Railroad Tigers(铁道飞虎) Chinese Film Thoughts(2016)

  I must have missed something here. Didn't Jackie Chan retired? I could have sworn that he said that he wasn't doing anymore films a few years ago. He pulled a Hayao Miyazaki and now suddenly decides to return to his action comedy roots with new film Railroad Tigers. The film was directed by Ding Sheng and stars Jackie Chan, Jaycee Chan, Huang Zitao(Former member of boyband EXO), Wang Kai, Darren Wang, and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi. Railroad Tigers is the third time that Ding has work with Chan in film.

  A group of railroad workers decide to hijack a train ruled by the invading Japanese Army. The workers are heavily outnumbered by the Japanese army's soldiers but still go through with the plan anyway.

   My expectations for this film weren't too high to begin with. So, when the film started then got really clumsy with it's plot progress, I just kept staring blankly at the screen. Railway Tigers is one of those films that tries really hard to be funny. Some of the jokes are executed well while other fall into the realm of awkwardness. I wasn't into the scenes where the characters were making fun of how Japanese people speak their language…. I did laugh at the parts when the Chinese characters pretended to speak Japanese while undercover and wasn't saying shit but I'm sure some Japanese people would get offended if they saw this film. Even the attempt at comedy is kind of lackluster too. I did more shaking my head than laughing because the action of the characters were so damn goofy. It was forced kind of goofy that makes you feel sorry for the person that's trying to make you laugh since they just aren't funny. I'm also tired of seeing films about the Japanese army occupying [insert name's] country. South Korea has made enough films about this unfortunate history without China having to add one more to the fray. This main conflict of fighting the Japanese kept Railroad Tiger's story going but the film just doesn't know how to transition well from comedy to serious action performance. In the end, the film as a whole comes off as a big joke. That might have been the plan making me seem like the sheep in the room. Me as a non Chinese person not knowing how to adapt to their cultural sense of humor and all. I respect these differences though.

  The cast was a huge factor that kept me watching this film. Jackie Chan and his son are in the same film together for the first time(?)! I didn't know that Jaycee was casted for Railroad Tigers until I was a few minutes into watching the film itself. I loved their chemistry together as father and son acting together. Especially because I remember reading that Jackie Chan was really hard on Jaycee Chan's acting career. I've read that he never gave him good praises growing up and was hard on him most of the time. Thats probably because he wanted him to work hard to succeed so I understand a little bit. They have a very playful chemistry together here that's funny to watch. Jaycee doesn't have the same physical ability as his father but he does attempt to perform his own stunts. One of his most notable performances was 2007's Invisible Target.

  The shots for this film deals with trains mostly. The inside scenes of the train are clearly a set. Same for a lot of the towns and homes. I liked the cinematography of the landscapes that lay in-between the towns. Each scene of the mountains along with the lakes felt like I was looking at gems of China.

  Railroad Tigers kept me watching to it's end for the cast and for my respect for Jackie Chan. This is in no way his best film but it has funny moments that can amuse you. I just couldn't take any of what I saw seriously except for the scenery.