Review of Armour of God

Introduction

Armor of God (also known as ‘Operation Condor II’) is not as good as its sequel Armor of God II (confusingly titled ‘Operation Condor’ for its US release). However, it still retains the classic mark of a Jackie Chan production, with its slapstick humour and amazing stunts. Also starring Hong Kong legend Rosamund Kwan (Once Upon a Time in China) and superstar pop singer Alan Tam, this movie may not be the greatest Chan caper, but is by no means bad and manages to entertain and raise a few laughs.

The plot premise seemed interesting, but wasn’t developed along the lines I was expecting: Chan has to recover the 5 pieces of the Holy Armor of God in order to save the girl. I hoped for more ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, but instead the story concentrated on Chan’s rescue of Kwan’s character. This is not a bad thing, but more of a reason why I enjoyed the sequel better.

Video

Hong Kong Legends (HKL) has earned their reputation for taking the best available prints of their Hong Kong titles and remastering them into a fantastically good-looking picture. As anyone who watches old Hong Kong flicks will know, the picture can often be terrible due to lack of shooting and storage facilities. However, the picture shown here is excellent – fairly clean, sharp, and with accurate skin tones. Whilst the picture is not completely free from grain and the colours are still not as vibrant as on recent DVD releases, it is obvious that HKL have done the best possible job and should be proud of their effort.

Audio

Both the original Cantonese and the dubbed English track are presented in DD 5.1. The Chinese track is one of the better Hong Kong 5.1 mixes, and provides decent rear effects and also some deep LFE when called for. Of course it is not reference material, but I’ve heard some truly terrible remixes before – Armor of God keeps the original soundtrack and provides a good 5.1 mix, which is more than good enough for me.

Features

Although not as extra packed as a few of the other HKL releases, there are a few noteworthy extras included on this disc, including two rare interviews. The first is with Jackie Chan, who discusses the construction of the climatic fight scene against four female warriors. He speaks in a not so strongly accented English, so it is likely that the interview was filmed fairly recently. The other interview is with Willie Chan, Jackie’s manager. He tells the rather alarming story of how Jackie almost lost his life on this film, when a stunt went wrong – a true testament to Jackie’s status as the best stuntman in the world.

Also included is an animated biography of Chan’s career, which is informative reading for any fan. Finally, a few trailers are presented, lovingly remastered as well.

Conclusion

Armor of God is Chan’s version of Indiana Jones, and was a huge hit on release. It features his trademark farcical humour, and highflying stunts and action. Whilst the kung fu on show is not particularly good (by Chan`s standards), there are enough of his tricks and gimmicks (bouncing chewing gum off the walls into his mouth!) to entertain. The obligatory car chase and finale are especially awe-inspiring. Hardcore fans do not rate this movie as highly as other, better Chan efforts: it seems uncertain whether to be a fun rescue movie, or an adventure based around the interesting premise of a Holy Grail, The Armor of God. Perhaps a trip to the editing room would serve it better?

As for the disc, it is excellent. The extras are good, considering how hard it is to get material for pre-DVD (circa 1997) movies. A commentary by anyone involved with the film would have been the icing on the cake, but the excellent transfer and decent mix, along with a good set of extras, makes this an excellent release for an old Hong Kong movie. Another great release by HKL, who keeps up their reputation as one of the best labels on DVD.