Supercop

"Rumble in the Bronx" finally turned Jackie Chan, China's biggest matinee idol, into a U.S. action-adventure star. And "Supercop" may turn one of his martial-arts prodigies, Michelle Khan, into one as well.

Chan's pal director Stanley Tong persuaded Khan, who had been an acrobat and a ballerina in China, to become a stunt woman - and eventually she became a star in some of Chan's films. In the third installment of the "Police Story" series, "Supercop," Tong pairs the two in a sometimes wildly unbelievable action-suspense film about drug trafficking in Communist China.

Chan stars as Kevin Chan, a Hong Kong detective assigned to work with a female Red Chinese Army officer, Yang (played by Khan), in order to break up a huge drug ring that reaches into Cambodia and Malaysia.

Operating undercover as a brother and sister, the two first liberate Panther (Yuen Wah), the brother and a valued henchman of drug lord Chaibat (Yuen Wah), from a coal mine/labor camp.

But when their identity is discovered - Chan's tourist-guide girlfriend (Maggie Cheung, from "City Hunter") blows his cover and is captured - they are forced to go along with Chaibat's efforts to free his jailed wife, who knows the whereabouts of his ill-gotten loot.

As in most of Chan's movies, the plot only serves to set up one wondrous stunt or action sequence after another. In other words, just hold on for the wild ride to come.

For instance, Chan is seemingly brought to a Red Chinese army base to show off his defensive martial-arts skills, which he does in a superbly choreographed scene. Not to be outdone, Khan shows off some incredibly limber leg kicks in a sequence where Yang and Chan help Panther escape from a Chinese village.

But unlike "Rumble in the Bronx," which featured most of its best parts early on, "Supercop" actually saves its best for last. The wild finale includes car chases, helicopter stunts and fights on top of a moving train. Words can't adequately do justice to Khan's mind-boggling motorcycle stunt - which she performed herself, and which has to be seen to be believed.

It's not completely fair to say that Khan steals the film from Chan, especially since he again proves his flair for acrobatic fighting and comedic acting, but she certainly shines in her own right.

Patrons should stick around for the final credits, which feature outtakes from some of the more spectacular bits (like less-successful takes on Khan's motorcycle bit and on her leap from a van to the hood of a car). But, of course, longtime Chan fans already know that.