Myth is a Hit

(Man, I've got to work on my "clever" titles.)

Jackie Chan's The Myth seemed to go straight to DVD, and that worried me. Jackie has been in a lot of movies, and not every one is golden. This one, however, holds up.

Jackie plays an Indiana Jones types archaeologist (but not a Tomb Raider, he insists), like his character in the Operation Condor films, He has been having dreams about a hero in 4th century China. His free-wheeling buddy convinces him to go to India to look for a MacGuffin that confers immortality and allows levitation. The Indian fight scenes are a nice change, injecting a little Bollywood into the franchise. It also supplies the best set piece, a fight on a huge conveyor belt coated with rat glue. I love these tricky comic fights and Jackie Chan is a master at setting them up and executing them.

The film ends with an extended wire-fu battle. Jackie's can't depend only on his aging body anymore, so wires have become necessary, but - remember that levitation MacGuffin? It gives him the excuse to go flying around Hong Kong style. Of course, immortality levitating rays aren't really any more realistic than flying Kung Fu masters, but it's a nice twist.

Side note: Jackie's apartment, on the Hong Kong waterfront is awesome - all glass with a remote controlled retractable deck over the skylight, making a bridge to the practice tee. Nothing to do with the movie, but cool anyway.