Mr Nice Guy (1997 film)

Plot

Television journalist Diana (Gabrielle Fitzpatrick) records footage of a cocaine deal gone wrong between the Italian mob and a street gang called "The Demons" with mob boss Giancarlo (Richard Norton) killing the Demons' leader. Diana's partner Richard is captured and she bumps into TV chef Jackie (Jackie Chan), who helps her escape from the mob. During the chase, she accidentally switches the videotape of the drug trade with one of Jackie's cooking videos from a box of tapes, who he later gives to his friend Romeo, an officer for the city's police department.

Romeo's children watch the video behind the adults' back, unaware of what it is about and that their father is investigating the mob. The mob, knowing the tape is still out there, tracks Diana down to her home to force her to give it to them, but after realizing she has the wrong tape, she flees. The mob believes Jackie has the tape and follows him around, attacking him at an eating benefit event he is hosting at a mall.

Jackie learns why the mob is after him after Diana goes to his home searching for the tape and is attacked by Jackie's friend Lakeisha. However, the Demons, having witnessed Jackie's fight at the mall and also wanting the tape, follow him and his girlfriend Miki (Miki Lee) and blow up his home, killing Giancarlo's henchmen who had also followed Jackie to his home. Jackie and the women escape in the nick of time.

Everyone decides to stay at Lakeisha's home for their safety, but the Demons again track them down, kidnap Miki, and force Jackie to participate in a training event around the city. The police trace each call, but realize the Demons are aware of their presence and follow Jackie instead. One gang member, Sandy, sees this and informs the Demon leader Grank, who runs off with Miki. Jackie, angry at the cops' mishandling, runs off, but the Demons kidnap him too and take him into their van. Using a fake tape as a distraction, Jackie fights off the gang and crashes their van. The police arrest all members inside and Grank says Miki is at a construction site.

Lakeisha, Diana, and Jackie go to the site, only to realize Giancarlo has captured Miki and murdered the other Demon members except Sandy, who manages to escape. Lakeisha and Jackie are also taken by Giancarlo while Diana is left injured. Romeo discovers his son watching the tape, the proof he needs to arrest the mob, and visits the hospital where Diana and Sandy are being treated. The women inform him about what happened to Jackie and the others.

At Giancarlo's home, Jackie is forced into an unfair fight where his arms and legs are restrained with ropes held by the henchmen. After taking a serious beating, Giancarlo orders his men to kill Jackie and the women at a construction site outside his home, but they escape and destroy Giancarlo's home by driving through it in a 120-ton mining vehicle from the site. The authorities arrive, including Romeo, but decide to state that they did not witness anything and that it was all just a gang battle, so Jackie goes free while the mobsters are arrested for possession of cocaine.

Cast

Jackie Chan Stunt Team

According to his book I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action, Chan hurt his neck when he messed up on a flip during a fight scene. He also broke his nose during filming.

Box office

Mr. Nice Guy opened on Chinese New Year, 1997, up against director Hung's own Once Upon a Time in China and America. Both were box office successes, but Mr. Nice Guy was the bigger of the two, making HK $45,420,457 in its Hong Kong run.

Box office for Mr. Nice Guy was less impressive in North America, where it opened on 1,463 theatres on 20 March 1998. In its opening weekend, it grossed US $5,250,704 ($3,588 per screen) on its way to a total of US $12,716,953.

Awards and nominations

New Line Cinema edit and DVD releases

New Line Cinema obtained international distribution rights to the film. Various DVD version of this film have been made. The Warner Brothers Japanese R2 version is the only version available with the original English dialog and the fully uncut film. However, the picture is non-anamorphic and has no English subtitles. The Taiwan Funny version has the New Line Cinema and Taiwanese versions, but the latter is dubbed in Mandarin. The HK version is similar to the Taiwanese, but dubbed in Cantonese. Both dubbed Asian versions refer to the Demons as the "Wolves," although in the end credits the actors are credited as "Demons."