Armour of God (1986)

AKA: Operation Condor II, Armour of the Gods

Literally: Dragon Elder Brother Tiger Younger Brother

Director: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung); Eric Tsang (Dismissed)

Producer: Leonard Ho Koon-Cheung, Chua Lam

Writer: Tang King Sang

Cast: Jackie Chan (Sing Lung), Rosamund Kwan Chi-Lam, Alan Tam Wing-Lun, Lola Forna, Maria Delores

Running Time: 94 min.

Plot: Jackie Chan is a modern-day buccaneer, commissioned by millionaire antique collector Bannon to collect pieces of an ancient religious artifact, "The Armour of God." However, the followers of that cult want their ritual treasure returned, and kidnap Jackie's best friend, Lorelei, as ransom. Jackie borrows the pieces of armour from Bannon to use as bait to rescue Lorelei, but Bannon will part with them only if his beautiful daughter May goes along to guard the treasure. Meanwhile, Lorelei's fiance Alan insists on going along as well. Together, they work out a plan for Jackie to rescue Lorelei and complete the armour collection.

S!DM'S REVIEW: Action-wise, 1986's Armour of God engages willingly and successfully, but plot-wise this film suffers. In any case, Jackie sets out Indiana Jones-style for the titular "Armour of God," ritualistically (but welcomely) running into the usual baddies, this time in the form of evil, black-cloaked monks who want the Armour for their own (evil) purposes. To save the world, Jackie enlists the aid of Alan Tam and Lola Forner, neither of which really hurt the film, but neither of which carry the film very far. The beginning sequence is a real thriller, combining neat acrobatics and some cool sweeps against native warriors, leading into the rest of the film, which is slower paced with a sporadic fight scene thrown in for the mix. The middle of the film is certainly nothing to right home about, but it could have been worse. Just your normal "filler" in most of JC's films. Anyway, a car chase through the streets ensues, which is pretty standard stuff by Jackie's standards (is that possible?), leading up to the much-awaited finale. Let me stop here and say that, up to this point in the film, looking back, the rest of the movie isn't exactly a masterpiece, but it should entertain the casual viewer. The finale is great, one of Jackie's best film sequences, as it seems to cram all the action that should have been included in the rest of the movie. Jackie first fights a dining room full of angry worshippers, some of which can be recognized as members of Jackie's stunt team, kicking and throwing them pretty much off the walls. Great choreography in this scene. Next come the four angry amazon women, high-heel-clad and very interested in kicking JC's frail body all over the place, which they succeed in doing for the most part. Again, great scene (with some inventive use of wires). And to top it off, Jackie's flies through the air onto a hot air balloon (even though done in more than one take, I enjoyed it nonetheless). Classic as far as stunts and fighting goes, but it's no Godfather Saga. The sequel is much better.

S!DM'S RATING: 7/10

DJ NIXON'S REVIEW: Wow... this movie was....a let down. I read all of the other reviews on this page thinking this movie was gonna blow me away. It wasn't that bad but I still didn't think it was that good either. It's just that, the movie is so outdated, not that that matters in a JC flick, but it really showed in this one. The fights were good though, Jackie vs. the monks was awesome! But the rest was a let down........On the video JC:My Story, they said it was "one of his best", I tend to disagree.

DJ NIXON'S RATING: 8/10

JORDAN'S REVIEW: "Armour Of God" was the first Jackie Chan movie I ever saw, several years ago. I was absolutely amazed with the whole movie, from the opening scene with the tribe to the closing scene with Jackie jumping off a cliff onto a hot air balloon. The car chase is thrilling, the flaming pole fight is excellent and Jackie vs. the Warrior Women (who are actually men!) is fantastic. "AOG" remains one of my favorites. Although I didn't become a big fan until seeing "Rumble In The Bronx", I will always remember this as the film that introduced me to Jackie Chan.

JORDAN'S RATING: 9.5/10

JAMES' REVIEW: I see this movie (along with "First Strike") as kind of a 'what if' movie. I can see the big producers sitting around their conference table and someone probably said, "What if we had Jackie as Indiana Jones?" So that's what we get: Jackie Chan playing Indiana Jones for 90 minutes. And they did a great job. The goes like this. Jackie is hired by old friend Alan Tam to rescue his his fiancee from a group of evil monks. In exchange for the girl, the monks want 'the armour of God'.

The film is a little slow to start, but after a half hour or so, it picks up the pace. There is a great car chase amongst the goings on of the film. There are only two real fights and they're at the end. The one with the amazon women is great, but the one preceding it is better.

Now as you may, or may not know, Dimension films released "Armour of God" in November '98 (straight to video) as "Operation Condor 2: The Armour of the Gods". What the fuck is that? Why did they deem it necessary to call it "Operation Condor 2"? Does the company  really think that the general North American public is so fucking dumb that they won't rent it if it isn't a sequel? But really, the only things that I didn't like are superficial. The title and the credits sequences. The credits looked very kitschy, like a bad made for cable action flick. Other than that I highly recommend this version over the original.

