Who Am I (1998 film)

Plot

Somewhere in the jungles of South Africa, a multinational military unit, Special Force Unit, ambushes a convoy and kidnaps several scientists working on a highly-volatile compound extracted from a recently discovered meteorite. Among the operatives is a Hong Kong national identified as "Jackie Chan". The CIA assigns Morgan (Ron Smerczak) to investigate the incident, unaware that he and newly retired Lieutenant General Sherman (Ed Nelson) orchestrated the abduction for their personal profit. At the same time, the CIA assigns another operative in South Africa for a more covert operation.

Chan wakes up in a tribal village somewhere in the African veldt, still recovering from injuries sustained in an accident he cannot remember; as a result, when asked for his name by the natives, he responds by asking himself, "Who Am I?", and is referred to as that by the natives. The tribesmen show him the remains of a crashed helicopter and graves of those who perished aboard. He spends weeks recuperating from his wounds and learning about the tribes culture. After spotting rally cars from several miles away, "Who Am I?" bids the village farewell and ventures on a journey back to civilization. He befriends Japanese rally navigator Yuki (Mirai Yamamoto) after saving her brother from a snake bite and offering to help them finish the race.

When they reach Johannesburg, "Who Am I?" meets Christine Stark (Michelle Ferre), a journalist sent to interview him about his rally adventure. However, Morgan hears of "Who Am I?" and sends a hitman (David Vlok) to kill him. Morgan also pretends to be his ally, telling him to contact him if he is in danger. After escaping from the hitmen, Christine cracks a secret code written on a matchbook found on one of the dead operatives, which leads them to Rotterdam, Netherlands. "Who Am I?" and Christine bid Yuki farewell and head for Rotterdam to find more answers to his identity.

In Rotterdam, "Who Am I?" discovers that Christine is actually an undercover CIA agent who tapped his calls. Not knowing whom to trust, he battles Shermans hitmen and sneaks into the Willemswerf alone, where he discovers the masterminds behind the kidnapping of the scientists. It is revealed that Morgan and Lieutenant General Sherman are about to sell the extraterrestrial compound to a powerful arms dealer named Armano. While waiting for the online transaction to finish, the three men leave the conference room for a coffee break — giving "Who Am I?" time to sneak in and steal the disc containing the compound information. He also cancels the transaction and sends the money to a childrens organization "Save The Childrens Fund, which infuriates the arms dealer. Once he discovers Morgans betrayal, "Who Am I?" tries to kill Morgan, but interrupted by Morgans hitmen. After escaping from the building from a battle with Morgans hitmen, "Who Am I?" regroups with Christine, who calls for the execution of a "Plan B", to surround the Erasmus Bridge and corner Morgan. Once Christine kicks and takes Morgan into custody, "Who Am I?" throws the disc off the bridge and tells Christine he will return to Africa.

Cast

United States

The U.S. DVD release is cut by 9 minutes with the following changes and omissions:

Unlike other domestic releases of Jackie Chans films, this version of Who Am I? retains the films original musical score.

Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Universe Laser DVD (now out of print) contains the film as it was originally intended. The "double-cross" scene is not shown until during the interrogation scene as a "revelation flashback." It is meant to be a mystery as to what happened until the viewer sees these flashbacks. It also contains "Who Am I?"s full interaction with the African tribe. However, his English dialogue during this interaction is dubbed into Cantonese during this part. There are English subtitles provided for the whole film. The presentation is not anamorphic, however.

Japan

Warner Bros. Japan has released two DVD editions of the film: the single-disc DVD contains the original Hong Kong cut of the film with an anamorphic presentation, but with no English subtitles, and it retains the Cantonese dub of Jackie Chan during the African tribe scenes. The two-disc anamorphic edition contains both versions of the film, with English subtitles for the Hong Kong cut.

Box office and reception

Who Am I? grossed HK $38,852,845 in its Hong Kong theatrical run. It is currently rated at 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards and nominations