P Ji Hua (2024)

Good old Chinese action comedy

Jackie! Panda! Kung fu! It doesn't get much more Chinese than that

I wanted a fun stupid action comedy and I got exactly what I was looking for.

Being a Jackie fan since about 20 years ago, I can't say that there were any big surprises. The story is nothing new, the execution and the quirky characters make it fun. I especially enjoyed Shi Ce playing the panda caretaker, that is scared to bits, but goes out and beyond to protect the little Panda baby. Some parts of the CGI look sloppy, others are really detailed. They did put a lot of effort into the Panda, which makes sense seeing it's the main star of the movie.

To me this movie's charm lies in the fact that you get the good old stunts, but some new faces and a pinch of self-irony.

Jackie, playing himself, looks tired and the fighting is visibly exhausting him, even with his hair dyed you can tell that he is old. Well, because he is old! He is an aging action movie actor, that still keeps on going, because people love what he does. And he himself loves it too, but he also just wants to sit down and enjoy his ice cream sometimes. (one of my favourite scenes)

But I'd argue that you don't need to be his fan to enjoy the movie. You do have to enjoy this kind of slapstick comedy though.
I'd probably rewatch for the same reason I've rewatched Jackie's other movies countless times - for the fun and well choreographed fight scenes.

I do hope Jackie will enjoy his retirement at one point, but until then I am happy to see some more Action!

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