Review | Ride On movie review: Jackie Chan as ageing stuntman confirms he’s too old for this gig in this love letter to the profession
- Chan plays a kung fu stuntman struggling with mounting debts as the industry increasingly relies upon computer-generated effects over practical stunts
- The movie pays homage to Chan’s most memorable films such as Police Story and Dragon Lord – it is ironic, then, that it is a horse that steals the show
2/5 stars
It is somewhat ironic, therefore, that it is Chan’s equine co-star who steals the show, while Chan does little more than confirm our growing suspicions that he is far too old for this gig.
Once the greatest stuntman in the business, Luo is now at the end of his rope. The industry’s increasing reliance upon computer-generated effects over practical stunts, together with mounting debts, means he has been relegated to living in lodgings on the film studio lot, scraping together a meagre living charging for photographs with his beloved horse, Red Hare.
When a corporate dispute, as well as Andy On Chi-kit’s aggressive debt collector, both target Red Hare as the only way Luo can repay what he owes, he is forced to seek legal action.
Simultaneously, Luo is offered work by Shi Yanneng’s successful action choreographer, who is eager to showcase the old-school action performed by Luo and Red Hare in his new movie.
Vanguard: Jackie Chan in yet another dismal action adventure film
Bao, however, becomes increasingly concerned for her father’s safety, and that of his fiercely loyal horse, whom, she states, never chose to grow up in such a dangerous profession.
Yet, even as Luo bemoans his industry’s over-reliance on CGI, Ride On is blatantly guilty of attempting to preserve Chan’s legacy using precisely the same tricks.
Nowhere is this more evident than during the traditional end-credits outtakes, which on the one hand reveal green-screen-suited wranglers standing by to ensure the horse’s safety, but also the humbling reality of Chan’s fading athleticism.