After viewing though, all of the above doesn't really matter. What we have here is possibly the best Americanization of an HK Jackie film. Why do I say this? Well, for starters it wasn't butchered (it's been cut by at most 10 minutes). The dubbing is great. The picture quality is perfect and the music is great. The score is above average, not the shitty music from "Mr. Nice Guy" or the new "Police Story". And as a bonus, they left in all of the original songs, with the exception of the'Losers' sequence at the beginning.

JAMES' RATING 8.5/10

RO'S REVIEW: OK, to set the record straight - if you rent this at your local Blockbuster, it's boxed and labeled 'Operation Condor II, Armour of God' by New Line Cinema. It's NOT! It was produced in 1986. Operation Condor is actually the sequel (but since the sequel was released to the American public before the original, New Line Cinema probably thought they were making it easier - HUH!). Jackie plays a sort of Indiana Jones type, except he sells the artifacts for huge profits. He turned to this after his rock group broke up when Laura (the girl he and his best friend, Alan, both loved) got engaged to Alan. It's kind of fun watching him play a scoundrel for a change. (Of course he's not completely bad, how could he be?) Evil monks kidnap Laura to force him to steal pieces of the collection 'Armor of God' for them. He, Alan and a rich girl team up the get Laura back, using the girl's father's collection as bait. The girl is played by the beautiful, but Thespis- challenged pickpocket from Wheels On Meals. She and Jackie have this sexual tension, "I hate you, but I'm attracted to you" thing going on and it looks like we'll get a full-blooded romance for a change, but alas, it's not to be. Just more of his usual 'Kissing 101'. I might be wrong about this in the Chinese version, since I got the distinct impression that scenes were cut from the New Line Cinema tape I saw (there were scenes in the outtakes that weren't in the film - a shot of Laura and Jackie in his bedroom for instance). All that aside, the movie is a lot of fun to watch. Full of humor, incredible action and lightning fast fighting. The sequence where he cuts from Alan's concert back and forth to Laura's kidnapping really jacks up the tension and shows off his directing skills. But what's up with the different hair cuts? It goes from uncharacteristically short to medium, to medium long. I read somewhere it had to do with the accident, but if you look at the outtakes, his hair was short when he broke his head open! Are the rest wigs? P.S. Jackie dubs his own voice. This is absolutely one of my favorites!!!

RO'S RATING: 10/10

DENNIS' REVIEW: I thought that this was a good movie. Most of the people who have seen this movie and don't like it complain about the boring scenes during the middle of the movie. It had a good opening scene, a few funnies, an OK car chase, and 2 second fight scenes in the middle. The end makes up for it though. It had a good fight against Chan and the room full of monks, also, a FUNNY scene with him and the 4 amazon women. This movie also has one of the best JC stunts of all time. Him Jumping from a cliff on to a hot air ballon. All this movie needs for a perfect 10 are a few more fight scenes.

DENNIS' RATING: 7/10

WEI XIN'S REVIEW: Jackie Chan teaming with Alan Tam? I don't think so. Highlight for me: Jackie taking on four women/men/whatever. I believe this is my first time watching a movie with transvestites. Anyway, that was one funny fight sequence (even though it wasn't supposed to be).

WEI XIN'S RATING: 6/10

EIRIAS' REVIEW: Stunningly bad Jackie Chan movie. Just about any other film he's made after the early 1980's is better. Wastes tons of time with a highly irritating male co-star. The sequel, Operation Condor, is much better. The one girl is very pretty...but nothing worthwhile happens until well after I gave up.

EIRIAS' RATING: 4/10

KISHIGAI'S REVIEW: This movie is a classic. I am one of the many people disappionted when you first watch it cause there isn't a whole lot of fights, but it still rocks. Jackie swings off trees, jumps off a cliff to a hot air balloon, steals a sword from a tribe, beats up a bunch of monks, fights four amazon women, and throws dynamite all around a cave. That's pretty cool. And he nearly dies while making the movie. It is kinda boring in the middle, but that gives you time to eat ice cream or something.

KISHIGAI'S RATING: 8/10

NUMSKULL'S REVIEW:

i guess this movie was ok for jacky chan but there should of been more action.the plot was to hard to follow and it was a total rip-of of indiana jones anyway.i hated reading the words at the botom of the screen why dont' they just make it in english so people can understand it.also what the hell was that dyke bitches problem with jacky?she was always geting on his case.if i were him i would of teamed up with that other chinese guy and gang-bangd her i bet that would of shut her up ha ha ha.well back to the review.the fight scene with the four bitches in lether was good and i also liked it when it showed jacky falling after jumping of the wall.there was blood coming out his ear that was real cool.but the riters screwd up because they forgot to have jacky get the armor of god for that old rich fart.oh yeah and i liked it when that monk shot the guy with the camra and all the blood came out.i hate monks though they just prey all day and dont' talk to any body what the hell kind of life is that.i dont' even believe in god so why should they?if god really existed than he would kill the scool syciatrist for me with a litening bolt or something.that guy is always on my ass what the hell is his problem!just because i shit in the boy's bathroom sink and called my teacher a stupid fat dyke bitch i mean she is one so why should i be sory?im tired of writing this review and i think you are all a bunch of dorks for spending so much time watching jacky chan movies get a life you dweebs!

