Between this and last year’s Renny Harlin-directed “Skiptrace,” Chan is back to his old pyrotechnic tricks, even if there’s no denying that he’s not the nimble stunt master he once was.Īgeism is a serious problem in Hollywood, and it’s disheartening to see how the industry constantly throws out established talents in favor of younger models, as if the first sign of wrinkles has anything to do with acting ability.
More importantly, though “Railroad Tigers” itself is a tired, often incomprehensible mess about a group of Chinese resistance fighters who use a train loaded with Japanese ammunition as a weapon against their unwelcome invaders, for genuine Jackie Chan fans, it’s evidence that he wasn’t ready to retire from action movies after all, despite comments made to that effect back in 2012. What has it been - 10 years? 15? - since the chance to see Chan in action really justified the price of admission?Īfter a long stretch in which he made one, maybe two, movies a year, Chan is scheduled to release five more movies in 2017, after the Chinese action-comedy “ Railroad Tigers” (granted, two are voice roles in animated movies). When was the last time you saw a good Jackie Chan movie? Sure, the “Kung Fu Panda” movies are great, but they don’t really count, since that’s just his voice.