Old warhorse Jackie Chan, who still has a heap of movies in development, doesn’t look ready for the knacker’s yard quite yet. But that’s not the impression given by this valedictory-seeming and downright maudlin family action film, with its refrain of “Jumping down is easy, stepping down is hard”. Playing a one-time master Hong Kong stuntman who has been laid low by injury, Chan is seen watching reels of his classic spills – including the iconic Police Story shopping mall plunge – with all the misty-eyed reverence of Cinema Paradiso.
Ride On lays it on doubly thick: not only is Master Luo (Chan) partnered with Red Hare, a cute horse who all but talks, he is also rebuilding his relationship with estranged daughter Bao (Liu Haocun). Scraping a living by giving rides in comedy outfits to tourists outside movie studios, Luo and Red Hare are called back to stunt work when video of them tag-teaming some local debt collectors hits social media. Bao, still resentful of her dad for prioritising his career, agrees to become his agent. But the comeback is threatened when a pair of corporate goons turn up to auction off Red Hare, apparently someone else’s property.
The 68-year-old Chan slips down off Red Hare like a limber teenager. But horse aside, he largely retreads old ground here, with a handful of shambolic dustups that, apart from the enterprising use of a wicker rocking chair, are pretty standard Jackie. Only one kung fu set piece really stands out: Luo and sidekick triumphantly face off against an axe-wielding horde for the movie cameras. Red Hare batters a thug-filled tram car with titanic kicks that make human performers, Chan included, look like chicken-legged weaklings.
Bao’s lawyer boyfriend (Guo Qilin) offers a way out of the bailiff predicament, with the bumbling suitor opening up some old-school social farce, including a callback to Drunken Master’s training sequence. But this plotline and the drawn-out, drippy reconciliation with Bao are non-starters. It’s all there as dressing, along with a late appearance from current Chinese box-office don Wu Jing, for an overlong ceremonial send-off for Chan and the rough’n’tumble Hong Kong tradition. Chan has accrued so much goodwill, though, it’s hard not to be tearjerked into submission – especially with his sentimental proxy Red Hare cranking up the hankie count. When Chan finally does retire, we’ll all need our own emotional support animal.
• Ride On is released in cinemas on 7 April.
