Chaotic, borderline incoherent, and only showing fleeting moments of cheesy fun, the big budget Chinese action thriller Vanguard would be a lot more enjoyable if it didn’t take its ridiculousness so seriously all the time.
Jackie Chan
The Chinese sci-fi thriller Reset (produced in part by Jackie Chan) mashes together a bunch of familiar tropes and ideas to create something fresh and entertaining for those capable of suspending their disbelief and knowledge of physics for a bit. It’s one of those movies where a kid gets kidnapped and a single parent has to save them, a corporate espionage thriller, and a cautionary tale about the theoretical nature of time travel rolled into one. These are all dependable genres on their own, so it’s kind of amazing that no one had the idea to stitch all of them together sooner, but Korean genre experimenter Chang (that’s his whole credited name) has finally made such an attempt and has done it about as well as one can.
Jackie Chan has appeared in over a hundred films throughout his legendary career. Not all of them are good, but the baffling and dull Kung-Fu Yoga is one of the worst.
After over 100 appearances on screen, it shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that Jackie Chan, one of the foremost names in action cinema, can’t do the daring, often insanely dangerous stunts that he used to perform. Time catches up to us all, but the well meaning, generally entertaining action flick Railroad Tigers stands as proof that the Chinese superstar still has a lot to offer as a performer beyond punching, kicking, and dangling precariously from great heights without a net.
May 27th is the weekend of twos. Opening in theatres, The Hangover Part II heads to Thailand for another memorable night with Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis; plus Jack Black and Angelina Jolie star in the animated sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2.
Opening at a theatre near you, franchise dreams are riding high with the remakes of The A-Team, starring Bradley Cooper and Liam Neeson, and The Karate Kid, with Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan.
New this week in theatres, Denzel Washington stars in the post-apocalyptic drama, The Book of Eli. Also opening this weekend, Peter Jackson directs the family drama, The Lovely Bones, and Jackie Chan stars in The Spy Next Door.
New on DVD this week, Jackie Chan and Jet Li star together for the first time in The Forbidden Kingdom; Tina Fey and Amy Poehler play the latest odd couple in Baby Mama; Fox Horror Classics volume two is out with three films from the 1930s and 1940s; and the direct-to-DVD film Day of the Dead: The Need to Feed chews up the classic George A. Romero film of the same name.