Jackie Chan's latest film fails to capture the mythical magic its premise promises.
By CHIN JIAN WEI
Jackie Chan stars in this time-bending fantasy romance movie directed by Stanley Tong that simultaneously explores the story of two very different characters from two very different time periods, who are mysteriously linked through dreams. Chan plays both characters: the archaeologist Professor Fang, and the ancient Chinese general Zhao Zhan. While this movie is marketed as a sequel of sorts to 2005’s The Myth, the stories are not really related, sharing only a general theme. As such, you do not need to have seen that movie to watch this one.
While the professor excavates a dig site, his dreams start to become strange. He dreams that he has become the general Zhao Zhan, defending China from the warlike Huns, who they have been at war with. Alongside his fellow warrior Hua Jun (played by Lay Zhang), they fall in love with a mysterious and alluring shaman princess, Meng Yun (played by Na Zha). She is fleeing the evil prince of the Huns, Huduna (played by Aarif Lee), who is pursuing her for his own nefarious ends.
In the present day, Fang notices that a relic discovered during his excavation resembles a jade pendant seen in his “dream”. They enlist the aid of a shady shaman (also played by Aarif Lee) and embark on an expedition into the depths of a glacier. And so, the events of the ancient and contemporary timelines start to converge.
The movie is filled with about equal parts martial arts action, modern-day comedy and “romance”, which mostly consists of Zhao Zhan or Hua Jun gazing wistfully at Meng Yun. Of the three pillars that make up the movie’s content, the romance is undoubtedly the weakest. It never really feels that Zhao Zhan and Meng Yun really get to know each other or bond in any organic way. Instead, the movie seeks to convey a sort of fairy tale, love-at-first-sight type of romance which is not particularly convincing. This is not helped by the AI used to make Jackie Chan look younger, nor Chan or Na Zha’s rather wooden acting in the romance scenes.
The action scenes fare better, especially when Chan’s senior citizen archaeologist springs to action in the modern-day scenes, exhibiting a hint of the creative use of props and action comedy as seen in old-school Jackie Chan flicks. Other than that, the modern-day romance subplot between the two assistant archaeologists (played by Lay Zhang and Peng Xiaoran) is charming enough, although the running gags surrounding Peng’s character’s repeated attempts to woo her crush and his obliviousness does start to get stale towards the end.
Overall, this movie is a serviceable popcorn flick if you’re looking for something to pass the time with, but those expecting a touching love story or interesting characters may be disappointed.
A Legend is out now in cinemas throughout Malaysia.
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