Police Story IV: First Strike (1996)

The "Police Story" consistency begins to sag here, with no Maggie Cheung, but "First Strike" is still a lot of sun-drenched fun. Chan's Hong Kong cop becomes curiously entangled with the CIA and is dispatched to Ukraine before being transferred to Australia (by way of a Russian submarine). That's right, Stanley Tong is back in charge of the project! That isn't a criticism; the larger action moments keep the audience entertained, and the general ridiculousness never gets in the way of the thrills.

Throughout the film, Chan's legendary fighting prowess is on full show. From the early snowbound brawls to an underwater fight interrupted by a hungry (and hilarious) shark, the film has a lot of new Chan material. The highlight finds him interrupting a memorial in the hopes of just talking, but the targets don't listen and instead attack, leading to a fantastic fight in which Chan uses a ladder brilliantly. "Police Story IV," like "Supercop," avoids the gravity of the first two franchise installments, resulting in stress-free fun.