Where to watch Operation Condor
3 1/2 Stars
Jackie Chan’s willingness to entertain audiences at the risk of his own personal safety reaches new inventive heights in the smashingly entertaining Operation Condor. This picture was originally released in its native country back in 1991 under the title Armour of God 2: Operation Condor. It’s actually a sequel to Armour of God (1986), which was released in the United States in 1999 as Operation Condor 2. Confounding title choices aside, Operation Condor is one of Jackie’s best of the 1990’s.
Jackie is recruited by the United Nations to find 240 tons of gold bars that the Nazis somehow managed to hide under the desert floor in Africa during World War II. He will be teamed with a beautiful U.N. assistant named Ada (Carol Cheng) who is an expert on desert survival. Later, they’re joined by a sexy-blonde-in-a-bath-towel named Elsa (Eva Cobo de Garcia.) She is the grand-daughter of a war-criminal who went missing decades ago. The trail leads to encounters with hostile tribal men, scheming treasure robbers, and shadow government operatives.
Operation Condor is a fine example of the archetypical Chan flick. It shows our hero as both vigilant and vulnerable. Jackie’s expressive facial gags and talent for physical comedy are nicely blended with the unbelievable action sequences. The finale set in a wind tunnel with a massive rotating fan is a gem. While Condor doesn’t quite equal the escapist thrills of Supercop, it is still an outrageously entertaining action fest.
Director: Jackie Chan
Stars: Jackie Chan, Carol ‘Do Do’ Cheng, Eva Cobo