Review of 1911 - Revolution (2011) by Naveen C — 13 Jan 2012

(2 Stars) I'm so disappointed... 1911 is Jackie Chan's 100th film and although it's not aesthetically and technically bad, it has so many problems and there are a ton of things to nitpick. It seems like there are a hundred minor characters (whose name subtitles flash quicker than you can read them) and you will be reading a lot of the film because it wants to cut to the bloody parts of the revolution. Battle scene occurs after battle scene; it's like watching an interactive textbook, which is good for the History Channel, but not a feature film. I going to let you know straight up that I don't know Chinese history or politics, but the movie has a propaganda-feel to it. The revolutionaries are killed in dramatic, heroic bloody fashion and the Qing dynasty are cowardly fatcats. And yes, I'm aware that there are similar elements in American Revolution films, where the British are basically like the Qing.

Then there's Jackie Chan, of whom I am unabashedly a HUGE fan. I know the guy is aging and he wants to do drama. It makes sense considering he can't be an action star forever. He is a good dramatic actor as seen in Shinjuku Incident, New Police Story and The Karate Kid. But the fact he is only 'okay' here is sad. He screams orders on the battlefield and gets shot a few times. By the end of the movie, I still don't know his character. It's the big fan in me that wishes he did what he is internationally known for in his 100th film: lighthearted action, amazing stunts and physical comedy, and someone you can cheer for even if the plot is a little wonky... I wish he was beating the crap out of drug dealers with a ladder; THAT'S the Jackie Chan I know and love.

Honestly, I can't think of a great reason to see 1911. If you like war action, you can find it better elsewhere. If you want a Jackie Chan action film, it's not here. Sure, it's hard to make a film of this scope, but it's also harder to make us care about it.