Amnesia and high-stakes espionage collide in Jackie Chan's 1998 action classic Who Am I?
In short: After a mysterious helicopter crash in the African veldt, a lone operative wakes up with no memory of his identity. Adopted by a local tribe and eventually thrust into a global conspiracy, he must outrun hitmen and uncover the truth behind a volatile extraterrestrial compound to reclaim his past.
Directed by and starring Jackie Chan, the 1998 film Who Am I? follows a Hong Kong operative who survives a military ambush only to find himself suffering from total amnesia. Found by a tribal community in South Africa, he is nicknamed 'Who Am I?' by the locals, who mistake his desperate self-questioning for his actual name. As he recovers, he eventually ventures toward civilization, where he encounters a Japanese rally co-driver and a journalist, unknowingly becoming a target for the very forces that orchestrated his unit's betrayal.
The narrative unfolds across a global stage, with production spanning Namibia, South Africa, and the Netherlands. The plot centers on a corrupt CIA agent named Morgan and a retired General named Sherman, who seek to sell a powerful extraterrestrial substance to an arms dealer. The film is renowned for its elaborate stunt work, particularly a high-speed chase sequence featuring the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV. This sequence, which includes complex maneuvers like a spin parking stunt and a dramatic slide down the side of the Willemswerf skyscraper in Rotterdam, highlights the physical intensity characteristic of Chan's work during this era.
The film's distribution history is marked by significant variations between international releases. The original Hong Kong version, released in January 1998, preserves a 'revelation flashback' structure that keeps the audience in the dark about the initial betrayal until later in the story. In contrast, the U.S. DVD release was cut by nine minutes, removing substantial character development scenes—such as the protagonist's interactions with the African tribe—and altering the narrative flow by revealing the double-cross early. While the U.S. version is unique for retaining Chan's original English dialogue during the tribal sequences, the Hong Kong and Japanese editions remain the primary sources for the film as it was originally intended.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Who Am I? (1998 film)
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