Le zodiaque chinois

I watched this movie without seeing the reviews and enjoyed it very very much. Which is why I'm quite surprised of the low reviews it's been getting from critics.

Sure, many dialogues were corny and the plot is borderline ridiculous. But do you really go to a Jackie Chan movie for its story?

The stunts and fight scenes in this movie are simply amazing. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't watched it yet, but if you grew up watching Jackie's earlier films (80s and 90s), you're gonna be pleasantly reminded of his golden days. He's not as fast or as nimble, but it is still light years better than the typical 'hollywood' action scenes.

As mentioned, story and dialogue: meh. Think of it as a vehicle for the action that ensues. You'll get a few trademark comedy reminiscent of Jackie's earlier works, and overall it's a very good family film. But action is the hook of this movie. It's seriously so good that you'll come in with expectations of great action, and still come out thinking that was better than expected.

If you're a fan of Jackie, this is a no-brainer must-watch. If you're not a fan, give it a chance as it is still an extremely solid action movie.

The international thief JC (Jackie Chan) and his team are hired to steal two bronze heads of the Chinese Zodiac by the MP Corporation that is specialized in supply stolen relics to auctions. After many incidents, JC befriends the women Coco (Helen Yao) and Catherine (Laura Weissbecker) and together with his crew, they live intense adventures and betrayals.

"Sap ji sang ciu", a.k.a. "Chinese Zodiac", is a typical Jackie Chan Film, with a naive and funny full of action story. The beginning is breathtaking, with JC rolling and passing by an army and makes the movie worthwhile watching. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Operação Zodíaco" ("Zodiac Operation")

This was the first solo Jackie Chan movie that I have seen for a long while. In "Forbidden Kingdom," he shared the star billing with Jet Li. In "Karate Kid", he even played a supporting role for Jaden Smith! Now comes word that this film "Chinese Zodiac" will already be the last action film of the iconic martial arts star. If that statement alone will not convince his fans to catch it, then I do not know what will.

I think a lot of people shared that idea, even my kids who have only seen him before in "Karate Kid". Today is the first weekend that it is showing in local theaters. We watched this in a movie theater in Chinatown, and that 3pm showing was totally SOLD OUT. It had been quite some time that I have been in a completely full theater in a showing that is not a premiere. It is truly impressive that the audience was composed of fans of all ages.

"Chinese Zodiac" recounts the exploits of a mercenary of historic relics, JC (Jackie Chan), who is searching for the twelve bronze heads of Chinese Zodiac animals which had been looted from the Summer Palace. JC leads a team who works with him, "Mission Impossible" style.

He shares his adventure as well with two plucky ladies: Katherine (a French heiress who would like to him to find her great-grandfather ship which was lost at sea), and a Chinese activist Coco (who is part of a crusade to have Western powers to return cultural treasures back to the countries from whom these were stolen during colonial times).

As with all Jackie Chan movies in the past, the main reason people go to watch it is not really the story, but Jackie's unique brand of comedy- action. This film certainly does not disappoint. It is two hours worth of exciting stunts which only Jackie can deliver. The movie opened with a long sequence wherein he was sailing down a mountain road using a body suit with roller blades all over it. The last scenes involved skydiving in order to recover the last animal head before it plummets into a volcano! There were still so many action scenes in between -- involving dogs in a maze, pirates on an island, a rival mercenary on a sofa, henchmen with photography equipment -- all as exhilarating as they were also funny.

Yes, Jackie Chan's age may be showing (he is 58 now), but he definitely still has IT! The outtakes shown over the end credits show that he was still the one doing all those dangerous stunts and demanding physical comedy routines himself. Though he was uncharacteristically playing a rogue character in this film, like all of his past movies, there are still lessons to be learned at the end, both personally as well as patriotically. Cheesy dialogs and corny acting, yes, but above all it is excellent entertainment, as can be evidenced by the enthusiastic audience response. Come on in and enjoy Jackie Chan's final show!

In the past 3 decades Jackie Chan has successfully developed and maintained his own kind of genre full of unbelievable action, acrobatic fights, thrilling moments, unlimited fun and decent humour entertaining all age groups ranging from the innocent kids to the intelligent old. His latest offering is also made on the similar format showcasing all the essential ingredients of a Jackie Chan film but still cannot be rated at par with his earlier classics since its not that exciting as it may seem from its short synopsis.

This time the heist specialist or treasure hunter Chan takes up an assignment to deliver the 12 bronze heads of the Chinese Zodiac, stolen from Chinese dynasty's Summer Palace centuries ago. The location of few of those heads is known but the rest need to be discovered and brought back. Chan and his crew are hired to find these 12 bronze heads and the film is all about their adventurous expedition to complete the collection.

It begins with a novel, exciting & well shot sequence where Chan is escaping from a mansion after completing his ongoing mission. It sets the mood right and you are all game for watching something very exciting and exceptional coming up in the next reels. But unfortunately, despite having some great action sequences, CZ12 doesn't turn out to be that entertaining as expected. The fun and humor element is not the same as found in Chan's other movies and the characters are very weak, foolish and forced which are not able to impress at all. Particularly the bunch of pirates and the girls are simply there to act as few silly characters in the film and nothing more.

A major negative feature of the film is the use of French and other foreign languages in it for a considerable period of time without any English subtitles on the screen, which forces you to keep watching it helplessly like a fool. After few initial good moments the screenplay becomes directionless and only aims at the thrilling actions sequences thrown in to keep the pace going. The camera-work is truly superb as usual and the background score successfully manages to excite you in all those well conceived brave scenes, especially the ones involving the sky diving and volcano sequences.

So if you are a die-hard Jackie Chan fan from decades, then this film will surely remind you of his gems such as ARMOUR OF GOD (1986) and more. But at the same time, will not give you a similar experience in the theater watching the miracle man. Yet, CZ12 might impress many young viewers not familiar with the amazing living legend called Jackie Chan. And at the age of 58 (with more than 100 films), I can't even imagine any other person in the entire globe performing such risky and unbelievable stunts all alone by himself like a rubber man.

To say it all, as a true fan of the maestro I loved watching CZ12 and its crazy sequences but as an exciting adventure project its not upto the mark if compared to Chan's earlier gems and could be a lot better (keeping in mind its interesting plot). The man is there in the entire film standing tall as always and if this is supposed to be his last major action project, then it surely deserves to be seen by all his fans as a must for this one reason alone.

Went in with a load of expectations as it was jackie's full fledged action movie after a long time ........ and sequel of a highly entertaining "Armour of God" added more zeal to the expectations ... movie starts off with a superb stunt with jackie trademark of riskiness written all over ... then movie movie moves off superfast with stunts, comedy and entertainment all through the way ... 2 and half hours runs without brakes ..... jackie is wonderful throughout the film ... though the movie misses jackieism of 80's and 90's a little bit , still the magic works .........

verdict: Jackie's show throughout - highly entertaining ... action fans don't miss it ;)