The Myth

Review:

I’ve been a long-time fan of Jackie Chan movies ever since convincing some school-friends to include Police Story in a video marathon we were having. At the time I had never seen such frenetic action and the final confrontation in the shopping mall left a big impression on me.

Ever since the international success of Police Story 3 – Supercop, however, Jackie’s films have been a bit off-balance as he’s tried to make even his non-hollywood movies more acceptable to western tastes. There have been successes (Mr Nice Guy, directed by Sammo Hung and shot in Australia) and some noble failures (Gorgeous, an attempt at light-hearted romance – although it does feature a couple of great fights).

The Myth was made a couple of years ago amidst the resurgence of big-budget historical epics such as The Promise, Hero, House of Flying Daggers etc, which shows at least that Jackie can tell which way the wind is blowing on occasion. The dual story format he uses here – one foot in the past, one in the present – allows him to have his cake and eat it too – As General Meng-Yi, Jackie gets to show off his acting, playing a straight-laced general who must lead his men on a suicide mission. As Jack, we get his more familiar screen persona showing off his gift for physical comedy and jaw-dropping stuntwork. The conveyor belt scene, although quite short, is vintage Jackie.

Everything works quite well until the film enters its finale, set in the vast cavern of the Emperor’s tomb. Here we are “treated” to dumb displays of CGI nonsense which is a shame compared to all that had gone before.

Stanley Tong handles the action very well and there is quite a mix – largish battle scenes in the past mixed with the crazy comedy fights and stunts in the present. The Myth boasts some very decent cinematography too.

Of the cast, Mallika Sherawat is a standout in the present, while Rongguang Yu puts in a good performance as the rebel general who is risking all to win the princess for himself.

Verdict:

Jackie handles the dual roles well and provides a lot of action. However the ending is a disappointment.

6 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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