Jackie Chan Breaks Out The Rollerblade Suit In Absolutely Brilliant CHINESE ZODIAC Teaser

Todd Brown, Founder and Editor

And there you have it. With the release of a single teaser Jackie Chan has just guaranteed that the upcoming Chinese Zodiac will be the best proper Jackie Chan film in over a decade. How is this so? Well, the leading man filmography hasn't been so hot for a good while, if we're being honest. And this single sequence is very clearly one of the best things Chan has done in his entire career. Period. Action packed. High risk. Extremely physical. And yet also funny and loaded with personality. In other words, vintage Chan.

What is it? It's a single minute of Chan barreling downhill in a suit made up of rollerblade parts. And it's fabulous.

Chan has been talking about this one as being his last big splash in high octane, high risk physical performance and it looks like he's going out in style. Check the teaser and also the behind the scenes on this stunt sequence below.

Around the Internet:

Guest

I know my problem with it, which perhaps explains some of these CGI comments. First the quick cutting and ramped up speed makes it looks like a GI Joe spin-off, which is weird as we're used to seeing Jackie Chan's action play out either in slow-mo or real time.

But mostly it's the fact that for half of the footage we don't see that it's clearly Jackie, and probably one of the main joys in watching all his movies over the years has been marveling that it's really him as you can clearly see it's him. Actually not seeing it's him makes me doubt that some of the more ambitious shots are actually him in the suit.

So that's my beef. Have at it.

udar552005

How can you dare call that "proper" Jackie Chan? That looks terrible. Computer, camera trick and wire assisted nonsense is not proper Jackie Chan.

Electro666

I think that the final shot of Jackie in the net was more wire-assisted than CGI.

Mr. Cavin

For the record, I felt like I was seeing CGI in the final shot too. I'd certainly rather see a stuntman and real footage, although I understand Jackie has a legacy or something to uphold.

seventhbrother

martaayd78 maybe referring to the very last scene with Jackie attached to the net, being flown away by helicopter. It looks like CGI in the very last shot but I want to see an HD version to be sure. Either way I am seeing this movie!

Jack Fancy

Where's the CGI?

https://www.google.com/account

Still looks like shit. Poorly CGI aided shit.

kungfueurotrash

You might need to update your web browser that enables flash??? Did you watch the same trailer??? What CGI???

Jason Gorber

I'm slightly tickled that the thing will be released in IMAX theatres in mainland China - I doubt we'll see the same thing over here, but nice to see the big screens making a show over there as well, and not just for Hollywood stuff.

How long 'till some crazy auteur decides to shoot 15/70 just for giggles? I'd sit through yet another tedious historical drama set in the forbidden city if they were schlepping IMAX cameras for much of it.

Todd Brown

Hey, Tsui Hark's FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE is getting a US IMAX release, so it's possible!

markc

aren't they planning for a US and international release in December as well? Jackie was at Comic-con to promote it after all, so you'd think it'll get a wide US theatrical

Todd Brown

Maybe put it this way: It's the first time in a LONG time that you can say 'It's a Jackie Chan film' and have what pops into people's heads be correct.

Todd Brown

Jackie's done some very good dramatic work, yes - I would add his part in Karate Kid to the films you guys have named, he's great in it - but all in roles and films specifically designed to get him AWAY from doing typical Jackie Chan films. You've got to go back a long way to find Jackie being the lead in a good action movie, I'd say back to the Shanghai films. New Police Story and Little Big Soldier, while both good, ate both also clearly transition films with Chan reducing his physical load. Shinjuku Incident and 1911 are straight dramas. Rob-b-hood? Yeah, it's better than it arguably should have been but when you've got to hold that up as a peak then things are looking grim. Perhaps I should have been clearer that I was purely talking action output ...

Qinlong

"the leading man filmography hasn't been so hot for a good while"

I couldn't agree less. This past decade has been a great one for Jackie, with him blossoming as a very good dramatic actor in good to great films like Shinjuku Incident, Little Big Soldier or New Police Story, while still flashing some quintessential Jackie-ness in those films as well as Rob-b-Hood, The forbidden Kingdom and Shaolin.

But I must agree this sequence is great and bodes well for his swan-song as an actor/stuntman.

HKFanatic

Yeah, New Police Story and Rob-b-Hood are severely underrated. I have a feeling most people wrote off Rob-b-Hood without watching it or just never even heard of it. I wasn't crazy about Shinjuku Incident or Little Big Soldier but, at the very least, Jackie got the chance to stretch his acting chops in both - as well as Shaolin.

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Leading Voices in Global Cinema

Todd Brown, Founder & Editor Toronto
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