Chinese Zodiac (2012)

Chinese Zodiac (2013)

When I heard that Chinese Zodiac is possibly Jackie Chan's last movie, I flipped. No, not Jackie Chan! Isn't he supposed to amaze us and make us laugh in his movies for all of time? But apparently, even the Jackie Chan needs to retire from all those action scenes.

In Chinese Zodiac, JC is an antique burglar. Well, I'm not exactly sure what he is but he basically collects antique by stealing it from other collectors. The film's a mix of made-up Chinese history, martial arts, and a whole lot of conniving and high-tech maneuverings by JC and his crew. This time, their assignment is to collect all the antique bronze heads of the Chinese Zodiac that were pillaged from China more than a century ago. They face billionaires' dwellings with tight security, youth campaigning against national treasures being auctioned, pirates, the government, and eventually, their own conscience.

I somehow feel like the movie is too long and dwelled too much on researching and looking and finding for clues. I found myself wishing quite a few times that they'd speed things up, because it does get a bit dragging. Good thing the action sequences are incredibly well done that when it appears, it's just so good. When JC is racing through highway next to a cliff, it's just so exciting, and it's definitely something original. You see, this movie is far from perfect, and there are times when I feel like it's a bit overkill. I also watched the English dubbed version which is fine with me but my boyfriend was greatly bothered by it. But one thing it did right is the action scenes. I really wish there are more, but what we're given are memorable enough. Who can ever forget that sky diving fight scenes?

Every scene with Jackie Chan is a delight because he's either jumping building and walking on walls or being cute and throwing one witty line after another. And to know that he does every stunt, never with a double, makes everything more amazing, a lot more awe-inspiring. I am still hoping that this isn't his last movie, because he may have made dozens (hundreds??) of movies already and he may be old, but I'm still sure that he has more to offer in this genre.