Chinese Zodiac is the long-delayed third instalment of Jackie Chan's 'Asian Hawk', following on from ARMOUR OF GOD and ARMOUR OF GOD II: OPERATION CONDOR. Having just endured this ridiculous piece of international entertainment, I can only say that I wish they hadn't bothered.
In recent years, Jackie has received plenty of criticism for being a mouthpiece for the communist Chinese government. He wrote the script for this thing (as well as fulfilling about 14 other roles) and unsurprisingly the film throughout is full of anti-Western sentiment, particularly from a young and irritating Chinese girl who seems to be included merely to spew out continuous bile about how imperialism robbed China of much of its heritage.
Phew. Politics aside, Chinese Zodiac is an incredibly goofy film that lacks both the spirit and heart of Jackie's older movies. It's even a comedown from ROB-B-HOOD, which only came out a decade ago. Everyone loved Jackie in the old days for his energetic fight scenes and incredible stunts, and both are in short supply here. There are a few fun fights towards the climax, but none in the first hour, and the stunts are either wirework assisted or CGI. Not what we wanted to see. The script is diabolical, the acting from the rest of the cast is very poor, and Jackie himself seems to be on autopilot. Incredibly, Chinese Zodiac is a film that makes THE MEDALLION look like a masterwork.
In recent years, Jackie has received plenty of criticism for being a mouthpiece for the communist Chinese government. He wrote the script for this thing (as well as fulfilling about 14 other roles) and unsurprisingly the film throughout is full of anti-Western sentiment, particularly from a young and irritating Chinese girl who seems to be included merely to spew out continuous bile about how imperialism robbed China of much of its heritage.
Phew. Politics aside, Chinese Zodiac is an incredibly goofy film that lacks both the spirit and heart of Jackie's older movies. It's even a comedown from ROB-B-HOOD, which only came out a decade ago. Everyone loved Jackie in the old days for his energetic fight scenes and incredible stunts, and both are in short supply here. There are a few fun fights towards the climax, but none in the first hour, and the stunts are either wirework assisted or CGI. Not what we wanted to see. The script is diabolical, the acting from the rest of the cast is very poor, and Jackie himself seems to be on autopilot. Incredibly, Chinese Zodiac is a film that makes THE MEDALLION look like a masterwork.