Little Big Soldier

In ancient China, after a big ambush in a war, a soldier having faked his death (Jackie Chan) takes captive a general of the opposing camp and tries to get him back to his homeland for a reward. Little Big Soldier is kinda like a buddy movie, or more accurately an odd-couple road trip, except that the characters are really enemies. Jackie Chan is virtually unrecognizable (I mean that I didn't think Jackie Chan all the time while watching) except for his bumbling yet effective fighting style (or avoiding hits non-fighting style) and ingenious battle choreography. Despite what the somewhat lame title might imply, do not expect epic battles between armies, you'll get one-on-one fights and skirmishes between small groups focusing on individual battles. Jackie plays a more complex character than usual and even has some choice quiet and dramatic moments. The soldier is also quite likable made more endearing by Chan's charismatic performance. Plus, it turns out that he sings so good I thought it was someone else, but it wasn't! The general was stoic and honorable : a good straight man.

The funny moments were amusing and the audience laughed a lot (was a full crowd at the Montreal Fantasia Festival that focuses on genre films). Humor is mostly of the absurd situation or physical slapstick type. The fight scenes were exciting and fast yet easy to follow (American action directors take note). There were a few shifts in tones between comedy and drama (especially one near the end) that worked surprisingly well. I didn't like the kind of washed-out pale colors throughout but as a few vivid sequences with brighter colors suggest, it was a stylistic choice. I found that underneath the hope for a better future theme, there was a sense of melancholy and sadness. I think this contributed, along with the historical background, to make Little Big Soldier deeper than the usual Jackie Chan comedy. I can understand after watching it why this project was so dear to his heart.

Rating : 7.5 out of 10

Little Big Soldier continues to reinforce a point, that while one can afford to forgo Jackie Chan's rather dismal outing in any Hollywood flicks of late, his Asian films are a totally different story altogether. JC was said to have this story brewing for some two decades now, and initially his plan was to play the Big General himself, but good advice and probably with more confidence in his dramatic acting ability meant he takes on the Little Soldier role, and went with Wang Leehom for the other.

Maybe I'm crediting him too much since he came up with the story, but here's a film that would probably not work without JC taking on one of the characters, with the Little Soldier seem tailor made for him at this stage of his career, no longer needing to be the hero, but ever willing to be part of the underdogs, which Hollywood still frowns upon (hey, he's JC, he has to be a top notch cop/spy/secret agent/etc), as compared to everyday working man roles like that in Shinjuku Incident, Rob-B-Hood, and as a cowardly soldier whose self preservation instinct kicks into overdrive all the time.

Set prior to the unification of China by the Qin dynasty, the film opens with what seemed like a total annihilation in the battlefield between Wei and Liang troops, only to find Liang's Little Soldier being able to capture Wei's super Big General (Leehom) only because the latter is severely injured. With the promise of plenty of land for the live capture of an enemy general, Little Soldier makes it a point to cart Big General back to his country at all costs, so that he can settle down with new found wealth, coupled with an exemption from having to serve in the army. But of course Big General comes with a lot of baggage in knowing that his kindred had betrayed him and his elite troops in a battle, and are after him to ensure that he stays dead.

So lies the gist of the story, which to say anymore would be to spoil the fun and the depth of the story's development. Suffice to say JC's story contains enough to make you feel for the two lead characters, where their natural adversary would pave the way to inevitable friendship being forged by way of encountering and overcoming painful obstacles and challenges posed along the way, as the adage goes, two is better than one. JC too plays his character so well that you can't help but to endear to his multiple gimmicky toys he employs to survive in battles, plus the sheer luck and street smarts he has to rely on to get out of sticky situations. I'm not much of a Leehom fan, but he managed to pull of his role as the stoic general with aplomb, and shares some fine chemistry with JC, believable that these guys would be friends should they not be from different lands.

But the strength of the film comes from how the two characters contrast with, and how they rub off their respective ideals on each other. The Little Soldier aspires to lead a simple life of farming, to go back to his roots of a simple life, reminiscing upon his father's wise words, where rich means a plot of land to farm, two cows and a wife. Fighting in battles is not his cup of tea, and he'll do anything just to ensure that he comes out unscathed, even if it means being branded as a cowardly deserter. On the other hand, Big General aspires to conquer lands and if inevitable, to die gloriously in battle. Soon enough, he learns how having small but fulfilling, meaningful aspirations would be miles better than material wealth, of the joys that a simple, peaceful life can bring compared to one of constant fights. For the Small Soldier, lessons in the virtues of honour and courage get imparted, which leads to an especially touching and poignant finale.

