Jackie Chan’s new film, A Legend, is slated to hit cinemas in China on July 12. The trailer for the movie was released on Weibo last week and it has already sparked quite the discussion amongst netizens.
Sadly, not in a positive way.
A Legend is the highly-anticipated sequel to Jackie’s 2005 movie, The Myth, which also starred Tony Leung Ka Fai and Korean actress Kim Hee Sun.
It was reported that A Legend had a production budget of US50mil (S$67mil), and filming for the show took six months to complete. Jackie, who turned 70 earlier this year, did his own stunts, and AI technology was used to create a 27-year-old version of the actor.
Jackie aside, the film, directed by Stanley Tong, also stars Lay Zhang, Gulnazar, and Li Chen. The trailer did not give much of the plot away, but it looks to follow the story of Lay’s character, a modern-day man who has vivid dreams of an older time where he battles alongside a princess (played by Gulnazar), in search for a ‘Holy Land’.
Despite the initial hype surrounding the film, it seems like its preview has fallen short of expectations. Many felt that the quality of A Legend couldn’t hold a candle to its predecessor, with some comparing its vibe to that of a straight-to-streaming movie.
The computer-generated graphics in the trailer were criticised for looking “awkward”, with some saying that the overall look for the movie felt “tacky” and “outdated”.
The harsh comments didn’t just stop there, there were also some netizens who dubbed Jackie’s newest project “regrettable”, with a handful saying that it is “about time he retires”.
That aside, there are still plenty comments on Weibo from fans anticipating Lay’s appearance on the big screen.
What do you think — are people passing judgement on this new film way too soon?