San wa

Plot synopsis:
Martial arts legend Jackie Chan stars as Jack, a world-renowned archaeologist who has begun having mysterious dreams of a past life as a warrior in ancient China. When a fellow scientist asks for Jack's help in locating the mausoleum of China's first emperor, the past collides violently with the present as Jack discovers his amazing visions are based in fact. Assisted by the spirit of a noble princess, Jack follows a mystical trail that soon finds him battling the forces of the legendary emperor, as well as the henchmen of a modern-day tomb raider, as he seeks to uncover histor's greatest secret - and his own destiny.Martial arts legend Jackie Chan stars in this mystical, fantasy adventure as an intrepid archaeologist, Jack, who sets out on an adventure that would lead to the greatest discovery in Chinese history. In BC221 Qin Shihuang the first emperor of China started to build a royal tomb for himself despite his infatuation with immortality. Through the prodigious endeavors of more than 700,000 forced labourers, the mausoleum was completed 37 years later. Legend has it that to ensure utmost secrecy, all those who worked on the project were buried alive with the dead emperor. Over the next 2,000 years historians, tomb-raiders and happy-go-lucky adventurers alike had been homing in on the royal treasure, however, no one had ever succeeded in location the entrance to the mausoleum until now. [D-Man2010]This wild tale showcases Jackie Chan's skills and charm as he plays both Meng Yi, a Qin Dynasty general, and as the same character's reincarnation, Jack Lee. Lee is an archaeologist, but spends much of his time experiencing strange memories from his past life. With an unusual and complex plot that interweaves many disparate elements, this is certainly a departure from Chan's typical work. [D-Man2010]

Tags: action, flashback

Review:
Jackie Chan, after the relatively successful return to HK movie industry with the release of New Police Story, teams up once again with Stanley Tong (Rumble in the Bronx) for starters.
Tong wrote the story of The Myth, casting Jackie Chan in a never seen before role (yes, audiences are tired with his cop roles already) as a Qin dynasty general.
What's refreshing too is that the role requires the use of a real weapon (a sword in this case), rather than having JC's character improvising with tools from his environment.As most would already know from the trailer and poster, JC plays Jack Chan (about time they come up with better names too), an archaeologist who dreams about a Korean princess whom he's escorting to the Qin emperor as his new concubine.
It's a recurring dream, and before you can say "Indiana Jones", he's off to locales he sees in his dream world to try and unravel its mystery, while research companion Tony Leung (The Lover) irks him along the way with tomb raiding in the name of scientific studies.The story, while it might be original for a Jackie Chan movie, seemed a little cliché.
And with the Qin dynasty, you're usually reduced to plots which may include the Great Wall, beautiful consorts, or the pill of Immortality.The Myth looks and feels like a classic JC movie in terms of production values, like the familiar fight-with-the-baddies-acrobatic-stunts scenes, and physical humour injected at certain points.
Mallika Sherawat was sizzling as she dandied around in flimsical dresses, while executing those high kicks, and I guess the entire run up to the Rat Glue Factory might turn out to be a fan favourite.Many in the audience were surprised when the characters started speaking in Cantonese (for settings in modern day Hong Kong), and the local censors had no issue with that, instead of dubbing over the lines with Mandarin.
Now that's a thumbs up.So enjoy The Myth for what it is, just don't expect too much from a simple predictable storyline, and for some illogical and improbable scenes (I can't stand the horse back-kicking bits) that plays out like Michelle Yeoh's The Touch or even JC's own The Medallion..
Sure to become a classic scene.The rest of the movie constitutes of a historical "Hero" like war martial art action with some modern Jackie Chan slapstick.
The plot is very tenuous and was probably written after someone wanted a story with Chinese history combined with a modern drive towards the nascent Chinese scientific and technological resurgence.Jackie Chan plays an Indiana Jones like archaeologist which spirals into a Lara Croft style adventure of finding very strange but mindbogglingly powerful things.
As well, although the "historical" portion is not exactly a resounding success, it does add another dimension to the movie.One final note  at half-century point, Jackie Chan finally yields a bit on his resistance to wire work and CGI.
