Soldier Man

Jackie Chan is getting older, not as willing to the the crazy stunts as he once was. If the result is films like Little Big Soldier, I won't complain.

Jackie plays a farmer, conscripted in the army during the Warring States period. He has survived a massacre by playing possum, using a variation on Steve Martin's arrow-through-the-head gag. The only other survivor turns out to be the enemy general, whom Jackie captures. Now, if he can deliver this general to the king, he will be excused military service for life.

And so it becomes a road picture, with Jackie, a cowardly old farmer, trying to get a captured general through the bandits and enemies to his home country, and in the process, the little soldier and the big general come to know each other.

It's a beautifully made film, full of lovely scenery, the horrors of war, and Chan's rather fine singing. It's often funny - Jackie's martial arts move here is to run away, fanning his sword behind him. There are some fine fights, but it is more thoughtful than action-packed.

This movie seems to fit right into the Hero/Red Cliff/Three Kingdoms Chinese epic, rather than martial arts movie, although on a more intimate scale. Well worth watching.