“I love Indiana Jones”
I guess I’m just a sucker for a solid treasure hunting adventure. This satisfies that need in every sense. It’s fun, enjoyable, doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is a great time. This film stars Jackie Chan as Jack Chan who’s trying to find the secret Magadha treasure in the mountains. He has the help of his TA’s (Yixing Zhang and Miya Muqi) and another professor from India, Ashmita (Disha Patani) and her TA, Kyra (Amyra Dastur). He also recruits an old friend’s son, Jones Lee (Aarif Rahman). They are opposed by Randall (Sonu Sood) who apparently is a decedent from original treasure holder. They then travel to Dubai where the action continues.
I swear Jackie Chan owns the fountain of youth. He looks incredible in this film. The action scenes that are performed look genuine and well-polished. The fight choreography was fluid and a joy to watch on screen. It was apparent that there was attention to the small details and I was impressed with each scene. The way that humor was involved in the fighting was also well done. Chan just knows how to work a good fight scene in a way that never bores.
There’s a great mix of Chinese and Indian actors in this film. No one feels out of place, and it feels like the actors had great chemistry with each other for the most part. There were some moments where the acting felt a little rigid but the point of the film is to entertain with the adventure and action, not with the exposition. I could see how some of the actors looked a little uncomfortable with speaking the English language but that seemed to be accurate as it was not the first language of either the Chinese or Indian actors. I did appreciate how, if they had met in real life that they would probably speak English to each other.
The action and humor scenes were great. There was a nice mix of comic relief with each action scene or even when the movie felt like it was getting too heavy. I liked how the actors seemed to play off of each other and that’s where the best chemistry was on-screen. I especially liked how the awkwardness of social situations was minimized when more action was happening. It just felt realistic that they had a hard time adapting when there was no action going on. This movie almost felt like a video game with the energy and pacing. I thought the treasure hunting element set the tone well and I was always curious what was going to happen next. The way the film moved, it felt like I was playing an Uncharted game. I was thrilled that a film could give me that feeling.
Overall, I did enjoy this movie. It was bright, colorful, and a joy to watch. Some of the animations looked a little off, but the story kept me engaged and excited for what was coming next. This film is stylized and fun to look at. The action scenes are well done as is usual in Jackie Chan films. The humor is goofy but got me laugh multiple times. The ending was a little cheesy for my taste. If you’re looking for a fun action-adventure, I’d recommend this one for sure.
Grade: B
