[Movie Review] I watched Panda Plan!!

I watched a Jackie Chan movie.

About ten years ago, I suddenly became obsessed with Jackie Chan movies and spent a period of time watching nothing but Jackie Chan films, Hong Kong cinema, and kung fu movies. I love Jackie Chan so much. I also like Sammo Hung. I love movies like Wheels on Meals.

However, I hadn't been watching Jackie Chan's recent movies. He's getting on in years, and he announced his retirement from full-scale action after Chinese Zodiac (though he still does a ton of action, which is amazing)... No, I'm happy just to see Jackie Chan in a movie, but...

In the movie Vanguard, even though Jackie Chan was the lead, he was in a position like a strategist for the organization and didn't really get to do much, and in the movie The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang, there were almost no action scenes, so I got a bit discouraged and stopped going to see them. (Though The Knight of Shadows was more sincere in that Jackie was on screen the whole time.)

This year, I decided to "watch as many movies as possible!" and since I love Jackie Chan, I went to see it. Without expecting too much.

And then, well, it was fun!! It was seriously good.

In this movie, Jackie Chan plays the role of Jackie Chan. What that means is that the protagonist is Jackie Chan himself. The super action star Jackie Chan is the lead! That alone is exciting!

Since he's playing himself, both the enemies and allies love Jackie! One of the enemies even fights him saying, "Hey! Jackie! Are you really that strong!?" This part is seriously the best! It's also great when Jackie's feint is blocked by someone saying, "I've seen all your movies. I even saw Rob-B-Hood." It's a performance only possible because Jackie is a star and is playing himself.

The movie is built on the trust that the audience thinks, "You guys love Jackie Chan, right?" Scenes like that appear one after another.

The action and the plot also feature scenes where you think, "You guys love this kind of Jackie action, right!?" He has a car chase on a forklift, drops the heroine from a high place, falls from a high place, and fights using chairs.

I suspect the people who made this probably love Jackie Chan too.

I don't mean to sound rude, but every scene is one I've seen in some Jackie Chan movie before. It's amazing. I had this impression that Jackie Chan always tells the heroine, "Just jump!", and I was surprised when that scene actually happened. The image of Jackie I have in my head is right there.

Since Jackie Chan is playing himself, every time one of those "I've seen this in a Jackie Chan movie before!!!" scenes happens, the Jackie-fan enemy gets super excited, saying, "That's amazing!!! It's just like a movie!!!" That part is just the best.

A movie for Jackie Chan lovers, by a Jackie Chan lover. I suspect it's packed with homages to Jackie's films. I've seen a lot of Jackie movies, but I don't even know how many homages there are in this one!!

Recommended for Jackie movie fans.

The best chemical reaction occurs because Jackie plays himself in a film that is right in the middle of the Jackie Chan movie spectrum. I think movie lovers have that moment where they think, "This is like a Jackie movie," and if you watch Panda Plan, you can't go wrong.

Also, Jackie is over 70, but seeing him still running around as an action actor is moving. You're amazing, Jackie Chan!

Please watch it.

That's all for today.