Every Jackie Chan Movie Trilogy, Ranked Worst to Best

Jackie Chan is one of the most fearless performers in the movie industry. His blend of martial arts, stunts, and comedy has made him a global star, giving him a permanent place in both his home industry in China and in Hollywood. Chan has consistently pushed the boundaries of stunts in his films, especially his trilogies.

Many of Chan’s films have received sequels, some even years after the original. However, there are five proper trilogies of the Who Am I star, and they define his filmography. The following trilogies will be ranked by narrative cohesion and overall quality in storytelling. 

Apart from the listed films, he is also set to make a third Shanghai film. However, it is yet to be in active development. Here are all the Jackie Chan movie trilogies ranked from worst to best.

5 Jackie Chan’s Cameos in The Lucky Stars Trilogy Added a Lot of Value

Jackie Chan in Winners and Sinners | Credits: Golden Harvest

Sammo Hung’s Lucky Stars movies featured an ensemble cast of martial arts legends. The films blended action and comedy, prominently featuring Chan alongside his Peking Opera School brothers. While often labeled as guest appearances, Chan provides the primary action backbone for the trilogy. He played a different role in each film and was the highlight.

The films are not strictly a Jackie Chan starrer, though his fame with Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow adds a lot of value to the films for the international audience. It ranks so low because of this reason. They are otherwise entertaining films.

4 Jackie Chan’s Dragon Lord Films are his Least Cohesive Trilogy

Jackie Chan in Dragon Lord | Credits: Golden Harvest

Among the other trilogies in his filmography, Jackie Chan’s Dragon Lord films are the least cohesive. For starters, they are all three separate stories and blend multiple genres together. But they have a thematic connection in Chan’s filmography and mark an early part of his career that was filled with traditional martial arts and Hollywood-style ambition.

The Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow was the one that made Chan a star. It also established his kung-fu comedy style that would dominate most of his films in the coming years. The Young Master saw him take on the director’s role, and he took an ambitious leap with the storyline and scale. 

Dragon Lord is the weakest film in the unofficial trilogy. It is narratively incoherent and jumps across genres. It is partly a sports movie, a comedy film, and, of course, there is martial arts. Still, it does not come together as his other films, and hence, the ranking for this trilogy is so low.

3 Armour of God’s Lengthy Timeline Makes the Narrative Less Complete

Jackie Chan in Armour of God | Credits: Golden Harvest/Miramax Films

The first Armour of God is known for Jackie Chan getting one of his most serious injuries, which would have nearly made him retire. The film saw Chan go into Indiana Jones territory, mixing mythological adventure with his usual action-comedy style. Despite being the best of the trilogy, it was released in the USA after the sequel, Operation Condor.

The second film leans more into the Indiana Jones style, bringing in the historical fiction aspect of it to the forefront. The action is slick and in true Jackie style, it is hilarious and exhilarating. However, the film franchise lost its interest after it gave a whopping twenty-one-year gap for the third film, CZ12.

By the time the Chinese Zodiac (CZ12) came along, Jackie Chan was already one of the biggest stars in the world. However, the long gap did not do the film any favors, and it is again not a narratively cohesive trilogy. The opening action sequence is still incredible, though.

2 Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan Became the Dynamic Duo with Rush Hour

Things were never the same after Carter shouted, ‘Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?’ to a clueless Lee. The Rush Hour films are among the funniest buddy-cop movies in Hollywood. The trilogy used the cultural differences between Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan to the fullest and made it so hilarious and fun.

While the first film is perfect as the introduction to these characters, the second one is where it really takes off. The action shifts from LA to Hong Kong and then finally comes back to Las Vegas in an epic climax. It is hilarious and action-heavy. 

The third film is its weakest, but it still has some fun moments (The ‘me-you’ scene is so funny). A fourth Rush Hour film has long been teased, but for now, it is a trilogy.

1 Jackie Chan Took His Movies to the International Level with Police Story

Jackie Chan and Michelle Yeoh in Police Story 3: Supercop | Credits: Golden Harvest/Miramax

Jackie Chan’s magnum opus is the Police Story franchise. He directed the first two movies, which were both blockbusters, and the third film, Supercop, was directed by Stanley Tong. The final movie remains its most ambitious, cementing the trilogy as one of the greatest in martial arts movies in cinema history. Michelle Yeoh co-stars brilliantly as Inspector Yang, matching Chan stunt-for-stunt.

In terms of action, this is as good as it gets with Jackie Chan. It may not be the most narratively cohesive trilogy (though it is certainly better than Armour of God and Dragon Lord), but it is definitely the most exhilarating, and all the films are great. Beyond Supercop, the franchise continued with more movies in the main Police Story films, though they are not connected. Michelle Yeoh also got a spinoff in Supercop 2.

Which Jackie Chan movie trilogy do you think deserves the best spot? Comment below.