Hong Kong police officer Chan Ka-Kui single-handedly arrests a major drug lord. He is then framed for the murder of a dirty cop and must clear his name while protecting a key witness.
Ka-Kui goes undercover in a mainland Chinese prison to infiltrate a drug trafficking ring, teaming up with a strict mainland Interpol director.
The concept was revived in 1988 as a 90-minute miniseries on ABC, also created by Wambaugh. This version consisted of five TV films, continuing the tradition of stories pulled from American police archives.
Unlike the "Bond girl" index, the women in Police Story exist to be victims of the system’s chaos.
Demoted to highway patrol due to his destructive methods in the first film, Ka-Kui is reinstated to the detective bureau to handle a ruthless syndicate of bomb extortionists. index of police story
Jackie Chan makes a cameo appearance, reprising his role as Kevin Chan in drag during an undercover sequence. First Strike / Police Story 4: Piece of Cake (1996)
The iconic fight sequence utilizing a simple yellow folding ladder. 🔄 Spin-offs and Reboots
Michelle Yeoh jumping a motorcycle onto a moving train; Jackie Chan hanging from a helicopter rope ladder over Kuala Lumpur. 4. Police Story 4: First Strike (1996) Director: Stanley Tong
You might ask: Why not just watch a low-quality index copy? Hong Kong police officer Chan Ka-Kui single-handedly arrests
The key witness in the 1985 original who sparks the chaotic plot.
: A reboot featuring a darker, more dramatic tone. Chan plays a disgraced inspector seeking redemption after his team is killed by a gang of thrill-seekers. Police Story 2013 (2013)
Created by author and former LAPD officer Joseph Wambaugh, the original is an American anthology crime drama that aired from 1973. Unlike typical police shows of its era, it focused on raw, character-driven narratives depicting the psychological toll and moral complexities of police work, a sharp contrast to the sanitized crime dramas of the day. The series had a few defining features:
Directors like Sylvester Stallone, Brett Ratner, and the Wachowskis have cited the franchise's choreography and camera work as direct influences on American blockbusters like Bad Boys and The Matrix . The concept was revived in 1988 as a
Modern police stories rely on a "semiotic index" of clues. Whether it’s DNA or a digital footprint, the story treats the world as a text that can be read and decoded.
Inspector Chan Ka-Kui (Jackie Chan), May (Maggie Cheung), Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin)
Directed by Ding Sheng. This film is a claustrophobic, dialogue-heavy chamber piece rather than an open-world stunt showcase. Bleeding Steel (2017)
Jackie Chan makes a brief comedic cameo appearance in drag during a pursuit sequence. 3. The Reboot Era (The New Timelines)
For those who grew up in the era of MS-DOS, the term "Police Story" also refers to the classic adventure game series , known as 警察故事 (Jǐngchá Gùshì) in Chinese. Developed by the legendary Sierra Entertainment, this series defined the police procedural in the world of gaming.