacket that Jackie wears in the end and threatens to self-detonate.

Dynamite action

He throws dynamite sticks at the false monks and makes his escape from the monastery with the swords. The religious references in the Jackie Chan "Armour of God" movie with regards to the breastplate of righteousness and the belt of truth, come from the Bible. These are words used by St. Paul in his letters to the Ephesians and Romans. They refer to the military dress of a Roman soldier.

Hollywood star

The movie was never released in the U.S. It was released later after fresh dubbing and editing by Miramax films in the U.S. as "Operation Condor 2: The Armor of the Gods." The movie won the Hong Kong Films Award in 1988. This movie was followed by a sequel which was named "Armour of God 2: Operation Condor" in 1991. The sequel was directed by Jackie Chan. He was a co-director in the first movie. The common thread in both movies is Golden Harvest, the production and distribution company of Hong Kong Movie Tsar Raymond Chow. On the whole, the movie is a great attraction for young followers of kung fu. Raymond Chow catapulted both Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan to stardom. Jackie Chan has his own genre of comic fights while Bruce Lee in his few movies, was the serious upright hero. Jackie Chan has always been a superstar in the East and after repeated attempts, is now a successful Hollywood actor too.