Serving as action director. JC keeps all the fight sequences here fresh. You know how it is with action flicks when one battle scene doesn't offer anything new from the one that preceded it, JC had done something right in the fight choreography department. There are enough moments here to showcase straight forward fighting sequences, and those of his signature acrobatic buffoonery to suit the role of his Little Soldier to a T. Watch out too for his hilarious gimmicks employed, which will surely bring out a chuckle or two, which only JC can deliver in a true blue JC film.

It's been some time since JC had a major project rolled out every Lunar New Year, and this one comes just in time to perhaps continue in that tradition. If it's anything to go by, this film has surpassed expectations set low thanks to a lacklustre trailer, and thankfully the end product is confirmed to be miles better. He may be slower these days, but Little Big Soldier demonstrates that JC still has what it takes to deliver a Chinese blockbuster. As with almost all JC movies, sit back during the end credits roll to enjoy the many outtakes included.

"Little Big Soldier" is actually an odd-couple road flick set during China's Warring States period. The war drama, spiced with the usual Jackie Chan comedy, has been Jackie's brainchild for 20 years before finally hitting the big screen. Chan had initially planned to play the role of the young general but having aged since, he has to settle for the role of the elderly soldier.

Well, having seen Jackie as the titular character, I have no complaints. He provides the role with its requisite charm and experience that it is so easy to root for him. A refreshing change from nonsensical comedies like "The Spy Next Door", I may add.

Jackie plays an unnamed soldier from the Liang State who survives an ambush by Qin forces that decimates the 2000-strong Liang army. The lowly soldier, who feigns death rather than fight, captures a young Wei general (Wang Leehom) and plans to 'trade' him for a plot of land as reward.

Along the way, however, captor and captive face a host of mishaps, misadventures and plot twists - and they have to team up in order to survive.

As Jackie's own project, you can be sure of the trademark Jackie stunts and image boosts. Playing a farmer forcibly conscripted into war, Jackie's message (or ego massage) is that war is bad for the people, birds and the environment. He throws in lots of slapstick and sometimes the comedy borders on the ridiculous.

Still, these are forgivable because it is easy to like Jackie's and LeeHom's characters. They have a sparkling screen chemistry that helps us overlook the plot-holes and lapses in logic. What's more important is that "Little Big Soldier" has a nostalgic feel, reminding us of Jackie's classics like "Drunken Master" and "Snake In The Eagle's Shadow". - By LIM CHANG MOH (limchangmoh.blogspot.com)

As a big fan of Jackie's, its hard to stay subjective whenever it comes to the movies he makes. Sometimes the movies are great, other times they are quite terrible, and sometimes he just makes it land somewhere in between. I can say honestly that this movie is one of the movies you will want to place on the top shelf of your movie collection. Its old fashioned, wonderfully comical at times, and tells a story of a small part of a large history of China.

People say that Jackie Chan's acting is hollow. While I agree that this can sometimes be the case, its only because of the terrible "Hollywood" machine movies he is inclined to make versus the traditional Hong Kong action/drama/comedy flicks he is used to. Hollywood Jackie Chan can be quite terrible (The Tuxedo, The Medallion, Around the World in 80 Days, The Spy Next Door, etc). Traditional Jackie Chan is great (New Police Story, Rob-B-Hood, Who Am I?, along with all the Hong Kong classics Jackie Chan has under his belt like Drunken Master, Police Story, City Hunter) I'm rather frustrated at the implication that Jackie Chan cannot act, and that this or The Karate Kid are trumpeting his newfound skills as an actor, when in my opinion he has been a superb actor far before that. Just watch New Police Story.

In any case, this was an excellent watch, and has earned itself a spot on the top shelf of my collection. Hopefully, there will be an English dub sometime in the future so that more people will be able to watch this fine film.

I would recommend this film to any one who is after a comedy for the night, Before i saw this film i was wary of it because of films I've seen with shabby Chinese - English conversion, or just terrible Chinese matrix styled martial art films, and i am glad I've been proved wrong. From the start to the end it is pact with Action and Humor. Jackie Chan is a sleek as ever with his strange ability to use the environment to his advantage in brawls and his strange antiques are as fine tuned as ever, ontop of this, his comedy is a fine as it ever has been, he pulled this off well and truly. I also though how the film ended was brilliant, i don't want to spoil it, so take my word, the ending couldn't be any better. In my opinion i would say this is in the top 10 films I've seen this year.