NUMSKULL'S RATING: 6/10

ANDREW'S REVIEW: This was a big disappointment for me after seeing the sequel. In this film there was a cool action sequence followed by 45 minutes of bad acting, a mediocre car chase, 45 more minutes of bad acting, and then tons of cool fighting in the end. There should be a director's cut that just shows the beginning and end, and of course the outtakes of those crazy stunts. Skydiving onto a hot air balloon was cool, but how did he ever get that high in the first place? The monk's hideout was NOT several miles above the valley.

ANDREW'S RATING: 5/10

CLINT'S REVIEW: This is one of the last JC movies I watched. I had heard fantastic things about it, so of course I expected non-stop fighting. Well expect the unexpected because there is virtually no fighting until the end. At first, after watching the great beginning of the movie, you think "wow, this movie is gonna be the sh*t". Well after the sword stealing scene, you hit a huge drought of no action, besides a car chase, until the end. Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not saying this movie is bad, this movie is actually teriffic. Among the funnier scenes that help move the movie along during the no action drought are "the losers"; a disco band that JC and Alan Tam were singers in that I assume were supposed to be called "the lovers" but it was spelled wrong. The rotten butter scene. The confusion in the house when everyone is going into eachother's rooms. It's hard to explain that scene, so just watch it. And finally in the great ending, those amazon women who aim for the family jewels with their high heels and when JC lights the dynamite that he is wearing on hs chest by accident. Of course JC has to end the movie by doing something insane. So what does he do? He skydives onto a giant air balloon. Don't miss this one.

CLINT'S RATING: 8/10

ALOHO'S REVIEW: A movie with a good story. Easy to follow and not excuses for action. A great opening sequence where Jackie breaks open his head, does a couple of big jumps, drinks a beer and sleds down a hill at mach speeds. So then Jackie is briefed on his mission and off they go. Before arriving at the lair that holds the armour of gods (hence the name), Jackie is involved in a car/motorcyle chase. Chan drives a really awesome car that has turbo and ejection. The car also does a big jump like in Wheels. Then he gets to the cave and fights off a bunch of monks. Those dudes take harsh damaged. One of the monks does 1* backflips frome being kicked. After kicking ass, as always, Chan is involved in a nutty fight with 4 amazon women. Why is it nutty? He pulls his punches, accidentally grabs one's breast, and defeates them because their heels got in between planks. The final touch is a dare-devil skydive from the cave right on top of a hot air balloon. Hey! Don't forget the outtakes.

ALOHO'S RATING: 10/10

VICTOR NGUYEN'S REVIEW: This film ROCKS!!! Jackie has never been better!! (except in Police Story and Drunken Master 2) This is a film that would put the fedora hat wearing Indiana Jones to shame. Jackie plays Asian Hawk, a Chinese Indiana Jones with an attitude. With the help of his trusty sidekick (Played by superstar singer Alan Tam), Jackie kicks and punches his way through dozens of bad guys in order to save their kidnapped friend. And while doing that, why not retrieve some important artifacts Indiana Jones style, only better! Did I mention that this film rocks! From the beginning stunt filled fight with a whole load of angry tribesmen, to the final fight with the weirdest of bad guys, including monks and 4 tribes women who looked like they were rejected from the cast of "Waiting to Exhale", this film refuses to give up. This film is also famous for being the film that almost killed Jackie Chan. A simple stunt from a tree cost him a trip to the hospital and a hole in his head, but he came back filming the rest of the film only weeks later! Again, this man is willing to go through anything to please his fans.This might be overused, but I still agree that this film rocks! See it at all cost or hang your head in shame for being called a Jackie Chan fan.

VICTOR NGUYEN'S RATING: Take a guess!

SUPERMAN'S REVIEW: After hearing the good things about this one I was pumped to see it. This excitement unfortunately led to disappointment. I really don't see where all of the hype is coming from. Granted the end sequence (the last 15 minutes) are good , scratch that, great, but certainly doesn't make up for the entire rest of the movie. So do yourself a favor and either see Operation Condor or have the fast forward button ready. I do believe that every fan should see it being it is a classic but don't expect it to live up to its billing. Also Jackie shoulda left his hair short (he looked cool.)

SUPERMAN'S RATING: 5/10

MICHAEL'S REVIEW: This movie is a blast to watch; well maybe the last parts of it. This movie is the one where Jackie nearly killed himself in the opening sequence/stunt. The beginning and middle scenes are kinda boring with too much talking. I forgot the name of the band in it but they are funny. The movie starts picking up pace when they follow the sex-loving cult back to their hideout. This is where Jackie fights big Amazon Women, and straps dynamite around his body where he accidentally lights it (it is HILARIOUS.) The movie ends where Jackie leaps for his life off a cliff and lands on an air-balloon(it is AMAZING!)

Overall I'd say the last scenes kick ass. Everybody should watch it. It is very, very entertaining, and a milestone Jackie's long, but amazing career.

MICHAEL'S RATING: 9/10 (it starts out slow, but gets better later on)