I liked the half of the movie that takes place in modern times, that has some vintage Jackie Chan moment, like the fight in the glue factory or the tomb raiding fight in India, these scenes alone bring us back to a younger Jackie Chan era like Projetc A and Mr. Canton and Lady Rose.
It's not Jackie's best, but it is better than most things he's put out in recent years, with the exception of New Police Story--which I think is his best in a long time..
Speedy stunts, fights and fun like in the good old Jackie Chan flicks?
The Myth, as a film, suffers paradoxically because of these two things; trying to satisfy by offering something new, while fulfilling audience expectation based on Jackie's previous output.
Ultimately, it's a pity Jackie wasn't brave enough to do a straight, serious historical action/drama, because under The Myth's familiarity there's a different Jackie Chan film trying to get out..
Jackie Chan has a part to play in both eras, and he does a reasonably good job although the present-day character seems to be more his style.I didn't enjoy this movie very much, i can say that right away.
An Asian version of Indiana Jones starring Jackie Chan is a great idea to begin with (and it's not a brand new one either, remember "Armour of God" and "Condor"?) and it would have been enough to support this film.
I love the way Stanley and Jackie pulled the different actors and actresses from different countries together which is an excellent way in attracting the people...But, in my opinion, The Myth is rich in the China history and mythology where the Qin Emperor's vision and dream were made a reality...thus, if you want to fully understand the film, knowledge about the Qin Dynasty is necessary...
What I like the most is still the Jackie Chan's kungfu flicks and entertaining fighting scenes...especially in the Dasai Tomb and The Rat Glue Factory...another good one will be the fight with the Dasai Prince which switches between reality and past life...But what I do not favor much is the fighting scenes using the computer effects, wirings and the fake backgrounds towards the end...
While the script and scenes are cheesy and corny at best, and the special FX badly done, you can't compare it to Hollywood movies due to Hong Kong's "low-budget trying to reap big profits" way of doing things.But this is indeed one of the better films this year.
Great Jackie Chan-style fighting and comedy sequences, hot Asian chicks, and a brief take at ancient Chinese history is what this movie offers.
The Myth Mr. Black's Grade: C- Starring Jackie Chan .Jackie takes on two roles, a modern day archaeologist and a Qin Dynasty warrior over two millenniums ago.
You end up with two minor love stories, two plot lines that will eventually intersect, but don't make much sense.Anyone expecting this to be Jackie Chan's House of Flying Daggers can forget about that.
Look, I am normally pretty forgiving towards Jackie Chan's films in terms of plot, so let's look at the action scenes!
There is one classic scene in a glue factory that really got at the crowd clapping, vintage Chan.But one great action scene and a one very beautiful actress do not make a great movie, even with Jackie Chan..
The armors and helmets looks rather ancient Roman than Chinese.(especially the helmet and the god damn feather on it.As I know,none of the dynasties in China's history ever developed a taste like the feather-on-the-helmet thing) Then comes the Korean princess.The nation of Korea came into being years after the perish of Chin,so what's the princess doing in a time long before her born.I don't know if any of you noticed that at the Korean troops at the beginning of the movie is wield katanas, which are typical Japanese weapons came into being around the time of Tang Dynasty of China(that's a whole lot of years after Chin) At a scene Jacky told the Korean princess that Xianyang (the capital of Chin) is right past the Greatwall.
Alas, such is not the case.Jackie, formerly Mr. Hong Kong, presently Mr. Greater China, helped produce this project, working together with Stanley Kong in the directorial seat (Kong previously helmed a few Police Story movies and also rather good Swordsman 2).
Things get off to a long-winded start in an overstretched scene showing General Meng Yi (Jackie) fighting to deliver fresh booty Princess OK Soo (Kim Hee Seon) to the emperor, set against feeble attempts from her Korean compatriots to stop the nefarious exchange.
