
Stunt and action choreography by Tong, Chan, and Wu Gang involve predatory animals and cobras in scenes that are sometimes thrilling, other times moronic.
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Tech credits by the Hong Kong crew are pro across the board, with extra kudos to lenser Horace Wong for his vibrant and pristine cinematography of nature in all its extremes. The three gorgeous Indian actors, none of them big names, give feisty turns in skimpily written roles the members of the Chinese cast, other than casually charismatic Rahman, are forgettable.

It ends with a Bollywood number riffing on the theme song “Om Shanti Om,” (choreographed by Farah Khan, no less) that throws continuity out the window.Īs the leading man, Chan keeps the ball rolling with an assortment of neat acrobatic tricks and martial arts sparring, but his days of life-risking physical exertion is over. In its final stretch, the film artificially squeezes fabulous scenery, opulent palaces, and monumental views of Mehrangarh Fort and Mangore Gardens - in other words, everything exotic about India. It’s nearly an hour into the film by the time the characters regroup in Rajasthan to locate Magadha’s imperial treasure (never mind that the historical site of the Magadha Kingdom is in Patna, nearly 700 miles away). The sense of ridiculous fun is heightened by the presence of an unexpected rider in Jack’s backseat. Aided by car-stunt expert Bruce Law, Tong is back in his wheelhouse, executing a four-minute sequence in which colorful vehicles spin, flip in mid-air, and smash into each other with the wild abandon that recalls the spirit of older Hong Kong action pics.

In any case, Jonathan is soon outshone by his burgundy convertible, which takes center stage when the film shifts into high gear - a warp-speed car chase around Dubai’s sweeping highways. Zhang plays dirty-rich businessman Jonathan and struggles to provide comic relief, but neither the dramatic situation nor the lame dialogue gives him anything to work with.
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The gilded city has inspired much high-concept action onscreen, but it appears this chapter is devised primarily to rope in mainland comedian Zhang Guoli, an icon of Chinese New Year TV festivities. News that a rare gemstone that Bhima possessed is being auctioned in Dubai draws the protagonists and their nemesis there.

In the ensuing scuffle, Ashmita’s “fetal breath-holding technique” comes in handy for hers and Jack’s escape, but that’s the extent of the film’s lip service to yoga. Just when they find the cave where Bhima’s army took shelter, Randall (Sonu Sood, dashing), a descendant of Arunasva arrives with his henchman to seize everything. Jack recruits treasure hunter Jones (Aarif Lee Rahman) and oil drilling expert Jianhua (Eric Tsang) to join their expedition to the Kunlun Mountains at the Indo-Tibetan border (Iceland stands in here). Fortunately, rather than dabbling in the reincarnation and time-slip hokum that made “The Myth”a garbled mess, “Kung Fu Yoga” mostly sticks to its contemporary plot. In Tong’s last film “The Myth” (2005), Chan also played an archaeologist named Jack, who goes to India to seize a magical gemstone, in the process recalling his past life as a Qin dynasty general.

Bhima, who’s been sent by Princess Gitajani to escort him.īack in the present, Chan is archaeologist Jack, who’s approached by Professor Ashmita (Disha Patani) and her assistant, Kyra (Amyra Dastur), to help locate the lost treasures carried by Bhima and his troops, who got swept away by the avalanche. On his way back to China to get reinforcements, he’s cut off by an avalanche, and can’t reach Gen. He plays real historical figure Wang Xuance, Tang dynasty envoy to India, who defended the Kingdom of Magadha from renegade general Arunasva. Mimicking Bollywood war epics like “Baahubali” and “Bajirao Mastani” with a bit of “300” thrown in, the splashily animated prologue features Chan in motion capture, battling an elephant cavalry in 647 A.D.
