Film

Mr. Nice Guy

Name: Mr. Nice Guy
Genre: Crime, Action, Comedy
Released: 1997
Cast: Jackie Chan, Richard Norton, Miki Lee, Karen McLymont, Gabrielle Fitzpatrick

Jackie Chan is a good-natured Chinese chef dragged into a crime thriller by accident—literally, when he collides with a reporter holding incriminating footage. It's a lean, kinetic action comedy built around Chan's physical genius: he makes fighting look playful even as things explode around him. For anyone who loves watching a genuinely skilled performer turn everyday objects into weapons.

TMDb rating

3.3

If you liked this

Police Story1985

The template for everything Chan would do: a cop fighting criminals with improvisation, humor, and genuine danger. Packed with stunts that still look impossible, a story that actually moves, and Chan's gift for making you laugh during action sequences.

But The plot is thin and occasionally muddled. Some dated elements in its portrayal of women, and the dubbing on English versions is often pretty rough.

Rumble in the Bronx1995

Chan's first major American crossover: a fish-out-of-water story with him as a visiting martial artist caught in street gang warfare. Absurd, generous with stunts, and endlessly inventive about how to weaponize a hovercraft or a shopping mall.

But The plot barely hangs together and the New York setting is obviously not New York. The humor doesn't always translate and some comedy bits feel stranded.

Who Am I?1998

A spy thriller where Chan plays a man with amnesia, and the filmmakers use it as an excuse for elaborate set pieces in exotic locations. Less jokey than his comedies but more playful than typical action films—he rappels down buildings, fights on trains, all while figuring out who he is.

But The amnesia plot is transparent and exists only to justify action sequences. Pacing sags in the middle and the emotional stakes never quite land.

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Drunken Master1978

The template for Chan's entire career: martial arts played for laughs without becoming a joke, where physical comedy and real danger coexist. Everything about Mr. Nice Guy comes from this.

The spiritual ancestor of everything Chan does—it's a martial arts comedy where the hero is taught an unorthodox fighting style and uses slapstick physicality as genuine technique. Yuen Woo-ping's direction treats every punch and pratfall with equal weight, and Yuen Lo (playing the teacher) is a revelation.

But It's a low-budget Hong Kong film from 1978, so the print quality can be rough. The pacing by modern standards is glacial and the plot barely exists.

Police Story 4: First Strike1996

A Hong Kong spy film with Chan as a cop investigating a nuclear weapons theft across three continents. The action is genuinely creative—he fights on ice, underwater, in narrow spaces—and there's real energy in how the camera moves with him instead of trying to capture him.

But The geopolitical plot is convoluted nonsense. Long stretches of exposition stop the momentum cold, and some sequences feel padded to reach feature length.

Wheels on Meals1984

Chan and Sammo Hung as food truck owners who accidentally witness a crime and end up in an international caper. It's lighter than his police films, more absurdist, and the chemistry between the leads makes even the downtime feel like watching friends mess around.

But The plot is genuinely silly and sometimes the tonal whiplash between slapstick and danger doesn't quite work. The middle section drags noticeably.

Dragons Forever1988

Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao reunite as friends pulled into a case involving counterfeit money and corruption. An excuse for three supremely skilled performers to show off together, with a climactic battle royale that justifies the whole runtime.

But It takes forever to get going and the plot is genuinely forgettable. The final thirty minutes exist mostly as an elaborate excuse for fighting.

Operation Condor1991

Chan as a drifter searching for Nazi gold across the Sahara in a globetrotting adventure. It leans hard into the adventure-comedy tone and has several genuinely imaginative action sequences involving tanks, helicopters, and improvised weapons.

But The film is shapeless and overstuffed. Tonal shifts are jarring, the dialogue is often clumsy, and you'll lose track of who's chasing whom and why.

The Accidental Spy2001

Chan as an everyman martial artist mistaken for a secret agent by both sides of a conflict. It has charm and some clever sequences, and Chan seems genuinely pleased to be in a film that doesn't take itself too seriously.

But The script is thin and the supporting cast isn't strong enough to carry the downtime. It coasts on Chan's likability rather than solid storytelling.

Twin Dragons1992

Chan plays dual roles as separated twins raised on opposite sides of crime and law. It's a looser, more comedic take on the mistaken identity idea, with several inventive fight sequences and genuine chemistry between the two "versions" of Chan.

But The premise is fundamentally silly and never quite commits to being funny about it. Pacing issues and some truly awkward dramatic moments undermine the whole thing.

Leverage2008

Both films celebrate resourcefulness and improvisation—heroes outwitting opponents using wit and whatever's at hand rather than raw power. Same DNA of playful problem-solving under pressure.

A heist team con criminals for fun and profit, each episode built around an elaborate scheme. It has the same gleeful playfulness as Mr. Nice Guy—watching smart people improvise their way through chaos—but it's stretched across five seasons of increasingly clever capers.

But The schemes require you to ignore real-world logistics entirely. And by season three, the formula can feel repetitive if you binge it rather than spacing episodes out.

Shaolin Soccer2001

A different generation's take on the same idea: action cinema as physical comedy where the laws of physics are more like suggestions. Comedy and danger in the same frame, played completely straight.

Stephen Chow directs and stars in this wildly creative action-comedy about monks using martial arts to play soccer. It's digitally enhanced, visually inventive, and cheerfully absurd in ways that honor both kung-fu cinema and sport movie tropes equally.

But The CGI is dated now. Tonal shifts are extreme and some humor doesn't survive translation. It's very specifically a Stephen Chow film, which means it's deeply weird.