I'm a fan of Jackie Chan.
I just watched Chinese Zodiac today and it's amazing. The story and dialogue can be too cheesy sometimes, but the action. Holy crap, the action. If I had a top 10 list of fight scenes and stunts in movies, 12 of them would be Jackie's. But I digress, even though he's not as fast and nimble as he used to be, the action scenes in this movie is still astronomically better than your typical Hollywood so-called 'action scenes'.
None of that shaky camera work, excessive close-ups, heavy cutting and editing, dimly lit, 6-second so called 'fight scenes' where one muscly guy punches other muscly guy and it ends with either muscly guys getting hit with a stick that Hollywood is so used to. In this film it's only all out, in your face, 1-minute-or-more, and brightly lit fight scenes. The way it should be.
Here's what I think: if you're a fan, this movie is a no-brainer must-watch. Even if you're not a fan, give it a shot, it's still a solid action movie. Although seriously, who isn't a fan of Jackie Chan, right? And if you're a really big fan of Jackie as an action star and a person, this movie is going to knock your socks off and make you feel nostalgic, reminiscent, and a little bit warm and fuzzy inside. This movie feels like it's personal for Jackie. It's not written in the dialogue, but I feel like it translates during the movie. It feels like a montage of Jackie's highlights, a nod to his earlier styles of film making, and in a way, his way of closing a remarkable chapter of his life. And for some reason that little 'cameo' at the end really touched me and made me feel really happy for him. If you're a fan, you'll know why. :*)
The film's been getting negative reviews though. 'The story is gibberish', 'too much wirework', 'he's showing his age', 'stunts and fights are too familiar', etc. Well, I don't get it.
To be fair, the story is kinda bad. But who goes to a Jackie Chan movie expecting an award-winning script? If you've watched his movies in the 80s and 90s you'll realize that Police Story, Armour of God, Rumble in the Bronx, all had simple and kinda ridiculous stories with plot holes and logic-defying moments. This is nothing new. For me, the story and dialogues in a Jackie Chan movie are just vehicles for the action, and that's fine because they are still coherent most times.
And as for his 'too old' argument? What the hell did you guys expect from a 58 year old guy?! He already does a way better job than most, if not all action stars out there. And at 58! Yes, he uses wires now, and even then it's rarely noticeable. From what I've seen, the norm in the industry is that actors use a double for most stunts, and even then the doubles use wires. What Jackie had to prove in terms of stunts and fight scenes, he already has in his prime. He fell 3 friggin storeys from a clock tower for god's sake. Twice.
In recent years, Jackie has also been criticized for a range of things. He has made one or two 'controversial' political statements and refused to add his illegitimate daughter to his will among other things. And I've seen people's comments calling him 'lowest scum on earth', 'a liar, cheater, and a jerk', saying he is against freedom and pro-communist, he should pay child support, he should keep his mouth shut, and even saying he's not a good son because he was working when his mother passed away in the hospital in Australia.
It's so easy to hate on someone, especially someone you don't know. There's no consequence. Read something on a tabloid? Your friend's uncle said it? lolzbooyah77 said it on YouTube? Holy hell, it must be true! Because you don't need to actually know the person personally, right? If it's written then it's gotta be true, right?
Jackie Chan's an great actor, stuntman, stunt choreographer, singer, director, producer, etc. I would like to think that he's a perfect person off-screen too. But that's not the case and he has said it himself. Just like everyone else in the world, he is also a human being who makes bad decisions and has made mistakes. He also (surprise, surprise) happens to have his own opinions on politics, and that doesn't make him wrong or right. And just because something is different from your beliefs or culture doesn't mean it's wrong. If you choose to believe that he doesn't acknowledge his daughter because you read it somewhere, then why not also believe that he has given so much to charity, and plans to leave all his assets to charity and none to his son when he dies? Why not also believe that he is a loving father and gave his son a sweet birthday surprise on his 28th birthday? Why not also believe that he regrets (watch from 13:40 onward)very much not being with his parents when they passed away and wished he was a better son?
