# Police Story 2013 (警察故事2013)
**Police Story 2013** (警察故事2013), released internationally as *Police Story: Lockdown*, is a 2013 Chinese-Hong Kong action crime thriller directed and written by Ding Sheng (丁晟), starring [Jackie Chan](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-chan) as mainland Chinese police captain Zhong Wen, with Liu Ye and [Jing Tian](https://www.edgepedia.org/jing-tian) in leading roles[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jing_cha_gu_shi_2013). It is the sixth film in the Police Story series and the first in which Chan plays a mainland police officer rather than a Hong Kong one[3](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/1030/c40733-23373813.html). The film was released in mainland China on 24 December 2013 and became the highest-grossing Chinese police-crime film to that point[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) • [4](https://crm.htsc.com.cn/pdf_finchina/CNSESZ_STOCK/2019/2019-2/2019-02-11/5028613.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Ding Sheng (丁晟), who also served as the film's editor[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) • [5](https://www.1905.com/news/20140329/744884.shtml) |
| Stars | Jackie Chan as Zhong Wen, Liu Ye as Wu Jiang, Jing Tian as Miao[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) |
| Series position | Sixth Police Story film; the previous entry, *New Police Story*, was released in 2004[3](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/1030/c40733-23373813.html) |
| Release | Mainland China, Singapore, and Vietnam on 24 December 2013; 108 minutes; 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D versions[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) |
| Box office | Opening day over 66.54 million yuan; over 500 million yuan within three weeks; global total US$94,249,025[6](https://www.wanda.cn/2013/2013latest_1226/26253.html) • [7](https://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/0115/c172318-24128175.html) • [8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829) |
| Critical scores | 25% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (8 reviews); 5.9/10 on Douban[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jing_cha_gu_shi_2013) • [8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829) |
| Production | Co-produced by Wanda Media and Starlit HK International Media; filmed in Beijing from late 2012[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Zhong Wen (钟文), a criminal police captain played by Jackie Chan, has long neglected his family for his work. His estranged daughter Miao (苗苗), played by Jing Tian, invites him to a fashionable nightclub, where he learns that the club's owner, Wu Jiang (武江), played by Liu Ye, is her new boyfriend[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/). Early in the evening, a migrant worker named A Cang, unable to recover unpaid wages, takes the boss who owes him money hostage; Zhong conceals his identity and talks the man down[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/).
The situation escalates: Wu Jiang takes everyone in the bar hostage, including Zhong, Miao, and a group of strangers who seem familiar to him, and demands the release of a criminal who has been imprisoned for years[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/). According to Ding Sheng, Wu Jiang's motive is to reconstruct the circumstances of his sister's accidental death and find the real culprit; he discovers that nearly everyone present bears some responsibility, and that he himself is not blameless[9](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2014/0113/c40733-24104854.html).
## Development
**A two-year script.** Ding Sheng spent two years writing the screenplay, which he originally titled *Junzi Baochou* (君子报仇, roughly "A Gentleman's Revenge")[10](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2014/01-06/5701847.shtml) • [9](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2014/0113/c40733-24104854.html). The draft was rejected during censorship review with the comment that the script was unrealistic; after nine revisions and two outright rejections, the [Ministry of Public Security](https://www.edgepedia.org/ministry-of-public-security) introduced him to the Beijing criminal investigation corps[10](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2014/01-06/5701847.shtml). Ding spent three months living with the squad, followed seven kidnapping cases, took 50,000 words of notes, and read case files extensively; he said this experience showed him how implausible his earlier drafts had been[10](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2014/01-06/5701847.shtml) • [11](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1042289.html). The revised script passed review on the first submission[10](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2014/01-06/5701847.shtml).
**Casting Chan.** Ding persuaded Jackie Chan, his director on *[Little Big Soldier](https://www.edgepedia.org/little-big-soldier)* (2010), to take the role by invoking [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro)'s sacrifices for *Raging Bull*, and then brought him to the criminal investigation corps, where the officers' uniform buzz cuts impressed Chan[10](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2014/01-06/5701847.shtml). Chan cut his signature thirty-year hairstyle for the role and said the deeper emotional characterization, in which his character is a father first and a policeman second, was what attracted him to the script[3](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/1030/c40733-23373813.html). The title *Police Story 2013* was chosen by the investors; Ding considered it helpful[12](https://ent.ifeng.com/movie/dianyingrenzaixian/special/dyrzx112/). Filming began on 27 November 2012 in Beijing[8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829) • [1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/).
## Release and box office
The film opened on 24 December 2013, [Christmas Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/christmas-eve), in mainland China, Singapore, and Vietnam, followed by Kuwait, Indonesia, South Korea, and other territories through 2014 and 2015[1](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/) • [8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829). It took 40.71% of screenings on its first day, alongside Feng Xiaogang's comedy *[Personal Tailor](https://www.edgepedia.org/personal-tailor)*[13](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/12-26/5667038.shtml).
The opening was strong by the standards of Chinese police films. The specialized box-office office recorded an opening day above 66.54 million yuan and a two-day cumulative total of 116 million yuan, both records for a Jackie Chan film[6](https://www.wanda.cn/2013/2013latest_1226/26253.html). A Xinhua report citing premiere-day receipts gave 64.80 million yuan including preview screenings, surpassing the 44.20 million opening of Chan's *[CZ12](https://www.edgepedia.org/cz12)* and setting a first-day record for the police-crime genre[14](https://news.cntv.cn/2013/12/26/ARTI1388022420461163.shtml). Six-day receipts reached 273 million yuan, and the film passed 300 million on 31 December, taking the weekly box-office crown from *Personal Tailor*[15](https://www.wanda.cn/2013/2013latest_1230/26314.html). Within three weeks it had passed 500 million yuan, ranking seventh among Chinese-language films of 2013[7](https://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/0115/c172318-24128175.html). Its global total was US$94,249,025[8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829), and a later industry account describes it as having set the Chinese police-crime film box-office record[4](https://crm.htsc.com.cn/pdf_finchina/CNSESZ_STOCK/2019/2019-2/2019-02-11/5028613.pdf).
