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James Marsh

3/5 stars
It has been just over a year since Jackie Chan unleashed upon us the execrable ordeal that was Panda Plan, an abysmal family-focused caper centring on his efforts to save a shoddily rendered CGI panda from a gang of incompetent terrorists.
Since then, the 71-year-old action star has stumbled into a surprisingly rich vein of form, with Karate Kid: Legends, The Shadow’s Edge and Unexpected Family all outshining much of his recent output.
Continuing this unexpected trend, Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe defies all expectations as a marked improvement on its predecessor in almost every conceivable way.


It jettisons much of the baggage that bogged down the first film in favour of a fanciful jungle adventure that plays to the actor’s enduring strengths as a physical comedian.
Once again, Chan plays himself, but “Jackie” spends almost the entire runtime of this second outing surrounded by primitive tribespeople who have no idea who he is.
En route to a secluded sanctuary, where his adopted panda cub Hu Hu is to see out the rest of her days, Jackie’s car is hit by a “meteorological anomaly” that causes his driver and assistant to vanish into thin air.
Jackie and Hu Hu are then captured by a tribe of hunters and taken back to their village, where Hu Hu is mistaken for a mythical ursine deity.

According to their chief (Ma Li), the panda must select a “messenger” to help it reach the top of an insurmountable peak, where only the bear can placate the gods and prevent an imminent apocalypse.
The chieftain’s plucky daughter, Shanyi (Wang Yinglu), and dim-witted son, Tulu (Yu Yang), compete for the title, but inevitably Jackie is chosen.
After much squabbling, duelling, dancing and village-based shenanigans, they head for the mountain, with a defiant Tulu in pursuit, determined to prove his worth to his cold-hearted mother once and for all.
Many of Chan’s recent roles have seen him play flawed father figures who are given a chance at redemption.

This time out, Jackie preaches the importance of compassion and encouragement as powerful parenting tools to an entire village that previously believed that a lack of intimacy nurtured strength and independence. More surprising is how effectively these simple life lessons land with the audience.
Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe ditches the previous film’s obsession with the panda symbolising China’s sovereignty, Chan’s persistent interactions with fans and the endless fart jokes, while having the good sense to keep Hu Hu mostly off screen.
By doing so, incoming director Derek Hui Wang-yu (This Is Not What I Expected) strikes a far more wholesome and genuinely entertaining groove that elevates Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe to the previously inconceivable heights of perfectly passable family fun.
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Jackie Chan in a still from Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe (category IIA, Mandarin), directed by Derek Hui. Ma Li co-stars. 

Ma Li plays a village chief in Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe.

Jackie Chan in a still from Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe.

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(From left) Jiro Lee, Chung Suet-ying and Harriet Yeung in a still from The Snowball on a Sunny Day (category: IIB, Cantonese), directed by Philip Yung.


Elaine Jin as Mui the grandmother in a still from The Snowball on a Sunny Day.

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(From left) Li Ping, Jackie Chan and Peng Yuchang in a still from Unexpected Family.

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Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe manages to overcome its previous instalment’s failings to become a fun, wholesome family adventure


Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe manages to overcome its previous instalment’s failings to become a fun, wholesome family adventure.


Chinese language cinema

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An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe manages to overcome its previous instalment’s failings to become a fun, wholesome family adventure

Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe manages to overcome its previous instalment’s failings to become a fun, wholesome family adventure