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The Accidental Spy


The Accidental SpyMovie A- | Video  A- | Audio A- | Extras D | Recommended!

Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang, Vivian Hsu, Kim Min Jeong, Wu Hsing Kuo
director Teddy Chen | Dimension Home Entertainment
2001 | Martial Arts - Action - Comedy | PG-13 | 87 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9  
anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio | Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: International action superstar Jackie Chan stars as (get this!) Jackie Chan, a dedicated exercise equipment salesman who accidentally stops a burglary in the shopping mall and catches more than his five minutes of fame.  A mysterious man seeks Jackie out and attempts to reunite him with his biological father.  As an orphan, Jackie only has vague memories of his parents.  Shockingly enough, he finds out that his would-be father is Korean!  (As you know, Jackie is Chinese.)  Anxious to meet the man who may be his real father, Jackie sets out to Seoul and meets with the man, who was once a notorious double agent during the prime of his life.  Jackie's father dies soon afterwards as some old enemies assaulted him.  However, his father left him a challenge that would prove whether Jackie is really his biological son.  Jackie accepts the challenge and gets in deep over his head with bad guys, double agents, and drug lords.

In the tradition of Jackie Chan's martial arts-action-comedy flicks, The Accidental Spy will have you busting up with laughter as Jackie fights his way out of all sorts of trouble, just to prove that he is the rightful son and is therefore entitled to his big inheritance.  I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from the opening credits, which incidentally (or is that accidentally?) features a musical score that imitates the 007 James Bond theme.  My only gripe is that the original Chinese dialog was not included as a soundtrack/audio option (with English subtitles of course).  The English dub was a little distracting at times, as the English dialog did not always synch properly with the actors' lips.  Having said that, I would still recommend this movie.  And if you're not particular about bonus features, then the DVD is worth buying.  In any case, it's definitely worth a rental.

Special Features: No real bonus features, just sneak peeks of Impostor: Director's Cut, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Iron Monkey

DVD released on 8/13/2002 | Reviewed 8/20/2002

List $29.99 | online $21.49 | order from Amazon.com, Buy.com for $21.49 & free shipping

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Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-" or better.  Only the highest number of channels of surround sound format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1).  If there are both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed.  All DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback systems.

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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones.  Our home theater equipment was calibrated with the Video Essentials DVD.

Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year 2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.

 

 

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