December 31, 2012

Chinese Zodiac (CZ12) movie review

After watching the film CZ12 (Chinese Zodiac 12) one has to agree again that Jackie Chan is a master of entertainment. The movie starts with a creative fight where JC (Jackie Chan) wears a suit with skate wheels, maneuvering under the jeeps, trucks, over the road side walls and inside the tunnels. The movie gets you involved here and the fast pace with which this action sequence proceeds is continued till the end of the movie.

    In CZ12, JC is not alone. He has a team of expert fighters and uses various gadgets to get his job done. First half of the movie is a mix of a loads of comedy and a few action scenes. Comedy sequences were so funny that the entire theater bursted out laughing loud and you are allowed to relax only during the interval break. Jackie Chan looks aged, was a bit slower in his moves at a few places; though not as creative as in his earlier movies, he managed to choreograph some good fights and remains successful in entertaining the crowd. Second half becomes a bit more serious with a lot of fights, some serious concerns, a light touch of emotions and less fun. If you are into action movies, then you can have fun across the movie length.


   The story of Chinese Zodiac is a  simple plot where the hero, who is a (fake) national geographic journalist and his team are on an assignment from an auction firm to bring back the lost 12 ancient chinese bronze zodiac symbols. Similar to other Jackie Chan's movies, there are not many twists or turn in the plot, but that does not seem to disappoint much if you could enjoy the flow of the movie filled with forest, sea, palaces, fights, chases and comedy.

    There are few unnecessary moments in the movie that would make the movie a bit dragged in the second half and one would be expecting for more, especially after being treated with a lot of fun in the first half. There are several french and chinese dialogues in between, also some english dialogues with chinese accent, yet the sub-titles and the character's expression should help you out. This would dilute the movie enjoyment a little, though not completely as the fast pace of the movie manages to cover this up. Even the typical Jackie Chan's shooting efforts shown during end titles does seem to be as many as there were for Armour of God, which is supposedly a prequel of this movie.

    The movie would be a real good entertainer if you do not expect a lot, being a Jackie Chan movie.

1 comments:

  1. Another Jackie Chan starrer with lots of stunts and special effects and no storyline and no acting. Watchable only for Jackie Chan Fans!

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