It seemed like an odd combination, with Jackie Chan's entertaining choreography and the writer from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.That's the way it played out too, great physical stunts and gags interspersed with heavy Chinese mythology, centering around the tomb of Emperor Qin. Unfortunately the two didn't meld together particularly well, and Jackie doesn't have the range to carry off the more emotional scenes.A fun outing though, because Jackie's stunts are inspired (the glue factory fight alone is worth the price of admission).
It's a different kind of movie for Jackie Chan and I hope he does more historical pieces in the future.
Unfortunately, I don't think the producers and Stanley Tong asked that question, let alone answered it, before they started shooting The Myth.The overall plot concept had some promise - I've seen far worse stories that translated into enjoyable film viewing experiences.
Could have been good as 2 separate movies however combined make such a poor combination it can be compared to dipping lychee's in salt.On the one hand you have Jackie Chan in an epic love story past and present, dreams and millennium long promises waiting to be fulfilled.
Epic battle sequences with adventurous archeology.However on the other hand you have Jackie Chan in his usual comedic self fascinated by dreams, action and comedy.Now if you add them together you have a serious script with added action comedy which ruin the mood, random useless scenes in India which in no way further the plot and instead a not very entertaining filler smack bang in the middle where crucial plot development could occur.
The action epic battle sequences in the Qin era were pretty impressive i must say especially the mountain of a Slain army.Quite a disappointing entry from Jackie Chan.
As you probably already know, the movie is for the most part split into two concurrent storiesa costume drama in ancient China and an action/comedy in the modern day, with JC playing the main role in both.
The Myth is definitely some of the best stuff to come from JC Films in a while (well at least 2 years.) As Jackie takes a step into uncharted genre just like New Police Story, this is his 2nd step (of a so-far 3step) in created new borders for his films.
If you like good action, Dynasty style films, films of fantasy or the 'common guy with an extraordinary story' style films, this will be for you.Previously a few reviewers have noticed bad remarks, obviously not the best reviewers since this movie WAS nominated for 4 separate awards in 2006.
I remember seeing this film about 9 years ago when I was 11, at a sleepover party of a friend where we watched 3 Jackie Chan movies in a row.
The movie was far better than I had remembered it to be.Think "Indiana Jones" exposed to Jackie Chan's usual stunts.
Jackie Chan plays two roles in this movie, Dr. Jack which is an archaeologist in present time and General Meng Yi a general in Qin dynasty era.
And it worked out well, the mix of past and present and the transition of the two was great.This is one of Chan's better movies because it is driven by a solid, great story that doesn't only rely on action and comedy.If you are a fan of Jackie Chan or Asian cinema, you should sit down to watch "The Myth" if you haven't already seen it.
The fight scenes are something you came to expect from a Jackie Chan movie.
Luckily, the story is bare enough for anyone with minimal logical skills to understand, so the movie's attempts at complexity fail as well.Story besides, the acting is hammy and misbegotten, and for the action/martial arts scenes you would do better to look to Jackie's earlier movies (for example Drunken Master II).
I don't know what is good in this movie?I can see only two things.First,Jackie Chen fighting scenes.That man can really do everything he wants with his opponents.But we all know that Jackie can fight without cascaders.Second,a I will only say the scene with glue.That is my favorite scene in this film.Bad sides are everything else.Special effects are bad and I think they ran out of money.The script is OK but sometimes you feel like this is too much.I couldn't bare to see the end of this movie.It is boring and long.Very,very long.I felt like there is no ending and we've all see that type of story.I think that the script was a little bit too much for the director.Those scenes where they actually fly are so poorly made that I didn't know what to do.To laugh or cry.I like Jackie Chen's work but this one is just bad..
It has been said that Jackie Chan hasn't been satisfied w/ the result of his American Movies i.e Rush Hour/RH2, so he has decided to mainly make Hong-Kong films.
Once you understand the story is completely nonsense and that Jackie Chan is 51 years old you can have fun with this film.
But don't let the fact that Mallika Sherawat plays (and dances and fights) in this production be the only reason you go to see it :)Bottom line: Jackie Chan should stick to more simple scripts and add his immense sense of fun to films rather than try big productions that fall short.Watch it only if you are a Jackie fan or you really don't have anything else to do..
