Project A (1983)

You wouldn't expect to see pirates in a Hong Kong martial arts film, but with "Project A" and its sequel, "Project A 2," Chan was thinking outside the box (1987). He plays Dragon Ma, a Coast Guard cadet turned cop who becomes a rogue hero when he discovers a corrupt police force conspiring with pirates. That won't stand, so Ma teams up with Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung to take down the evil guys. Unlike their beloved "Lucky Stars" trilogy, which missed out on this list due to the trio's minor roles and an excess of objectively bad comedy, the three skilled buddies get more screen time here. That's why Project A (1983) has its name on the list of the best Jackie Chan movies.

The film features multiple battles, but the set pieces and stunts are the highlights. Chan places himself in intricate positions that alternate between hazardous and humorous, from a Harold Lloyd-style sequence dangling from — and tumbling from — a clocktower to a Buster Keaton-style bicycle pursuit. At the end of that clocktower fall, he almost broke his neck. This isn't "Cutthroat Island" (1995).