Actor, director, writer, producer, singer, cartoon
character, action hero and all round good guy Jackie Chan returns to our
screens in Stanley Tong’s action adventure The Myth, two movies for the price
of one. Co-starring Tony Leung as the faithful sidekick, Kim Hee-Sun as a
sumptuous love interest, Mallika Sherawat as the body to die for, and what can
best be described as a high kicking - got to see it to believe it - kung-fu
horse. Yes, that’s right folks, a kung-fu horse.
The Myth is a curious beast for sure, where we're faced by
both sides of the Jackie Chan coin. Firstly, Jackie stars as General Meng Yi, a
warrior assigned to protect Korean princess Ok Soo (Kim Hee-Sun) from the
advancing armies of General Choi, in a Qin Dynasty-era action epic, high on
drama but low on traditional Jackie Chan comedy mayhem. The flipside is present
day reincarnation Jack Lee, an archaeologist who along with friend and local
neighbourhood scientist William (Tony Leung), is investigating gravity defying
abilities through the use of meteorite fragments.
Present day Jack keeps dreaming of princess Ok Soo but isn’t
sure why. A journey to India however, not to mention the raiding of some
mystical tombs with voluptuous beauty Samantha (Mallika Sherawat), will
probably solve any mysteries The Myth has to offer. What they won’t explain is
why director Stanley Tong has saddled the movie with a four-legged comedy
sidekick with moves like David Beckham.
Jackie’s present day shenanigans are exactly the kind of
thing we have come to expect from Asia’s finest export, all goofy slapstick,
well-choreographed fight scenes and Chan doing his best impression of Jackie of
old. The Qin Dynasty segment comes complete with solid action spectacles but is
burdened by a love-line that is both unconvincing and heavy on the
over-dramatics. It’s a bizarre mix for sure, both a welcome departure and a
jarring combination, which succeeds and fails in equal measures.
Jackie’s performance can’t be faulted; the loveable present
day Jackie is far removed from the brooding past incarnation, but both are
worthwhile interpretations. It’s refreshing to see Jackie in an action epic,
because some of the scenes, especially the battle scenes, work really well.
It’s just a shame that he's lumbered with a script that repeats them over and over. Yes, Stanley, we get it. Ok Soo is in love with Meng Yi. Stop
banging on about it or I’ll be forced to insist on the return of that damn
horse.
I feel sorry for Korean superstar Kim Hee-Sun because she
really isn’t asked to do anything other than whine and stalk our hero. Bollywood
starlet Mallika Sherawat isn’t asked to do much either, but at least she loses
her clothes in the name of comedy. For that we should all be grateful. This set
piece in particular is vintage Jackie Chan.
The ending is a little too daft, relying on wirework
and a gravity defying suspension of disbelief, but all in all The Myth is a fresh
and invigorating Jackie Chan experience. It won’t be remembered as one of
Jackie’s best pictures, but it’s not one of his worst either. The Myth is a
heady mix of action, comedy, high emotion and drama, with distressed damsels
and badly rendered comedy horses as support. We’ll leave it at that. AW
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