Chan is an archaeologist who gets involved in a search for something or other while dreaming of a previous life as a general, and he has a stupid friend who gets him into all sorts of trouble.While the ancient scenes go for big epic-style sequences, the best action is in the modern bits, most notably in a terrifically fun little fight in some temple and in a very clever fight in a glue trap factory.
You could tell that they used a big budget for the film because the epic scenes during 221BC when Chan is playing General Meng Yi, had a lot of extras on horses with complex action scenes but it still wasn't enough to save the movie.
In all, it's another disappointing movie from Jackie Chan, mainly because of the confusing storyline and "over the top" action scenes but the cinematography was OK.
Budget: HK$15million Worldwide Gross: N/AI recommend this movie to people who are into their action/adventure/martial arts/comedies starring Jackie Chan, Bing Shao, Mallika Sherawat and Hee-seon Kim. 2/10.
It's an adventure film set in two different eras, ancient and modern-day China, and sees the kung fu star playing the dual role of army general and archaeologist in their respective times.So far so good, except the storyline in THE MYTH is so muddled as to be, frankly, ludicrous.
It is reported that it was the first time Jackie Chan appeared in screen with ancient dresses (followed by Qin dynasty's customs), he is acting as a Qin's General Men-yi, as well as an contemporary archaeologist as sort of rebirth of that General, called Jack.I can hardly give the objective and impersonal comments since I am sort of fascinating with reincarnation topics, rebirth or Samsara things, and this film's plot was obviously inspired from them.This film ended up with all sorts of commercial shells reminded you following names, Indiana Jones, Tomb Rider , Jackie's typical comedic Kung Fu scenes, common love story and exoticism by appearance of that Indian Ms. busty yoga (Mallika Sherawat).Screenplay is not that good so the flaws and non-explained details are found everywhere, like how an ancient Chinese imperial concubine's painting is found in an Indian mummy tomb is left mystery.
Such heroical plot is not often seen in Jackie Chan's countless comedic martial art films, good change.
And the Korean actress'(Hee-seon Kim) fairy-like appearance was impressive as well as her face looking.It is pity that in the end of film, Jack (Jackie)wrote an archaeological book called "The Myth", but in the preface of the book, it was only marked as dedicated to his male friend and colleague, but forgot that loyal and faithful Korean fairy princess, without regarding that she had been waiting for his return over 2000 years.For those western audiences, they perhaps need to comprehend some basic concepts in this movie are real historical facts, like Immortal drugs and emperor's catacomb, even the story is still fictional.Feature: In cinema, it was not often happened that the audiences didn't leave the cinema even the caption was already on, because Jacky always like to show a big No-Good screen shoot features and disclose the stunning a bit.
The reason for this is that it was after all entertaining and the scene to scene transitions were the best that I've seen.Only shortcomings I had with this film were that Mallika Sherawat's character did not have much dimension or interaction with Jackie Chan's character except for the good chase scene.Also, it does take a little discipline to read subtitles throughout the movie but this is only natural from an Asian film and I prefer this instead of listening to cheesy American dubbing.There are definite influences from Indiana Jones and maybe Gladiator but the Myth is still original in its own right.
The Myth is obviously some special film and certain viewer think that it should be the typical Jackie Chan movies.
I don't know about other people out there but it is about time that Jackie Chan had a difference type of role in film not one where he fights erratically and save the day.
If you like Jackie Chan, major action and battle scenes, and ancient Chinese culture, all mixed in with just the right touch of comedy and romance, then this film is surely for you.The film's title is "Myth" and its plot involves an ancient general of the Qin Dynasty, who was tasked with escorting a princess from Korea as a concubine to the Chinese Emperor.
The action part was not even that good other than the time when Jackie fights.
It swings back and forth between present day Jackie Chan and his visions of his past life as the general, and it's pretty jarring, since we never really spend enough time in either story to get to like any of the characters.
Consider this: we have a movie in which Jackie Chan's character is a current-day bona-fide reincarnation of Qin Dynasty general Meng Yi. The imperial concubine that Meng Yi falls in love with (or rather, vice versa) can never be his.