Arrow recently unleashed the massive Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits box-set on 4K. Packed with hours of extras, alternate cuts, a booklet and so much more, this set will delight fans of Chan or Hong Kong action cinema in general. MVD is offering the standard version, while Arrow is offering a website-exclusive edition on its end.
Jackie Chan’s Breakout Hits is a fantastic collection from Arrow, offering up beautiful 4K restorations of Drunken Master 2, Rumble in The Bronx, Thunderbolt, First Strike, Mr. Nice Guy and Who Am I. I was completely new to all of these films and found this set both entertaining for the films and informative for the extras. I recently wrote short little capsule reviews for the films over at Letterboxd, which I am sharing below. Arrow has delivered a top of the line set for Chan and his fans here. The entire package is very recommended.
Drunken Master 2 (1994):
I found this first film in Arrow’s ‘Jackie Chan Breakout Hits’ box mostly incredible. A handsomely mounted historical-set production, this long-gestating follow-up to one of Jackie Chan’s most popular films is quite a fine film. Chan is ridiculously charismatic, and the film’s fight choreography is astonishing throughout. Pretty much everything works here. The large ensemble is strong, the action is exciting, and the story engrossing. Crazy the film almost fell apart due to issues with director Lau Kar-leung. The behind the scenes drama doesn’t spill over onto the screen thankfully, and this is a great kickoff film for its Chan Breakout Collection.
Extras are plentiful and solid. They include a new commentary, interviews and video essays. The disc also includes archival extras and promotional material. Great stuff.
Rumble in the Bronx (1995):
Ah, so this is what everyone was going on about thirty years ago!
Even though it took me more than three decades to watch RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, I have very strong memories of this film’s release. Asian action cinema, or just action cinema in general, wasn’t on my radar, and I ignored my movie buddy Dave’s plea to see this with him. Well, ol’ Dave was right; RUMBLE IN THE BRONX is, indeed, quite awesome. I can see why he went and saw it a few times at theaters. I certainly had many opportunities over the years. Hell, I recall the VHS taking up an entire wall at the video store I managed, but I never bothered taking home a copy to watch. It’s my loss, as RUMBLE IN THE BRONX is a blast and I would have loved this in my early twenties. It’s easy to see why Jackie Chan is such a star and was such a sensation. He is so charismatic throughout this and quite charming. The whole cast is great, with a special note going to scene-stealing Françoise Yip. Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai’s direction is energetic and fun, and Jingle Ma Choh-Sing’s cinematography is quite strong. The neon-lit motorcycle run is especially gorgeously lit and photographed, almost like a Cinema-du-look film. There are several versions of this. Both the international and Hong Kong cuts can now be viewed in 4k on Arrow’s Jackie Chan Breakout Hits box. Both versions look spectacular, and the extras concerning the various cuts and Chan’s career are excellent. We also get some archival interviews, a commentary track, and footage from both the television and American cuts.
RUMBLE IN THE BRONX is an exciting, funny, and invigorating film to watch. Great stuff.
Thunderbolt (1995):
The third film in Arrow’s ‘Jackie Chan Breakout Hits’ 4K Box, THUNDERBOLT (1995), was a big hit in Hong Kong upon its release but remains underseen, or underappreciated, Stateside. According to Arrow’s supplements, it took half a dozen directors to finish this thing and it is pretty obvious. This is more like a collection of scenes rather than a proper film, and yet it mostly works. It is also pretty damn entertaining, giving the audience A LOT of what they came to see. In fact, that’s my biggest problem with the car-race-based THUNDERBOLT. Running 110 minutes, this finally becomes more than a bit exhausting. But as a film about fast cars and fights, it consistently delivers exactly what its audience wants. This is silly, like one of Elvis’ old auto-racing films, without the music, although the theme that plays over the outtake credits is delightful.
First Strike (1996):
What a lot of fun this is. Picking back up with Arrow’s Jackie Chan Breakout Hits 4K set, I greatly enjoyed this 1996 film. A sequel in spirit, but as a standalone, this works delightfully well, and its 107-minute runtime flies by.
Working again with director Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai, Chan appears in pretty much every scene of this very exciting film. With its wintry tone and endlessly imaginative action and fight scenes, this kind of reminded me of watching a Bond film with all the dull parts cut out. It is just one cool set piece after another, with the shark sequence probably being the standout for me. I rarely knew or honestly much cared about anything happening here story-wise, but as a pure action spectacle, this is good stuff.
Extras include a continuing documentary on Chan’s career in this period, some television footage, the international version, an appreciative commentary and interview with Frank Djeng, and a 2nd international cut of the film. 4K looks spectacular. This was a fun afternoon watch.
Mr. Nice Guy (1997):
Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting MR. NICE GUY (1997) to be my favorite film in Arrow’s Jackie Chan Breakout Hits 4K box, but here we are. While I haven’t watched the set’s final film yet, I feel pretty confident in calling this nineties action cheese fest the most delightfully surprising and winning film here. Directed by legendary Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, from a goofy as hell script by Fibe Ma Mei-Ping and Edward Tang, this Chan vehicle is completely nonsensical but incredibly electric, where the laughs land as hard as the punches hit. Positively reeking of 1997, Kam-Bo’s film somehow or another manages to feel fresh despite how dated it is. The longer Hong Kong version, filled with stunning fight choreography, is the way to go, though alternate cuts are included. Extras include a continuing Chan documentary, a fun, informative commentary, and more.
This is an absolute blast.
Who Am I (1998):
If there is a dud in Arrow’s Jackie Chan Breakout Hits, it is this very Americanized 1998 production, although this still isn’t all that bad. Directed mostly by Chan himself, the best thing I can say about this film is that the fight sequences are indeed amazing. They hurt more too here, having a harder feel than the other films in the set. And there is a lot of fighting here, although at two hours this film runs very, very long. Chan is charismatic as usual, and I kind of liked costar Michelle Ferre, making a one-and-done appearance.
Ultimately, this just felt too much like the kind of boneheaded American action films I have never had much patience for. This isn’t bad, but it is easily the weakest film on Arrow’s set.
Extras are plentiful here, including 2 cuts of the film, interviews, archival footage, documentaries, and more. Ironically, the worst film on Arrow’s set gets the most extras, and this 4K looks perfect as expected.
-Jeremy Richey, October 2026-
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