Jackie Chan comments that Buster Keaton was an influence and that can truly be felt in the defibrillator response, what with his brilliant clowning movements after the shocks.

The action is great entertainment though and does make the film watchable and enjoyable. The introduction of Yong to proceedings also clouds up the plot as we’re meant to believe that Chan cares for or loves her but there’s never enough time to buy into that relationship. It views like a plain Mission Impossible montage as he tries discovering things and playing his dead father’s game. Sure there’s the globe-trotting and shadowy figures that may or may not be who they say there are but that feels like less than the focus for the film which is a disappointment because having more of an engaging spy plot run through would have been different for Jackie and for us also.Īn example of the rushed attempt at being a spy thriller is having Chan trying to find information. Teddy Chan neatly exposes us to more exhilarating fights but the pieces in between are glossed over in a drab way that don’t live up to Bond or Bourne genre tropes. It’s almost as if the director didn’t want the spy genre overshadowing Jackie’s skills at action either. This film could have done with more detail or even a longer runtime to let us understand more of the narrative and make it a better spy plot than just a below average one. We don’t really get to see more of who the normal Chan is/was and we don’t have enough moments to grasp the spy mission he is going along on. The characters don’t really connect and the main reasoning of who Chan is feels lost or dumb or perhaps both. Ivy Ho writes this martial arts spy movie with a keen sense of the meatier more entertaining moments but the filler in between is short lived and rushed. Jackie Chan in the version I watched plays Jackie Chan who is a fit sports goods salesman who happens to feel intuition about troubling circumstances leading him to save the day in the shopping centre gaining attention that he could be a valuable asset as a spy. Two groups are after a new powerful drug and of course the CIA, Asian police forces and undercover detectives are out to stop them get their hands on it. It is a pretty bad plot but the action moments more than make up for it I feel. This film has darker threads in it for Chinese superstar Jackie Chan to cope with. Don’t let the oddly constructed poster above fool you, this isn’t a cheesy and American explosive spy movie however it might look.

Accidental spy jackie chan film genre