To sum it up, I'm a fan of Jackie Chan.
None of that shaky camera work, excessive close-ups, heavy cutting and editing, dimly lit, 6-second so called 'fight scenes' where one muscly guy punches other muscly guy and it ends with either muscly guys getting hit with a stick that Hollywood is so used to. In this film it's only all out, in your face, 1-minute-or-more, and brightly lit fight scenes. The way it should be.
Here's what I think: if you're a fan, this movie is a no-brainer must-watch. Even if you're not a fan, give it a shot, it's still a solid action movie. Although seriously, who isn't a fan of Jackie Chan, right? And if you're a really big fan of Jackie as an action star and a person, this movie is going to knock your socks off and make you feel nostalgic, reminiscent, and a little bit warm and fuzzy inside. This movie feels like it's personal for Jackie. It's not written in the dialogue, but I feel like it translates during the movie. It feels like a montage of Jackie's highlights, a nod to his earlier styles of film making, and in a way, his way of closing a remarkable chapter of his life. And for some reason that little 'cameo' at the end really touched me and made me feel really happy for him. If you're a fan, you'll know why. :*)
The film's been getting negative reviews though. 'The story is gibberish', 'too much wirework', 'he's showing his age', 'stunts and fights are too familiar', etc. Well, I don't get it.
To be fair, the story is kinda bad. But who goes to a Jackie Chan movie expecting an award-winning script? If you've watched his movies in the 80s and 90s you'll realize that Police Story, Armour of God, Rumble in the Bronx, all had simple and kinda ridiculous stories with plot holes and logic-defying moments. This is nothing new. For me, the story and dialogues in a Jackie Chan movie are just vehicles for the action, and that's fine because they are still coherent most times.
And as for his 'too old' argument? What the hell did you guys expect from a 58 year old guy?! He already does a way better job than most, if not all action stars out there. And at 58! Yes, he uses wires now, and even then it's rarely noticeable. From what I've seen, the norm in the industry is that actors use a double for most stunts, and even then the doubles use wires. What Jackie had to prove in terms of stunts and fight scenes, he already has in his prime. He fell 3 friggin storeys from a clock tower for god's sake. Twice.
In recent years, Jackie has also been criticized for a range of things. He has made one or two 'controversial' political statements and refused to add his illegitimate daughter to his will among other things. And I've seen people's comments calling him 'lowest scum on earth', 'a liar, cheater, and a jerk', saying he is against freedom and pro-communist, he should pay child support, he should keep his mouth shut, and even saying he's not a good son because he was working when his mother passed away in the hospital in Australia.
It's so easy to hate on someone, especially someone you don't know. There's no consequence. Read something on a tabloid? Your friend's uncle said it? lolzbooyah77 said it on YouTube? Holy hell, it must be true! Because you don't need to actually know the person personally, right? If it's written then it's gotta be true, right?
Jackie Chan's an great actor, stuntman, stunt choreographer, singer, director, producer, etc. I would like to think that he's a perfect person off-screen too. But that's not the case and he has said it himself. Just like everyone else in the world, he is also a human being who makes bad decisions and has made mistakes. He also (surprise, surprise) happens to have his own opinions on politics, and that doesn't make him wrong or right. And just because something is different from your beliefs or culture doesn't mean it's wrong. If you choose to believe that he doesn't acknowledge his daughter because you read it somewhere, then why not also believe that he has given so much to charity, and plans to leave all his assets to charity and none to his son when he dies? Why not also believe that he is a loving father and gave his son a sweet birthday surprise on his 28th birthday? Why not also believe that he regrets (watch from 13:40 onward)very much not being with his parents when they passed away and wished he was a better son?
To sum it up, I'm a fan of Jackie Chan.
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ReplyDeleteGreat Article about Jackie Chan. I hope more and more people will read this. BTW, Are you going to watch The Foreigner?
ReplyDelete