FADING STAR
Jackie Chan’s two most recent movies fail to please audiences in China or overseas
Very often, a film will perform very differently in its home country than in a foreign land. However, audiences in the two largest film markets – North American and China – seem to feel the same when it comes to Jackie Chan’s two most recent films: disappointed.
Chan is still one of the most wellknown Chinese stars in the West. However, the continuous poor reception of his recent works seems to have undermined his star power.
Railroad Tigers, Chan’s latest action comedy hit cinemas in the US on January 6. By Thursday the film had taken in a meager $ 166,519 in total. Aside from this poor box- office performance, the film has received poor reviews. It currently has a 6.1/ 10 on movie information site IMDB and a 5.2/ 10 on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Although the film performed relatively better financially in the Chinese mainland, it still failed to wow audiences. Premiering in mainland cinemas on December 23, Railroad Tigers has pulled in 606.44 million yuan ($ 87.47 million) over its first 18 days, but audiences ratings on Chinese film site Mtime and media review site Douban were a 6.0/ 10 and a 5.1/ 10 respectively.
Set in China during World War II, Railroad Tigers depicts a group of Robin Hood- type Chinese railroad workers who rob Japanese soldiers on trains. While the comedic parts of the film did get a laugh from audiences from time to time, a number of audience reviews mentioned they felt uncomfortable since the Japanese soldiers and officers, who are portrayed as dumb and silly, were often the butt of these jokes.
“Insulting an opponent is the biggest insult to oneself,” netizen Shicheng 123 commented on Mtime, pointing out what he felt was Railroad Tigers’ biggest flaw.
“I thought the entertainment industry may have decided to reflect a little about certain scenes in war films and TV dramas after people severely condemned over exaggerated scenes such as a Japanese soldier being torn apart by a single person with his bare hands or
a woman sneaking a grenade into a Japanese jail by hiding it in her vagina. However, after watching this film, I saw no such reflection at all,” Shicheng 123 wrote.
“In this film, our enemies, who once occupied more than half of China, are depicted as ignorant, incompetent imbeciles… they are made fools of by Chan’s almighty ‘ Flying Tigers.’”
Although Chan is one of the most well- known A- list stars in China as well as one of the most famous Chinese stars globally, his recent works have been more disappointing than satisfying.
Earlier this year, Chan joined forces with director Renny Harlin and actor Johnny Knoxville for Skiptrace. While the film managed to earn 889 million yuan ($ 128.8 million) in the mainland, it only holds a 6.1/ 10 on Mtime and a 5.6/ 10 on Douban. Also an action comedy, Skiptrace’s grade on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes is even lower – a 5.7/ 10 on the former and a 4.1/ 10 on the latter.
On January 9, these two star- studded action flicks were nominated for “the most disappointing film of 2016” category for the 8th Golden Broom Awards.
An event which takes aim at the worst films and performances of the year, it is China’s answer to the Golden Raspberry Awards.
One reason behind the poor film reviews is that Chan seems to be stuck in a stereotypical role in his films: A small fry who is good at martial arts while also acting the clown.
While this combination won Chan fame in his early years, audiences have started to grow tired of the same old shtick, especially now that Chan’s age has started to show.
“Chan is back to his old pyrotechnic tricks, even if there’s no denying that he’s not the nimble stunt master he once was,” writes Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge in his review of Railroad Tigers.
Yet, while some filmgoers have grown tired of the same old, same old that his films bring, many still respect the fact that he is still working hard after all these years.
“Chan is more than an actor, he is a representative figure now,” frequent cinemagoer Charlie Lin, 30, told the Global Times on Saturday. “He is one of the few stars who my parents’ generation and my generation can appreciate together.”