Little Big Soldier

"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.

One of the most enjoyable Jackie Chan's movies in the last decade...

While there has always been a question or dilemma about Jackie Chan's dramatic range or even his laughable claim of wanting to become the next Robert DeNiro. Opportunities were there to take, with films like New Police Story and Shinjuku Incident. However, his performance as a drunken cop was met with critical despite and his wooden display in the against-type serious persona was met with similar discontent. So it is refreshing to see Chan back to what he is good at: physical comedy. This does not necessary mean more action, as Chan rarely fights or even if he does, he is simply avoiding fights. What is means is that Chan is trying to be funny and the audience also finds it funny as well. Not unlike Jet Li who have now successfully transformed from action icon into an actor, with his own acclaimed role in Warlords. Little Big Soldier is hopefully what you call a breakthrough performance and perhaps a step in the right direction for the aging Chan to take.

The movie goes like this: Chan is an old soldier who pretends to be dead on the battlefield. He avoids fights and by playing dead, he managed to survive a battle where everyone dies. Going by luck, he somehow managed to capture the enemy army general. From there the two roam across the oceans and the seas encountering everything along the way.

It is a delight to witness Mr. Chan in full flight. Rarely do we see this side of Jackie and somehow we never doubted at the back of our mind. Whereas, Chan usually plays one dimensional characters as a cop, spy, agent, cop and cop. Chan is given a character and by the end of the movie, I felt that Chan have succeeded in bringing the character of the old soldier back to life. This is not an understatement, but rather a real sense of achievement. That's not to say Chan have created something special. Perhaps, it serves as either a breakthrough or even a successful change in the right direction. There are moments in the film, where the audience laugh with Chan, escape with Chan and ultimately feel for Chan. Now that's something is that unheard of and missing for the last 40 years of this great man career? Lee-Hom Wang last seen in Ang Lee's Lust, Caution, delivers a wooden yet cool performance. While he was somewhat miscast and lost in Lust, Caution. Here, he is very much in control of what he is doing. Perhaps knowing his limited range and his ability to be cool,; Lee flairs far better in this role as the future heir. His chemistry with Chan is both fun and delightful to watch. There is a fight scene by the river banks which is fun enough for someone to enjoy.

All in all, Little Big Soldier is what you call, a little successful story. It is a light hearted movie that is surprisingly engaging. With Jackie Chan in one of his best character roles, Little Big Soldier is best served after dinner. Surely action fans may be somewhat disappointed in the lack of action, but true Chan fans will know and understand that Chan have finally fulfilled a lifelong dream. To be recognised as an actor and more importantly coming out of the movie as a character rather than his larger than life public persona – Jackie Chan. I wouldn't go to say that Little Big Soldier will be everyone cup of tea, but for anyone who have followed Chan throughout all these years, I am certain that like Chan, you too will be proud...(Neo 2010)

I rate it 8/10

• www.thehkneo.com

Another goal by Jackie Chan. Not only does this movie deliver the usual martial arts extravaganza that is trademark of his movies, but it also delivers a really interesting story that is not just slack-stick humor. And that is a really great trait to the movie, and a great step towards the right approach for a movie of this type.

The story is about a peasant soldier in the Liang army (played by Jackie Chan) who saves himself from slaughter in a massive battle by feigning his death. As luck would have it, he manages to find a surviving general of the Wei army (played by Leehom Wang), the soldier seems to have it made, as he can hand in his captive for land and profit. But the road back to Liang is long and treacherous - the king's men are out searching for the missing general and the land is not at all a friendly place in itself.

A great story that Jackie Chan came up with here and it has been masterfully put to the screen. The story offers great action and just the right amount of comedy without it becoming too much in the usual genre that Jackie Chan operates.

What really makes "Little Big Soldier" work out is the chemistry and dialogue between the soldier and the general on their hard and long trek back towards Liang. And the spectacular landscape and scenery really adds a lot of flavor to the movie, and it is like you are right there back in time in ancient China.

This is one of the better Jackie Chan movies in the recent years, and it is great to see him take on other roles this late in his career. "Little Big Soldier" is well worthy of a place in the DVD collection of any fans of Jackie Chan or of Asian ancient war history movies in general.

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