Outside his notable comedy films, Jackie Chan has shown his range as an actor and an action movie leading man in numerous action-dramas. Over the course of his career, Jackie Chan has been associated with action-comedies, with Chan combining martial arts action with physical and situational comedy in a style truly all his own. That formula, as exemplified by his Rush Hour movie series, has helped establish a very clear template for what to expect from a “Jackie Chan movie,” but that also hasn’t stopped the actor from broadening his horizons.
Outside of leading and directing action-comedies, Jackie Chan has also appeared in more serious action films, which have often carried a much darker tone than his comedic work. While Chan appeared in a few dramatic action films in his early career, he has done so with much greater frequency in the 21st century, which includes his Hong Kong films and Chan’s Hollywood action movies alike. Despite these movies eschewing Chan’s trademark comedy, his action-dramas have still been hugely entertaining, with some even ranking among his best movies.
9 Shinjuku Incident (2009)
Set in the early ’90s, Shinjuku Incident follows Jackie Chan as Nick a.k.a. Steelhead, a Japanese immigrant to China who finds himself battling the Yakuza. Shinjuku Incident arrived the point when Chan was really beginning to favor drama over comedy in the characters he portrayed, and the movie indeed is a big change for Chan in both tone and the style of action. As a tonal forerunner to The Foreigner, the 2009 movie Shinjuku Incident is an intense ride of Chan playing against type and making it look surprisingly easy for a star synonymous with action-comedies.
8 Police Story 2013 (2013)
If New Police Story went dark, Police Story 2013 completely throws the colorful fun of the early Police Story franchise out the window. In this standalone franchise installment, Jackie Chan plays a new protagonist, veteran Beijing Detective Zhong Wen, who must save a group of hostages kidnapped in a nightclub. As a complimentary element to the movie’s darker tone, Police Story 2013 also lets Chan change up his fighting style. The action crime thriller features more of a grappling-oriented style based in Chinese Chin Na and Shuai Jiao, which comes into focus in the movie’s MMA-style cage fight that Zhong Wen endures a huge amount of pain to win.
7 Heart of Dragon (1985)
Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung have been an on-screen duo in numerous films, but Heart of Dragon is in a class of its own with Chan playing Hong Kong cop Tat Fung. Chan’s character looks after his brother Dodo, who has a learning disability, and finds himself fighting to save his brother from kidnappers. With Chan and Hung essentially growing up as brothers in the Peking Opera Academy, Heart of Dragon has a big heart indeed in its heartwarming story of Tat and Dodo’s relationship. While not quite as action-packed as most of Chan’s ’80s output, Heart of Dragon still showcases Chan in his prime with expectedly amazing results.
6 The Protector (1985)
One of Jackie Chan’s early efforts to break into Hollywood was 1985’s The Protector, with Chan portraying cop Billy Wong on a mission to take down a gang of criminals. Chan had a major behind-the-scenes dispute on The Protector‘s action, with the fight scenes in Chan’s version more reflective of the Hong Kong style he is known for, particularly his final showdown with American kickboxing legend Bill “Superfoot” Wallace. While The Protector ultimately led to Jackie Chan quitting American movies for 13 years, it provides an early preview of the darker territory Chan would eventually move into in the 21st century, and even includes an elusive Jackie Chan F-bomb.
5 Crime Story (1993)
Hong Kong cop action movies frequently have a somewhat light-hearted quality to them, but Jackie Chan went in the complete opposite direction with 1993’s Crime Story. Chan plays a police officer named Eddie Chan who has PTSD, with the character being assigned to a kidnapping case and ultimately pursuing the kidnappers to Taiwan. The fiery action scenes of Crime Story are as intense as any Jackie Chan film, but the absence of comedy lets Chan show some of his early range that he would eventually embrace in his more dramatic roles. Overall, Crime Story still rates high as an early Jackie Chan action-drama.
4 Shaolin (2011)
Benny Chan’s 2011 martial arts epic Shaolin tells the tale of warlord Hou Jie (Andy Lau) losing everything only to find himself again by becoming a monk in the Shaolin Temple, and coming to the defense of the legendary monastery from his arrogant fellow warlord Cao Man (Nicolas Tse). Shaolin combines epic drama and amazing martial arts action wonderfully, while Chan’s role as the temple’s cook Wudao ironically adds the most levity to one of his more serious films. Chan’s big fight scene with a shovel is right out of the old Jackie Chan playbook, while Shaolin also lets him show his range as a chef with a heart of gold.
3 Dragon Blade (2015)
Jackie Chan has mostly moved away from period epics in his contemporary career, but Daniel Lee’s Dragon Blade ranks as one of his best in that sub-genre. Set during the Han Dynasty, Dragon Blade sees a Roman militia led by Lucius (John Cusack) develop an unexpected camaraderie with Chinese soldiers on the Silk Road led by Chan’s Huo An, with the two sides uniting to bring down the vicious Roman general Tiberius (Adrien Brody). Dragon Blade is epic on every level from its historical scope to its action scenes, with Chan, Cusack, and Brody an engaging on-screen combo as committed generals and warriors of the ancient world.
2 New Police Story (2004)
While Jackie Chan’s Police Story movies originally included the usual Jackie Chan-style action-comedy fun, 2004’s New Police Story introduces Chan’s protagonist Chan Kwok-wing in a more dramatic light. In the 2004 entry, Chan Kwok-wing is man wracked with guilt for failing to save his fellow Hong Kong police officers from a gang of young criminals. Under the late Benny Chan’s direction, New Police Story places Chan into an emotionally turbulent story that also keeps action scenes fast and powerful. In that arena, the movie’s big action highlights his two blazing fight scenes with Andy On’s Law Tin-tin, the second of which memorably takes place in a public Lego display.
1 The Foreigner (2017)
After a long absence from Western cinema screens, Jackie Chan returned in one of his darkest action thrillers to date in Martin Campbell’s The Foreigner. Chan plays London-based restaurant owner Ngoc Minh Quan, who seeks revenge for his daughter’s death in a bombing by the resurgent IRA. The Foreigner places Chan into a grittier story than any of his previous Western action films, while the movie also frames the duplicitous politician Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) with the right combination of pathos and self-preserving villainy. While The Foreigner is a bit lighter on hard action, it’s still handled with the right level of intensity fitting of a serious Jackie Chan action film.
