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(About Our Ads) DVD REVIEW FOR "OPERATION CONDOR" (1990) (Jackie Chan, Carol Cheng) (PG-13) Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 92 minutes Letterbox (2.35:1) English English Dolby Digital 5.1 1 PLOT & PARENTAL REVIEW VIDEO: (B) The results of this film’s transfer to DVD are a mixed bag. While many scenes actually look quite good and feature plenty of detail and decent color use, others look much worse. Being an older film, it’s quite obvious that a less than pristine print was used for the transfer. A great deal of film artifacts – including scratches, blips and even vertical lines (that last for several seconds at a time and extend from the top of the screen to the bottom) – are present throughout various parts of the film. Beyond that, compression-generated pixelation is also present, although its degree of being bothersome varies from scene to scene (some look quite bad). Finally, the detail appears to have been cranked a bit as some scenes exhibit shimmering (especially one that features the side of a panel truck that seems to be more active than even Chan). AUDIO: (A) The audio portion of the disc fares much better. While not of demonstration caliber quality and notwithstanding the obviously dubbed dialogue, the audio track features plenty of spatial effects (car and other sounds whizzing from speaker to speaker), martial arts related sounds and a decent enough action score. EXTRAS: Scene selection/Jump to any scene. COMMENTS: Certainly one of the more entertaining Jackie Chan films to be released in the U.S., this feature was originally made in 1990 and was partially re-edited and re-dubbed for its domestic release seven years later. Directed by Chan, this film contains his traditionally elaborate choreographed martial arts fight scenes mixed in with liberal doses of humor, that most often poke fun at himself. Not having the ego of most Hollywood action stars, Chan comes across as a likable hero, someone that everybody can identify with, that is until he starts moving across the screen. Without special effects, wires, or stunt people, Chan delivers action scenes and wild stunts that are massively entertaining and impossible to believe. How he's survived throughout the years without killing himself from stunt-related injuries is unknown, but the out-takes during the end credit roll show that the stunts didn't always go as planned. As in all of his films, make sure you stick around for those scenes since they're just as entertaining as those in the film itself. As far as the movie goes, its silly, goofy, James Bondesque approach lends even more fun to the production, as we get to see exotic foreign locals and lots of action. The spy-related plot is simply an excuse to tie together all of the fight scenes, and while fun for a while, does grow a bit tiring by the end. Still, it provides for some wild sequences, such as a blustery fight in a wind tunnel between Chan and two terrorists, and many other perilous encounters for Chan to wiggle, scamper, and climb his way out of. If you've never seen a Chan movie before, you'll certainly be entertained by this one. And if you are a fan of his movies, you won't be disappointed as this feature showcases some of his more elaborately staged fight scenes. Sure, it often looks cheesy, what with the dubbed voices, sometimes sped up film, and goofy dialogue and plot, but all of that adds to its charm and delivers a finished product that's a tremendous amount of fun. Like Chan’s other recently released DVD title, "Twin Dragons," this isn’t far above that available on VHS as the picture quality isn’t that great and no supplemental materials are included with the film.