HK action film icon Jackie Chan achieved global celebrity fame during the late 1990s-early 2000s, thanks to crossover hits like the Rush Hour movies. Yet, appearances in Hollywood movies have become far less frequent lately, aside from a secondary role in The Karate Kid: Legends and occasional voice acting in the ongoing Kung Fu Panda franchise. However in Asia, the 71-year-old performer works all the time, continuing to do his own stunts while additionally working as a producer and action director.
Story Summary: A Retired Cop with His Dog Pack
Taking place in Macau, this crime thriller movie introduces Chan as an "ex" cop turned a professional dog walker named Wong, who supervises a varied pack of dogs along the urban lanes. Once the best surveillance man on the force, Wong's skills have not faded, as shown when he details precisely which of his canine clients defecated and in what sequence. More importantly, he remains able to take on young ruffians one-third his age, and as expected he winds up fighting with unconventional props in peculiar locations, such as a laundry facility and the crawlspace above a restaurant.
Action Scenes and Narrative Flaws
It's Chan's fisticuff sequences that render this movie watchable, with quite a bit to appreciate in a film that's never more than 10 minutes from a fight or a gunfight. Unfortunately, the linking plot elements proves a bore, featuring an overly complicated tale about a crime lord known as the Shadow and his deceitful team of robbers who take a device that enables them to obtain crypto, all explained in rapid-fire conversation that will challenge the subtitle-reading skills of viewers who don't speak the dialogue language.
Meanwhile, the police are too dependent on AI supercomputers to solve crimes, which is why they require Wong to teach them how to conduct monitoring the traditional method. Charming Zifeng Zhang appears as a youthful female officer who can deliver a killer punch, and who is also the daughter of Wong's late colleague, killed in the on duty due to Wong's mistake. Sentimental flashbacks further lengthen a way-too-long running time, but it's consistently a treat to watch Chan, although he's looking a little aged these days.
This Film is in British theaters starting 3 October.
