Little Big Soldier

Best known in America for action comedies like Rush Hour and crappy comedies like The Spy Next Door, Jackie Chan has a parallel career of movies made for and primarily only shown to Asian audiences. Every once in a while, one of his Chinese movies arrives in America, and the case of this historical action film, it’s a delightful surprise. In the movie, Chan plays Big Soldier, a reluctant warrior who spends more time avoiding fights than taking part in them. Following a epic battle where everybody else in his army is wiped out, Big Soldier finds the general of the opposing army is the only survivor on the other side. Dreaming of a ransom that will let him buy a farm and get out of the army, Big Soldier captures the general and tries to bring him back home. He soon finds out a lot of other people have plans of their own for the general.The action is fantastic: both Chan and Leehom Wang (as the general) fly around the screen with skill and precision. It’s the story, and Chan’s performance between the fights, that raises the film to a level most US fans haven’t seen Chan work at in years.