Writer: Hanna Zainal

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Watch this if you liked: "Shinjuku Incident", "The Forbidden Kingdom"

A Jackie Chan movie that has been in the works for 20 years finally gets made. Conceptualised by Jackie himself, this US$ 25 million film finally sees the light of day as a Chinese New Year movie. Jackie initially wanted to make a historical comedic film during Hong Kong's rise in action cinema in the 1980s and cast himself as the Young Soldier. Now he's playing the Old Soldier.

The film takes place during the Warring States Period of China where we see an old soldier (Jackie Chan) take a young General (Wang Lee Hom) captive. He hopes to present the General to his superiors in exchange for rewards such as cash and kind, and the ultimate prize, to never be fighting in a war again.

Of course, there are disagreements between the pair at first, what with the old soldier being on the Liang side and the General being on the Wei side. At the same time, they are also being pursued by Prince Wen (Yoo Seung-jun) who is the General's brother. Prince Wen has a score to settle with his big brother; he intends to gain control of the throne by wrestling it out of his brother's hands.
The film basically tells of the story between two runaways who have to be on the run for their survival, while also trying to reach Liang. On the way, they encounter adventures such as constantly dodging the enemy and running into all sorts of different characters while on the way to Liang. The two also end up as sort of friends.

In terms of character, Jackie Chan as usual gives his best. Though his action scenes have decreased, still, there's nothing better than watching Jackie kick butt. As for Lee Hom, this is his second Mandarin film after "Lust, Caution" and he gives a pretty good performance as the temperamental General. Korean American actor Yoo Seung-jun, who plays Prince Wen and is signed to Jackie's entertainment management company, is also convincing in his role as the power-hungry Prince.

Overall, while not one of Jackie Chan's best works, this film should definitely be given a try. Do so if you're a fan of both Jackie and Lee Hom, or just one of them. The film is pretty good and the ending is unpredictable, so you'll gain your money's worth after having watched this film.


Cinema Online, 08 February 2010