As if screenwriting, directing, and doing supremely dangerous stunts were not enough for this film, Jackie Chan also sings a theme song over the end credits. Now that's overachieving. What would you expect from a guy who spent his career expertly combining physical comedy and martial arts while sustaining numerous injuries and broken bones?

In Police Story (Jing cha gu shi in Mandarin), Chan stars as Inspector Ka Kui, a principled cop who quickly finds himself fighting criminal threats against his professional career just as it starts to generate some pride and momentum in the department. All this while trying to sort out abundant misunderstandings between his girlfriend (Maggie Cheung) and the high-profile witness he's tasked with protecting (Brigitte Lin). Over the course of a hundred minutes, there are major car stunts, motorcycle stunts, kicks, punches, falls, an absurd amount of broken glass, and Jackie getting hit in the face with cake (more than once!). A climactic scene in a shopping mall has become legendary for how dangerous it was, and serves to cap off the action-comedy with one final jaw-dropping sequence.

There are some jarring tonal shifts throughout, but part of the appeal of Chan is his willingness to be goofy and incorporate physical humor into his projects. Just go with the fact that one minute things are deadly serious and the next they're Buster Keaton-esque. Released in 1985, not all of the comedy in Police Story has aged well. But the slapstick still charms and the action scenes are more than worth the watch. If you're only familiar with Jackie from Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, or even something much more recent like The Karate Kid from 2010, it's time to go back to the earlier days of his Hong Kong filmmaking career.