Kung Fu Yoga: Jackie Chan does Belt and Road [Media Notes 67]

I was looking over Amazon Prime Video and spotted Kung Fu Yoga. “Strange title,” I thought, but it’s a Jackie Chan film and relatively recent, 2017. It’s certainly not prime Jackie Chan, but it’s fun.

It opens with the cheesiest CGI I’ve seen in a long time, and totally unnecessary. It’s set in the ancient past and shows how a treasure got lost. Who cares how an ancient treasure got lost?

When then shift to the present where Jackie Chan is “the greatest archaeologist” in China. He’s approached by a delegation from India, headed a beautiful young woman, to help them recover a treasure lost in Tibet (that’s what we saw in the cheesy CGI). He agrees. At about this time I was thinking that this China-India collab looks like a bit of Belt and Road diplomacy. And, wouldn’t you know, Chan mentions Belt and Road.

Anyhow, it’s off to Tibet. Lots of snow. Lowered into underground cave. They find the treasure, are accosted by bad guys from India, and escape.

Meanwhile, one of Jackie’s compatriots steals the diamond, takes it to Dubai and puts it up for sale. Bad guys. Mad chase through Dubai involving luxury SUVs, brightly colored exotic super cars, and one Bugatti Veyron in police livery. Beautiful young woman from India snatches it away on a motorcycle.

Off to India. Beautiful young woman turns out to be a descendant of those guys we saw in the awful CGI at the beginning. Once again, those bad guys snatch the diamond. Strange fight sequence involving three Chinese and four hyenas in an enclosure. Good guys escape, retrieve diamonds, and make their way into an underground temple, followed naturally by bad guys.

At last we all make it to the ancient lost temple of gold. More fighting, some quite amusing (as Jackie Chan fight scenes can often be). It turns out the real treasure is not the gold and gems, but ancient wisdom books. Everyone is happy. The film ends with a wonderful Bollywood dance sequence with Chan in the lead.

Just cut everything but the fight sequences, the car chase, and the final dance. In a pinch, just skip right to the dance.

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FWIW, this is Chan’s highest-grossing film in China but was a flop in India.