Ride On review – Jackie Chan and kung fu horse gallop through dustup greatest hits
Old warhorse Jackie Chan, who still has a heap of movies in development, doesn’t look ready for the knacker’s yard quite yet. But that’s not the impression given by this valedictoryseeming and downright maudlin family action film, with its refrain of “Jumping down is easy, stepping down is hard”. Playing a one-time master Hong Kong stuntman who has been laid low by injury, Chan is seen watching reels of his classic spills – including the iconic Police Story shopping mall plunge – with all the misty-eyed reverence of Cinema Paradiso.
Ride On lays it on doubly thick: not only is Master Luo (Chan) partnered with Red Hare, a cute horse who all but talks, he is also rebuilding his relationship with estranged daughter Bao (Liu Haocun). Scraping a living by giving rides in comedy outfits to tourists outside movie studios, Luo and Red Hare are called back to stunt work when video of them tag-teaming some local debt collectors hits social media. Bao, still resentful of her dad for prioritising his career, agrees to become his agent. But the comeback is threatened when a pair of corporate goons turn up to auction off Red Hare, apparently someone else’s property.
The 68-year-old Chan slips down off Red Hare like a limber teenager. But horse aside, he largely retreads old ground here, with a handful of shambolic dustups that, apart from the enterprising use of a wicker rocking chair, are pretty standard Jackie. Only one kung fu set piece really stands out: Luo and sidekick triumphantly face off against an axe-wielding horde for the movie cameras. Red Hare batters a thug-filled tram car with titanic kicks that make human performers, Chan included, look like chicken-legged weaklings.
Bao’s lawyer boyfriend (Guo Qilin) offers a way out of the bailiff predicament, with the bumbling suitor opening up some old-school social farce, including a callback to Drunken Master’s training sequence. But this plotline and the drawn-out, drippy reconciliation with Bao are non-starters. It’s all there as dressing, along with a late appearance from current Chinese boxoffice don Wu Jing, for an overlong ceremonial send-off for Chan and the rough’n’tumble Hong Kong tradition. Chan has accrued so much goodwill, though, it’s hard not to be tearjerked into submission – especially with his sentimental proxy Red Hare cranking up the hankie count. When Chan finally does retire, we’ll all need our own emotional support animal.
• Ride On is released in cinemas on 7 April.