Kung Fu Yoga - Der goldene Arm der Götter

Jackie Chan is twelve years younger than Harrison Ford, and can still pull off some impressive moves, but both actors are well past their prime in terms of action movie star power. Ford's last CGI-laden Indiana Jones movie was so bad it gave us the phrase 'nuke the fridge' to describe a scene that is beyond ridiculous. As if to prove he can go one better (or should that be 'worse'?), Chan has given us the Raider of the Lost Ark-inspired adventure Kung Fu Yoga, which is incredibly dumb and almost as much computer-generated as it is live action: it starts off with a really bad CG historical prologue, and just keeps on going with the not-very-convincing digital trickery, delivering CG car stunts, a CG lion, CG hyenas, and CG snakes, frequently against CG backdrops.

Chan plays Chinese archaeologist Jack, who is approached by Indian princess Ashmita (played by drop-dead-gorgeous Bollywood babe Disha Patani) to help find a legendary treasure. Also trying to get his hands on the riches is Randall (Sonu Sood), descendant of the army general who hid the hoard. Or something like that. The plot doesn't make much sense at times, the emphasis on OTT action, not logic. Director Stanley Tong, the man behind the enjoyable Rumble in the Bronx and China Strike Force, delivers one or two 'nuke the fridge' moments of his own, the most outrageous being the high speed chase that sees Chan playing chauffeur to a CG lion.

Not content with just being inspired by Indiana Jones, Tong shamelessly steals iconic elements from Spielberg's movie: there's an attractive female student at one of Jack's lectures who flirts with the professor by drawing love hearts on her eyelids; one of the characters says the line 'I hate snakes'; and the location of the treasure is revealed by sunlight shining through a diamond attached to a staff. Hell, there's even a character called Jones! Sadly, it says a lot about the overall quality of an action film when the most enjoyable scene is the closing, tongue-in-cheek Bollywood dance routine performed by the whole cast (definitely NOT taken from Indiana Jones - I can't see Harrison Ford pulling off any of those moves).

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for dishy Disha Patani: terrible actress but great to look at.

Well, not all Bollywood. Not enough dance routine to make that claim ( Unless like me you count Jackie's Kung Fu fighting as dancing)

I herd some Bollywood director was suppose to film it but backed out leaving Chinese cinema veteran Stanley Tong to fill the void. It's a great action adventure film (with a bad title) in what looks like it could be the sequel to Armour of the Gods or Operation Condor (which in America would be considered Armour of the Gods 2).

Jackie Chan plays Jack Chan (Really?) an archaeologist looking for a treasure that connects Chinese and Indian culture, and when he finds it this ultimate Bollywood Archetype comes after him for it.

It's not Jackie at his prime but he's at his best mixing humor with action. You'll See him do little stunts like jump through a luggage carrier with style (most of us half his age can't do that) and you'll see him do some really good old school kung fu moves like he did in Fearless Hyena.

But he's too old to be breaking bones for our enjoyment. Instead, he provides us with typical action movie fluff. Not to say that's bad. There is a car chase in the movie that is pretty fantastic.

This was an excellent return to the Jackie from yesteryear.

The biggest nonsense I have ever seen. There is no worse CGI in any film. Embarrassing fake friendship from China to India. Super bad acting. All the actresses are models. Top! Jacky Chan looks like 100. When the Chinese resort to Tibetan armies in the Middle Ages, you know about the propaganda level. Only playable in India and China.

Why? Seriously, just why? Jackie Chan once again delivers a boring adventure movie that doesn't even come close to the heights of his early career in the 80s and 90s. Kung Fu Yoga is boring, dumb, way too cartoonish, and not that fun.

I have the same problem with this that I did with Chan's other 2012 action/adventure project, Armour of God - Chinese Zodiac (2012). Both movies focused way too much on the adventure plot, with way too little of a focus on why everyone loves Jackie. Yes he's funny and likable, but we want to see him fight and do stuns and there is painfully little of that here. The girls' roles were obnoxious and not well fleshed out, and the scene with the hyenas was ok, but a little annoying. The villain is not very evil, and too OTT. He's annoying, and seems like a villain from a Disney movie. The ending has to be one of the weirdest movie endings I've ever seen. Like, the entire cast does this big choreographed dance, and they sing. Seriously, what?

Stanley Tong, obviously trying something new, should stick to his usual action territory. This movie's marketing made a big deal out of him directing, which is fair as he's responsible for some of Jackie's all-time best vehicles. Here though, he abandons everything everyone loved about his previous works for this strange, strange movie.

There are some fun action scenes. The fight in the ice caves, the street fight, the fight with the briefcase, the car chase (in which Jackie drives a car with a lion in it), and the final fight. The long climax in the caves with the artifacts is very derivative of Indiana Jones und der letzte Kreuzzug (1989), and while the final fight is ok, it's a little short.

I can't recommend this one, and even Jackie Chan fans should exercise caution. It's not very fun, and much screen time is given to people we don't care about. It seems here that Jackie's losing his edge for the action scenes, but he proved that he obviously still has it with The Foreigner (2017) in the same year.

Kung Fu Yoga is as stereotypical as its title might suggest but despite average acting performances, artificial special effects and a weak plot, it's an entertaining, fast-paced and quirky movie that mixes stunning fight choreography, exotic settings and an intriguing mixture of Arab, Chinese and Indian cultures.

The story revolves around India's lost Magadha treasure in Tibet that is searched by three different parties: Chinese archaeologists, descendants of Magadha royalty and a ruthless group of mercenaries led by another descendant of an Indian royalty. The plot has a few minor but overall predictable twists. While the story is overall of an average quality at best, the movie focuses on fast-paced action- adventure elements in the key of the Indiana Jones movies. Short humorous passages and mythological elements add to the genre potpourri.

There are a few truly memorable scenes in this movie. The opening animated history sequence is quite unusual and starts the movie on an original note to give the audience some background information. The closing dance choreography as well as the vivid soundtrack are also quite entertaining. The best part can however be found in the middle of the movie and consists of a spectacular chase through the streets of Dubai involving a vomiting lion. Despite the ridiculous idea, I haven't laughed that hard in quite a while which means that the makers of this movie have accomplished their mission.

Kung Fu Yoga doesn't take itself too seriously and that what makes its charm. It's an entertaining movie that works best when you switch your brain off and try to enjoy the ride. It offers a colourful, exotic and explosive change from your everyday life. It also marks one of the few major collaborations between Chinese and Indian cinema and I hope to witness more occasions where these two countries join their forces. Kung Fu Yoga isn't an essential movie but an entertaining action- adventure movie for young adults and teenagers in particular.