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Looking for Jackie
For those of you picking up the US version of Looking for Jackie, which has been re-titled Kung Fu Master and given cover art that makes the movie look like a martial arts epic where Jackie will be taking on the whole Qing dynasty, you may be disappointed, since it's actually more of a light-hearted comedy with Jackie only playing a small role. But, for what it is, it's still a pretty enjoyable movie. The main character here is actually young Yi-Shan (played by Zhang Yi-Shan), who is failing in school because he spends all day dreaming of being trained by Jackie Chan. After seeing in the paper that Jackie is filming a new movie in Beijing, Yi-Shan starts a journey that leads him everywhere from a monastery to the mean streets of a remote village to big movie sets to try and meet his idol.
Yi-Shan also meets a set of colorful characters along the way, including several members of the Yuen clan such as Yuen Wah. There are also many other cameos from Mainland stars, but honestly, since I'm not as familiar with that realm of cinema, those fell a bit flat. At any rate, watching child/teen actors can often be an exercise in frustration and annoyance, but Zhang is a very affable young man, which makes the experience a lot more fun to watch. While there isn't a ton of action present here, what's in here is done fine enough that it does its' job of adding in some additional thrills. Much like the movie as a whole, the action scenes are light and breezy and enjoyable enough while you're watching them, but they're nothing you're really going to rave to your friends about, or regard as classic stuff years down the road. RATING: 6 |
