Confusingly re-titled OPERATION CONDOR 2: THE ARMOUR OF GOD in the U.S., this movie isn’t one of Jackie Chan’s best, yet it has the distinction of having some of his most notorious stunts. This was the film that came closest to ending his life after he suffered a serious head injury when taking a fall from a tree branch early in the film. The other noteworthy stunt appears at the end when Jackie freefalls onto a hot air balloon.

The film begins well with a scene where Chan steals a sword from a group of stereotypical natives and ends with him flying away to safety with only a missing snake to really differentiate it from RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

Three inches of hair growth later (months after recovering from that nasty fall), Chan and the film loose steam as we see a lot of routine plotting leading up to the final confrontation.

The main problem with a number of Chan’s international efforts is the generally poor performances of the non-Asian actors. This is true here as well. The evil religious organization he fights and the woman he teams up with are all completely uninteresting.

Rosamund Kwan fares only slightly better with a throwaway role. Only Alan Tam manages to entertain with a bit of sidekick humor.

The true stars of this movie are the stunts. We find Chan sliding down a steep grassy incline with natives, a James Bond-like chase with cars and motorcycles leaping bridges and sending extras running in every direction, and expected martial arts with Chan trading kicks with four high-heeled vixens.

Unfortunately there isn’t much kung fu action except at the beginning and end. The payoff comes when Chan returns to an evil monks’ lair. Four black ladies with nasty dispositions try to poke a few holes in Jackie.

As a whole, ARMOUR OF GOD stumbles with a goofy plot, plenty of bad acting and much of the intended comedy failing. But taken in measured doses, ARMOUR OF GOD has some truly great stunts, while Chan’s usual charm shines through and the location shooting at least looks good.

REVIEW: Armour of God (1987), 8.3 out of 10 based on 4 ratings

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  • kenglo

    I don’t know. I loved this film. The battle with the monks near the end, coupled with the battle with the aforementioned vixens made the film. There were a few ‘small’ fights too. If Wheels On Meals can get credit for its fights, even lack of fights, then this film should be noted also. “These are my opinions…of course, I could be wrong.”