Look out for this film as you head to the theaters, and steer clear of it. A seemingly average man turns to violence for revenge after experiencing a life-changing trauma. This is a theme played over and over again in movies and books alike.
However, a successful execution depends on the connection the audience builds with that character.
After almost no exposition, this movie dives head-first into Quan’s (played by Jackie Chan) mission to avenge his daughter’s death. Jackie Chan, however, does a tremendous job.
Held back by a noticeably low amount of dialogue, Jackie Chan tries to develop a connection through his emotional expressions.
This movie heavily depends on things which happened in the past. All of the action happening on screen comes across as a show to create mystery around Quan.
However, it is not successful at that either. The mission becomes outdrawn and repetitive, with almost no progression of Quan’s character. Even though we do learn some things about him, they are just facts of his past.
This movie was a great idea. The trailer looked great, and Jackie Chan held the movie together. However, if the movie had begun with Quan in the past, losing his other family members, it would have created a connection with the audience that would hold up the rest of the movie.
After that, Quan, as an old father with only his daughter left in his life, experiences a traumatic event and the loss of his daughter.
These small details would have made the movie tremendously more impactful, because they would make the audience feel something for Quan. For the first movie directed by Martin Campbell in over five years, it is a good start to hopefully more action films.