Who Am I (1998 film) - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia

A group of covert CIA operatives trailing a potential new energy source are double-crossed by corrupt agent Morgan (Ron Smerczak), who causes a helicopter crash in remote South Africa. The sole survivor (Jackie Chan), suffering severe amnesia, is nursed to recovery by a kindly native tribe who call him "Whoami" after the question he keeps asking. With the help of a mysterious reporter (Michelle Ferre), Whoami pieces together his past and tracks the turncoat agent and his criminal cohorts.

Martial-arts megastar Jackie Chan wrote, directed and stars in this action-comedy. Secret agent Jackie (Chan) leads a commando group to Africa to kidnap scientists who are working to unleash a powerful and lethal new energy source. When Jackie develops amnesia after a plane crash, he fights to regain his memory and continue his assignment. Who Am I is packed with excitement and, of course, Jackie's unique brand of gymnastic martial arts.

Plot

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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.

Who Am I? (1998 film) movie scenes top of Jacki Chan s best fights It s excellently done and extremely enjoyable A must see for everyone especially for casual kung fu films viewers

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

Jackie Chan as Jackie a.k.a. "Who Am I?"

Michelle Ferre as Christine Stark

Mirai Yamamoto as Yuki

Ed Nelson as Retd. General Sherman

Ron Smerczak as CIA Agent Morgan

David Vlok as Morgans Head assassin

Mike Ian Lambert as Peter (Morgans hitman)

Ron Smoorenburg as Morgans taekwondo hitman

Kwan Yung as Morgans Cai Li Fo hitman

Yanick Mbali as Baba

Washington Xisolo as the Village Chief

Tom Pompert as CIA Chairman

Glory Simon as CIA Secretary

United States

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

A scene in which "Who Am I?"s special forces unit is double-crossed appears as a black-and-white flashback in the middle of the original film. For the U.S. release, that scene is placed immediately after Chans unit completes their mission.

"Who Am I?"s interaction with the African tribe has been reduced dramatically. Cuts include a scene in which he asks the tribal boy, Baba, how many days it takes to walk to civilization; a scene where he and Baba run away from a lioness after he picks up a lion cub; a scene showing the tribes farewell ceremony for "Who Am I?"s journey; and a scene in which he performs an interpretation of the tribal dance.

The rally race scene has been shortened.

A scene where "Who Am I?" recovers feeling in his mouth (as he chewed herbal leaves into an anesthetic to cure Yukis brothers snake bite) and explains his situation to Yuki has been cut.

All but two instant replay shots (where Yuki, "Who Am I?" and Christine drive through a fruit stand, and where "Who Am I?" narrowly misses falling furniture in Rotterdam) have been deleted.

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.