Two armies clash in ancient war-torn China; none survive but a young general from a royal house and a farmer foot soldier who binds the fallen leader to take him home and claim a reward. Many stand in their way: an abandoned songstress, the noble's own murderous younger brother, desperate beggars, rough slavers, and the pair's own differing agendas. Through it all, a bond forms between the two, and what will happen at journey's end becomes anyone's guess. An old soldier kidnaps a young general of an enemy state and takes him on a long journey to collect the reward. Be forewarned that while there are comic moments in the film, it is primarily a dark film about innocents being caught up in a war outside of their control. Jackie Chan plays a farmer who was drafted into his kingdom's army. He is the last surviving member of his family and wants nothing more than to return to the land and raise a family. He survives a horrible battle and captures the enemy general. If he can get the general back to the capital, he can get five acres of land as a reward and become a farmer again. It is one of Jackie Chan's best performances but don't go expecting Shanghai Knights. Beautifully photographed with a compelling story line it is, in the end a melancholy film. This movie takes place in ancient China before the consolidation into one nation. As a result there were seven rival kingdoms all competing against one another for survival. As it so happens Jackie Chan is a soldier who was drafted to serve in the army of Liang. Having had two brothers who had already been killed in war he felt compelled to avoid risk as much as possible in order to carry on the family name. So during a great battle between the armies of Liang and Wei he feigns death in order to survive. When he finally decides to look around he discovers that everybody on both sides have perished except for one particular enemy general (played by Leehom Wang) who he immediately takes prisoner with the expectation of receiving a handsome reward for delivering him to his superiors in Liang. Unfortunately, there are hazards in store for both of them as they make their way from the battlefield to their destination. Now rather than reveal any more and risk spoiling this picture for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film had an ebb and flow that was most unusual and not at all typical of most Jackie Chan movies. Naturally, there were quite a few scenes involving martial arts action along with the usual stunts and comedy that usually accompany them. In short, although I don't consider this to be an outstanding movie by any means it was still a fairly decent film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.
Neerjam replied
366 weeks ago