Top 10 Most Exciting Action Stunts in Jackie Chan's Movies, Which Are Still Hard to Surpass Today!

Jackie Chan is widely considered to be one of the greatest action stars of all time, and his work often speaks for itself. Over the years, Jackie Chan's stunts have wowed action movie fans for their complexity and unconventional nature. In the Guinness World Records, the title of "Live Actor with the Most Stunts" still belongs to Jackie Chan, and here are probably the best stunts he has ever performed.

10. Window Slide - Who Am I? (1998)

"Who am I?" is the question that Jackie Chan's character asks himself when he wakes up in a village in South Africa with no memories. The locals believe that this is his name, so they call him that. After being chased, he searches for answers and finds himself at the Willemswerf building in Rotterdam, where he finds himself at the top of the building. Cornered, he decides to slide down the window of the building.

What makes the stunts in Who Am I? wonderful is that it seems like this option was never considered before it happened. Any viewer can easily bet that the protagonist will either fight his enemy or surrender instead of sliding down the window, but he does it because he is Jackie Chan. This stunt was possible because the building was designed in a triangular shape, so one side had a slanted wall. Therefore, he only had to sit down and slide down. However, one of the windows would break under his weight, so the audience was forced to hold their breath for several seconds.

9. Bus Chase - Police Story (1985)

Police Story was a highly recommended crime-action movie in the 80s. But even more impressive were the stunt scenes. In one scene, Chan Ka-Ku (played by Jackie Chan) bravely grabbed the double-decker bus that the criminals were riding in, jamming the handle of his umbrella on the door and risking double.

This stunt was so good that it has been imitated in various ways in different movies over the years. The most recent example can be seen in The Flash, where Batman used his grappling hook to connect to the criminal's vehicle and then slid down like he was entering a highway to solve the problem.

8. 28-foot Leap - Rumble in the Bronx (1995)

Jackie Chan's characters always have good judgment when it comes to fighting and escaping. In Rumble in the Bronx, a Hong Kong policeman (played by Jackie Chan) leaps about 28 feet from the top of a building and lands on a balcony next door.

Apparently, even members of the production team were impressed by the stunt, as it was replayed three times from different angles. By the third viewing, anyone who had doubts about its awesomeness would be convinced. So it's not surprising that this movie made Jackie Chan a household name in the United States.

7. Falling from a Bell Tower - Project A (1983)

In Project A, Hong Kong Navy officer Ma Ru-Lung (played by Jackie Chan) is committed to stopping a gang of modern pirates, but the task is much more difficult than he expected. In one scene, he finds himself hanging from a huge bell tower and then falling from a height of 70 feet. Thanks to plot protection, he survives and goes on to fight more bad guys.

This stunt is not completely original. It was inspired by Harold Lloyd's clock tower stunt in Safety Last. The iconic silent film looked even more dangerous because Lloyd was hanging right above the oncoming traffic. However, unlike Jackie Chan, he didn't plummet to the ground completely. Therefore, Jackie Chan should be praised for taking the physical hit to ensure that his version looked cooler.

6. Helicopter Jump - Police Story 3: Supercop (1992)

The story of Supercop, about a Hong Kong marshal trying to bust a drug gang in China before everything is ruined by his visiting girlfriend, is basic action movie plot stuff. However, what makes the movie stand out is its reliance on extraordinary stunts. The climactic scene, where the protagonist leaps from the ladder of a helicopter onto the carriage of a train, is enough to make it one of the best 90s Hong Kong action movies.

The beauty of this stunt is the calculation. A helicopter ladder isn't the most stable thing, as it's constantly swaying, so Jackie Chan's character needed to have some kind of mathematical accuracy to avoid hitting the ground. The same accuracy was required when he jumped from the building onto the ladder. Interestingly, he pulled off this stunt with ease.

5. Drunken Master II (1994)

Wong Fei Hung is the most interesting and skillful character Jackie Chan has ever created, as he fights like a drunkard while managing to destroy dozens of opponents. The pinnacle moment in Drunken Master II takes place during the showdown between Wong Fei Hung and the villain's chief enforcer, John. During one of these moments, Wong Fei Hung falls into a burning coal and is forced to walk through it, sustaining minor injuries in the process.

This sequence once again shows how far Jackie Chan is willing to go to ensure that the audience gets their money's worth. During filming, the actor insisted on performing this stunt three times until the last time, when he was slightly burned. Today, minor burn scars can be seen on his hands, a testament to the sacrifices he made to keep action movie lovers entertained.

4. Hot Air Balloon Jump - Armour of God (1986)

Jackie Chan has never been asked to explain where he drew inspiration from Armour of God, but the idea probably came from the Raiders of the Lost Ark movies. The actor played an adventurer who was tasked with rescuing a woman who had been kidnapped by a cultist who was looking for a suit of armor with supernatural powers. This was also one of those movies where the actor got seriously injured. While attempting a tree jump, Jackie Chan hit his head on the ground, resulting in a severe temporal injury.

However, the tree stunt was replaced by a stunt where the character jumped on a hot air balloon at the end. Standing on the edge of a cliff, he realized that the only escape route was in a hot air balloon miles below. So he leaped into the air and even he was surprised that he was able to land softly.

3. Rollerblading in Traffic - Winners & Sinners (1983)

The Winners & Sinners was not as popular as other Jackie Chan movies. This is because he only played a supporting role in it. The plot of the movie revolves around a group of criminals who have just been released from prison, and Jackie Chan plays an errant police officer who is tasked with recovering a briefcase they had just stolen. As he was chasing them, he rollerbladed in traffic, causing a massive traffic jam.

This stunt was amazing because it did everything the audience would expect in such a situation. He briefly lies on the ground to let a car pass him, then acrobatically jumps over a motorcycle and then through speeding vehicles, only to avoid a collision by the slightest of margins. He does all of this without breaking a sweat, proving that he is born for moments like this.

2. Snowboard Jump - First Strike (1996)

In First Strike, Jackie Chan plays a Hong Kong police officer working with the CIA to track down a woman who is said to be working with terrorists. Soon, it is revealed that the terrorist's goal is to obtain nuclear weapons, so the protagonist must stop him before it is too late. An early scene sees him snowboarding down a hill to escape his pursuers. Just as he reaches the edge, a helicopter appears, so he makes a perfect jump and catches its landing skid.

This is another scene that highlights the actor's daring spirit. The snowboards on his feet mean he is heavier than usual, but he doesn't care. He takes a risk, and it works. The fun doesn't end there. Just before the helicopter explodes, he breaks free and falls a hundred feet into a frozen lake.

1. Slide on a Slide Bar - Police Story (1985)

Police Story makes the list again because of its classic mall fight. In this scene, Chan Ka-Ku fights off numerous thugs on his own on the top floor. In the process, a briefcase containing sensitive information falls all the way to the bottom floor. To retrieve it, Ka-Ku slides down a slide bar wrapped with a light bulb and breaks the glass just before hitting the ground.

This stunt is so memorable mainly because of its gorgeousness. The audience can see Jackie Chan's character sliding down to retrieve what he is after before beating everyone up, which is an unforgettable image for everyone who has seen the movie. However, pulling off this stunt is not as easy as it looks. Jackie Chan dislocated his pelvis and suffered second-degree burns, but he did not reduce his determination to perform more dangerous stunts.