It is the first entry in the series not to be fully set in Hong Kong or mainland China, instead taking Ka-Kui on a journey to Ukraine, Russia, and eventually Australia, in scenes which were shot on location in Crimea, Moscow and Australia (including Brisbane's Underwater World and Chinatown, and the snow scenes of Falls Creek, Victoria[1]).
In First Strike, Ka-Kui works with the CIA to track down and arrest an illegal weapons dealer, but starts to suspect that things are not as they appear and that he might be used as a pawn in a greater scheme.
To advertise First Strike, Chan recorded the song "怎麼會 Zenme Hui" and also made a music video for it, although it is not featured in the American release.
One of the tasks the CIA gives him is simple enough: watch a woman named Natasha while on a plane from Hong Kong to Crimea and record her movements.
Jackie arrives in Ukraine and the CIA, partnered with local Security Service, take over the task of following Natasha.
Jackie goes with him to Moscow where he discovers he has been assigned to work with Gregor to solve a similar case involving nuclear weapons being smuggled out of Ukraine.
In order to find out where Jackson is, Jackie befriends his younger sister Annie, who works at an aquarium doing shark shows.
Uncle 7's elaborate Chinatown funeral becomes the scene for a complex shootout between the various parties, injuring Jackson as he's caught in an RPG explosion.
Annie and Jackie attempt to retrieve the stolen warhead from the shark pool (so that they can return it to the police), but Gregor and his men follow them, leading to a climactic confrontation underwater.
During the fight, Gregor shoots the aquarium tank and shatters the glass, which releases a great white shark into the restaurant area.
The car pins Gregor, allowing Jackie to successfully retrieve the warhead and save Annie as armed police close in.
All Mei Ah Entertainment releases, the Japanese Warner Home Video DVD and the Towa laserdisc were the only versions that contain the film uncut and without the language dubbing.
Mike LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film an enthusiastic review: One of the pleasures of being alive at this period of history is Jackie Chan.
Watching him in Jackie Chan's First Strike, a brand-new effort opening today, there's no doubt that this is a lovable original and a great popular artist.
He noted that "Chan is said to be the world's top action star" outside of the United States, and that what "makes him popular is not just his stunts (he is famous for doing them all himself) but his attitude" and reactions to them.
He said "Jackie Chan is an acquired taste" and the film lacks "the polish of big-budget Hollywood extravaganzas" while the dubbed dialogue "sounds like cartoon captions," but that "Chan himself is a graceful and skilled physical actor, immensely likable, and there's a kind of Boy Scout innocence in the action that's refreshing after all the doom-mongering, blood-soaked Hollywood action movies.
"[25] Arlington Heights Daily Herald newspaper rated it two-and-a-half out of four stars, calling it a "homage to James Bond, spiced up with elaborate fight pieces choreographed to show off Chan's incredible comic battle style.