a5c7b9f00b An old soldier kidnaps a young general of an enemy state and takes him on a long journey to collect the reward. Two armies clash in ancient war-torn China; none survive but a young general from a royal house and a farmer foot soldier who binds the fallen leader to take him home and claim a reward. Many stand in their way: an abandoned songstress, the noble's own murderous younger brother, desperate beggars, rough slavers, and the pair's own differing agendas. Through it all, a bond forms between the two, and what will happen at journey's end becomes anyone's guess. This movie takes place in ancient China before the consolidation into one nation. As a result there were seven rival kingdoms all competing against one another for survival. As it so happens Jackie Chan is a soldier who was drafted to serve in the army of Liang. Having had two brothers who had already been killed in war he felt compelled to avoid riskmuchpossible in order to carry on the family name. So during a great battle between the armies of Liang and Wei he feigns death in order to survive. When he finally decides to look around he discovers that everybody on both sides have perished except for one particular enemy general (played by Leehom Wang) who he immediately takes prisoner with the expectation of receiving a handsome reward for delivering him to his superiors in Liang. Unfortunately, there are hazards in store for both of themthey make their way from the battlefield to their destination. Now rather than reveal any more and risk spoiling this picture for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film had an ebb and flow that was most unusual and not at all typical of most Jackie Chan movies. Naturally, there were quite a few scenes involving martial arts action along with the usual stunts and comedy that usually accompany them. In short, although I don't consider this to be an outstanding movie by any means it was still a fairly decent film and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average. Jackie Chan, graverobber…? Indeed- and it's one of his finest performances ever. Chan is learning how to mellow with age, and LITTLE BIG SOLDIER enables him to rely more on his carefully-honed acting skills than his death-defying antics. (Surprisingly, there's a cgi/wirework sequence here, but it turns out to be nothing more than a dream sequence- thankfully.) Chan's funnier than ever, too. He wears a fake arrow-through-the-chest rig that comes in handy when he's captured. The barbarian bandits are easily the coolest characters we've seen this side of the original Robert E. Howard CONAN stories (which are NOT to be confused with the alleged "feature films") (nor the live-action nor the cartoon teleshows). When a captured general escapes, Chan,"Samll Potato," observes: "Just a general. Next time, I'll catch a king." There are some GREAT locations throughout LITTLE BIG SOLDIER and the ending is very dramatic, indeed. Another winner.
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