Jackie Chan’s “Thunderbolt” (1995)

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The Jackie Chan vehicle ‘Thunderbolt‘ is a 1995 Honk Kong action movie. It’s hard to say whether this is a marital arts movie or a car racing flick, but any movie that has Jackie Chan flying through the air in a Mitsubishi 3000 GT race car is definitely a movie worth watching!

During the opening credits, young Jackie is shown working as a test driver at RALLIART the high-performance division of Mitsubishi Motors in Tokyo, Japan. He’s a prodigy behind the wheel, and destined for fame and fortune as a race car driver. But he has to give up his dreams to return home to Hong Kong to protect his family and work at their junkyard.

At night, Jackie and his junkman dad help the police impound illegally modified cars that tear up the streets of Hong Kong. It’s like ‘Fast and Furious’ from the perspective of law enforcement. Chan seems legitimately heartbroken at having to tow away cool cars, because he’s still a gearhead. But when criminal driver Warner ‘Cougar’ Kaugman endangers Chan’s family by blowing through a police roadblock in his sinister black Nissan Skyline GT-R R32, Chan is compelled to take action. He hops into a Mitsubishi FTO about to be towed, and chases the evil German.

It’s interesting to note that Jackie Chan only drives Mitsubishi cars in his movies. In the late 1970s Chan was a rising star in Hong Kong action movies, and the Japanese automaker was searching for creative ways to promote their brand. Jackie received financial support from the car company when he really needed it, and they got their vehicles from and centre in Jackie’s films. The deal has continued for decades, with Mitsubishi appearing in his movies ‘Meals on Wheels‘ and ‘Cannonball Run II‘ but it’s never so clear as in ‘Thunderbolt‘ where Jackie literally plays a Mitsubishi employee.

Chan tries to be the good guy, and even lies in his statement to police to assure a conviction. But Cougar is no average driver; he funds his racing career by running guns and dealing dope. Jackie really messed with the wrong guy!

Not only does Cougar’s gang break him out of jail, but they arrive at Jackie’s junkyard, destroy the place, injure Jackie and his father, and take Chan’s two little sisters hostage. To settle the score, Cougar has a plan right out of Shaun’s playbook from ‘Fast & Furious: Tokyo Drift‘. The only way for the hero and the villain to end this once and for all is to race!

This sets up the final on-track battle, which is the real reason to watch this movie. Jackie must qualify for a Japanese Super GT race at Sendai Hi-Land Raceway. There’s a cornucopia of cars from the ‘golden era’ of JDM vehicles, all race-prepped and in colourful liveries.

Race cars include a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FD, 1992 Honda Prelude, and 1995 Nissan Skyline GT-R. Jackie qualifies for the race in a yellow Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution III, but an oblivious driver leaving pit lane accidentally wrecks Jackie’s car; literally burns it to the ground.

Without a car, Jackie can’t compete in the race, and God only knows what will happen to his kidnapped sister. Just when all seems dark, the RALLIART racing team shows up at the track with two brand-new, white and red 1995 Mitsubishi GTO race cars on their hauler, plus a supply of Advan tires for the race.

But despite the kung-fu fights and race cars this movie is essentially about family. The story of a driven man who protects his family at all costs, even personal sacrifice. Even Mitsubishi treat their former employees like family, helping Chan when he most needed it. It’s like ‘Fast & Furious 6‘ when that great philosopher Dom Toretto said “You don’t turn your back on family’.

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