What counts is the theatricality and exuberance of the action sequences. More often than not, Mr. Nice Guy delivers. At the same time, it's unlikely to be anybody's favorite Chan film. Nothing in this one approaches the brilliance of the extension-ladder fight scene in First Strike, the spectacular motorcyle, train, and helicopter sequences in Supercop, or even the pool room brawl in Rumble in the Bronx. There are, however, some pretty elaborate chase scenes that amaze and delight. Too bad the film climaxes prematurely -- reportedly due to an injury suffered by Chan during filming -- with a tedious final reel that puts Chan behind the wheel of a sort of superbulldozer, instead of out in the action where we want him.

This one takes place in Melbourne. The bad guys are a troupe of well-dressed Australian goons led by Richard Norton (action fans may recognize him from Cynthia Rothrock's Lady Dragon) who are in some kind of rivalry with a gang known as the Demons. The plot device is an incriminating videotape shot by TV newswoman Gabrielle Fitzpatrick. Jackie is a celebrity chef who has a real way with dough. (His Chinese girlfriend this time around is Miki Lee, barely making an impression.) Naturally, TV newswoman dashes across celebrity chef's path, chased by Australian goons. Chaos ensues.

Director Sammo Hung, who also cameos as a huffing and puffing bicyclist, is a Hong Kong screen veteran with an impressive pedigree. He keeps the stunts fresh and interesting and has an able eye for comedy. Best scene: goons in suits chase Jackie through a labyrinthine network of stone walls and opening and closing blue doors. The cinematography takes striking advantage of the wide screen, and this is surely the first Jackie Chan movie to be influenced (for better or worse) by the work of Wong Kar-Wai's ace lensman, Christopher Doyle. Mr. Nice Guy will delight casual Chan fans, frustrate dedicated followers, and probably won't budge unbelievers. Show them a tape of the still-unreleased-in-the-U.S. masterpiece Drunken Master 2 instead.

Finally, a complaint. Part of the fun of a Jackie Chan adventure is that, despite the violence, it's rare that anybody is actually killed. So in a movie with so much explicitly make-believe carnage, I was a little disturbed by the long sequence near the film's opening that introduced the bad guys. They ogle a babe in a bikini, suddenly blow her cover as a double agent for the Demons, proclaim her a "bitch," and then bury her alive, screaming. I know that the scene is meant to emphasize the lead villian's vile demeanor, but it's a pretty ugly opening for a film that's otherwise so affable. Jackie has more than earned the title of "world's greatest action star" -- he shouldn't borrow tactics from a cut-rate exploitation film.