## Reception
**Domestic response.** Chinese coverage emphasized the film's departure from the series' comedic action formula. Reviewers noted that Chan's fight scenes were reduced in favor of emotional drama centered on the father-daughter relationship[13](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/12-26/5667038.shtml). *Beijing Youth Daily* praised the story's attention to social realities, such as wage arrears, while faulting the casting and handling of details[8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829). *The Beijing News* argued that the confined bar setting spared Chan his usual large-scale stunts and called the film a low-budget work of advertising-director caliber[8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829). Douban users rated it 5.9 out of 10[8](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829).
**International response.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds 25% on the Tomatometer from 8 reviews and 33% from audiences[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jing_cha_gu_shi_2013). Critics writing for the 2015 North American release were largely negative: Adam Nayman of *The A.V. Club* gave it a C and criticized its pacing and flashback structure, while James Mudge of easternKicks called it a reasonable mainland action film that would satisfy Chan fans without recalling his best work[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jing_cha_gu_shi_2013).
## Place in the series
The Police Story series began in 1985 with Chan as the cheerful Hong Kong officer Chan Ka-kui; the 2013 film is its sixth entry and, like *[New Police Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-police-story)*, a standalone story unconnected to the earlier characters[3](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/1030/c40733-23373813.html) • [16](https://screenanarchy.com/2016/08/jackie-chans-police-story-series-1985---2013-contrib.html). The *South China Morning Post* describes it as a serious hostage drama that abandons the original's humor, with more in common with *Die Hard* and Chan's own dramatic *Crime Story* than with the series' signature films[17](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3285674/was-remaking-classic-hong-kong-films-police-story-better-tomorrow-good-idea?module=series_article_list&pgtype=series). Screen Anarchy notes that it contains only one real fight scene, a brutal one-on-one cage fight, and focuses on tension rather than action, and that reviews at release suffered from unfair comparison with the earlier films[16](https://screenanarchy.com/2016/08/jackie-chans-police-story-series-1985---2013-contrib.html).
The film was also a technical departure: Ding Sheng shot much of it digitally, and the finished 108-minute cut contained 3,780 shots, which he edited himself over five months[16](https://screenanarchy.com/2016/08/jackie-chans-police-story-series-1985---2013-contrib.html) • [5](https://www.1905.com/news/20140329/744884.shtml). At the film's celebration banquet, Chan said he hoped to keep making Police Story films into old age[7](https://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/0115/c172318-24128175.html).
## References
1. [警察故事2013 详细资料, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/mdb/film/2214306/info/)
2. [Police Story 2013 (2013), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jing_cha_gu_shi_2013)
3. [《警察故事2013》定档平安夜 成龙出演内地警察, 新华网 via 人民网](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2013/1030/c40733-23373813.html)
4. [华泰证券研究报告 on Wanda Film's slate](https://crm.htsc.com.cn/pdf_finchina/CNSESZ_STOCK/2019/2019-2/2019-02-11/5028613.pdf)
5. [专访丁晟：钟情拍警匪动作片 会继续与成龙合作, 1905电影网](https://www.1905.com/news/20140329/744884.shtml)
6. [万达出品《警察故事2013》票房破亿 成龙求接班人, 万达官网](https://www.wanda.cn/2013/2013latest_1226/26253.html)
7. [《警察故事2013》3周破5亿 模式创新票房年度第7, 新华网 via 人民网](https://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/0115/c172318-24128175.html)
8. [警察故事2013, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%AD%A6%E5%AF%9F%E6%95%85%E4%BA%8B2013/3523829)
9. [《警察故事2013》导演丁晟：警匪片没有生活支撑很滑稽, 新华网 via 人民网](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2014/0113/c40733-24104854.html)
10. [丁晟畅谈《警察故事2013》诞生记, 中国新闻网](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2014/01-06/5701847.shtml)
11. [中国电影工业，需要多一些丁晟, 界面新闻](https://www.jiemian.com/article/1042289.html)
12. [丁晟：警匪片态度端正，审查就没有大障碍, 凤凰网娱乐](https://ent.ifeng.com/movie/dianyingrenzaixian/special/dyrzx112/)
13. [《警察故事2013》平安夜票房夺冠 当天超6000万, 中国新闻网](https://www.chinanews.com/yl/2013/12-26/5667038.shtml)
14. [《警察故事》首日破六千万 殷桃"零差评"成惊喜, 新华网 via 央视网](https://news.cntv.cn/2013/12/26/ARTI1388022420461163.shtml)
15. [万达出品《警察故事2013》票房过3亿 夺周冠军动力强劲, 万达官网](https://www.wanda.cn/2013/2013latest_1230/26314.html)
16. [Jackie Chan's Police Story Series 1985 - 2013, Screen Anarchy](https://screenanarchy.com/2016/08/jackie-chans-police-story-series-1985---2013-contrib.html)
17. [Was remaking classic Hong Kong films like Police Story, A Better Tomorrow a good idea?, South China Morning Post](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3285674/was-remaking-classic-hong-kong-films-police-story-better-tomorrow-good-idea?module=series_article_list&pgtype=series)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released in the 2010s › Crime and heist entries*
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