The Karate Kid remake featuring Jaden Smith, the son of the rather-famous Will Smith, makes its debut very soon. Loosely remaking the 1980s family classic, this film is trying to reach out to a new generation of audiences that had missed out on the underrated hit---despite it lacking in karate altogether. But, this article is not focusing on the movie coming out, but instead focusing on one of the actors featured in it. This actor has appeared and/or worked in over 100 films, has directed over 15 movies, has done stunts in every single one of them, and even has writing credits in 12 of them. This man’s movies have made nearly a billion dollars in the box office in America alone, and who knows how much more overseas. He has the highest-grossing martial arts movie in the history of American film and is featured in the three next highest-grossing martial arts American films. But this man doesn’t have a single Academy Award.
Jackie Chan is one of the biggest stars in the history of film to not have an Oscar. Naming an actor with a career as successful as Chan’s to not have an ounce of Oscar gold is very tough to come by (Harrison Ford, Samuel L. Jackson are a couple of the extremely rare examples). Yes, Chan has done his share of bad movies, but considering all that he has accomplished and introduced to the world, we can easily erase those little quality blurbs. Come on Academy, Jackie Chan introduced an entire world of filmmaking into the United States. Finishing what Bruce Lee started; Asian martial arts cinema was making its way to American audiences. Along with Kurosawa and Miyazaki, Chan is one of the biggest names of Asian film to distribute their work to a wide audience extending far past its country of origin. Where is his Oscar? It is about time that Jackie Chan receives his Honorary Academy Award for all his amazing work.
If you want to discuss quality as well as quantity, then let’s begin. Legend of Drunken Master is the greatest martial arts film in history, and yes, I am including Bruce Lee films. Name a single film that contains a fight that lasts over ten minutes, involves the main actor actually suffer second-degree burns for the sake of entertainment, and feature chorography so complex, so perfect, that it required over four months to film. And that was the final fight, I didn’t even mention the opening fight, which features some of the best swordplay in film history, nor did I mention the multiple fights in between, which never last less than two minutes. You want to see one of the 100 greatest films of all-time, look no further than the crazy, insane, energetic, and highly-entertaining mayhem of Jui Kuen II. Three-Six Mafia and Eminem: 1 Oscar. Jackie Chan: 0.
That was just one film. The original Drunken Master was also a martial arts classic. And then there’s Police Story, which features two of among the most dangerous yet thrilling stunts ever recorded on film (The umbrella/bus sequence, and the entire final fight scene). Let’s not also forget Operation Condor (Fei ying gai wak), which is another stunt-heavy movie that features stuntwork that tops anything we’ve witnessed over the last 20 years. Now let’s add Police Story 2, Police Story 3: Supercop, Operation Condor 2, Dragons Forever, Project A, Project A2, Rumble in the Bronx (Jackie Chan’s first major American hit, featuring him leaping from a parking lot to a building across the street), and Wheels on Meals as other examples of great movies with great stunts and great fights. To continue this list, let’s mention his lesser-quality movies that still contain incredible fight scenes like First Strike (the insane ladder fight), Dragon Lord (featuring a 12-minute fighting marathon), Who am I, Gorgeous (10-minute boxing fight), New Police Story, Shanghai Noon, and the recent Forbidden Kingdom. Buster Keaton, Jackie Chan’s biggest influence: 1 Oscar. Jackie: 0.
If dedication to grand filmmaking gets you an Oscar, then Jackie Chan should have gotten it a long time ago. He does nearly all his stunts (even when some of them don’t even make the final cut), which has resulted in him breaking his nose, his ankle, his fingers, his skull, his cheekbones, and much more. Why he’s still alive is a mystery to me. Action stars in Hollywood just don’t have the dedication that he has, it does not happen anymore. And it isn’t just the fights either. He does car chases, on-foot chases, roller skate chases, and even bicycle chases. Name someone in Hollywood today that does everything that Jackie Chan did in his prime. There are Youtube videos listing his best stunts. Did you get that? Listing them! The biggest stars of today can barely bill 5 stunts at the most and here we see people listing 10 of Jackie’s best moments out of a possible several dozen.
What hurts the most is that each of Chan’s best abilities is not Oscar categories, hence leaving him out of Oscar victory ever since the 70s when his cinematic career took off. The Jackie Chan Stunt Team (featuring Chan and anyone who has the guts to do what he does) excels in stunts and chorography, two categories that does not give you awards. Whatever the reason, movies with incredible stunts and/or incredible fight/dance/lovemaking (don’t laugh) chorography do not get the highest honor of recognition. Otherwise, the Jackie Chan Stunt Team would have won at least seven of them. Personally, I believe that what Chan does is much more difficult than some of the smaller categories that do create Oscars (makeup, costume design anyone?) What is harder: dressing up someone to resemble the Romantic period of the early 18th century, or crafting an action scene that involves an actor to dangle above the ground hundreds of feet by hanging on to a ladder connected to a helicopter? You take the pick. Sandy Powell: 3 Oscars, Jackie Chan has none.
Bottom Line: This is a movie lover’s plea to make things right in the world of film. Jackie Chan is the top talent in the current film industry today that has yet to get an Oscar, and it is about time we fix this. If we can forgive Sandra Bullock for making All about Steve and (especially) Speed 2, why can’t we forgive Jackie Chan for making The Tuxedo and The Spy Next Door? Why hasn’t a man who has broken nearly every bone in his body in the name of entertainment gotten his Oscar? He has starred, co-starred, written, directed, choreographed, produced and even sang in movies, what more do you want from him? Just how much more must he accomplish before the Academy can recognize his commitment to the world of cinema? I believe he has hit the peak of quality, the peak of contribution, and the peak of effort in order to get the one statue that most actors/actresses/filmmakers around the world would hope to have at the palm of their hand.
We can agree and disagree on the Oscar winners of past and present. But denying that Jackie Chan deserves an Oscar is simply denying the 100+ movies and decades of work he has delivered to us. You would be denying his undeniable impact in the world of moviemaking. Without Jackie Chan, the entire realm of motion pictures would be drastically different. Imagine a world without Chan and his influential kung fu movies popping up here in Hollywood. I can guarantee you The Matrix, action blockbusters, and the wire-fu flicks would be drastically different.
So Academy, I beg of you, give him his well-deserved Oscar next year. Have one (or more) movie stars that were touched by Chan’s work to talk about him for a few moments, share a few jokes, and have it followed by an extensive montage of everything he has achieved, followed by all the stunts and moments that cement Jackie Chan into film immortality. And finally, after the montage, turn on the lights, and have Chan walk to the stage to finally receive that Oscar. He deserves the highest honor, and it is about time you all realize this too. While I have no say in the Academy Awards, I nonetheless nominate Jackie Chan as the next recipient of the Honorary Academy Award for his incredible, amazing, jaw-dropping, and influential contributions to film.
Sincerely,
Movie Lover, Bitter Critic, and aspiring Contributor to the Wild World of Film,
Milton Malespin
Sources: IMDB, BoxOfficeMojo
Post Article: This article was actually sent to the Academys. If they will reply (or even read this) is anyone's guess. But hey, I tried.
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