The Myth

[garycheah]

REVIEW

WARNING : Might contain Spoilers

And yes, I've finally watched this flick at THE MYTH Premiere and these are my words to describe it - "Fun, Interesting, Enjoyable!"

Let's start with a brief introduction again, The Myth is an action adventure plus period fantasy genre. This time, Jackie Chan played 2 role, as Jack (the modern archeologist) and Meng Yi (the Qin Dynasty's General) In the film, there are a lot of timeline switches between Jack and General Meng Yi. It almost feel like two separate movies but in the end, everything comes together as one.

It started when an adventurous archeologist who dreams about himself as Meng Yi, a general from the Qin Dynasty. His good friend, William invites Jack to investigate the legend of a floating tomb, in an attempt to further anti-gravity research. As it goes, Jack found out that the mission is somehow connected to his dreams.

I liked the first half of the movie that takes place in the modern times, where Jack and William entered the tomb in Dasar, India. There are some pretty "classic" scenes that reminds us the younger Jackie Chan era (Armour of God), like the fight scenes inside the tomb and the rat glue factory scenes. On the other side, most scenes involves General Meng Yi who tries protect the princess OK Soo, which eventually they fall in love. (which i think it lack of chemistry between the two). As usual, Kim Hee Seon is always sweet on screen and overall, her performance was quite good. For Mallika Sherawat, she has about 10-15 minutes on screen and her role was a minor one but still eye-catching! (she can kick asses!)

The ancient battle scenes are somehow "bloody" - for first time, I'm able to see that much of blood (using SFX) in a Jackie Chan movie. Some scenes are kind of confusing and the special effects are a little corny. (I would prefer that they don't use any effects on those horses because they look fake). The final battle scene between General Meng Yi vs Qin's Armies are definitely worth mentioning! I'm quite amaze with this bloody "brutal" fight, it reminds me of Troy/Alexander. I was hoping for more...but....

The finale scenes on the floating palace inside the cave is somehow anti-climax to me. I was hoping there will be more intense/interesting ending rather than some dull fights. The whole idea of special effects - "Palace in the Sky" doesn't interest me, but for once, i understand that the story in this Jackie Chan film require sequences that simply couldn't be done with on-set props and wires. So, let it be.

Overall, the movie was good and fun at times although there are some flaws like the lack of characters development, corny special effects, unexplained things and unnecessary scenes. But what the heck, with the great martial arts scenes, ancient battle scenes, a decent plot and some humorous bits...its a movie that i would probably give an 8/10 and makes me dying to watch another true ancient war flick from Chan, if there will be one.

[jaredhk]

Whats the deal with the ugly Indian actress with buck teeth. Has Jackie's standards dropped?

[Brian Thibodeau]

Whats the deal with the ugly Indian actress with buck teeth. Has Jackie's standards dropped?

Well, I don't know if I'd go that far. Her teeth are hardly bucked, and as Indian actresses go, she's not too hard on the eyes. And she's got a reasonable-sized resume for only having been working for about three years. The vast majority of the Indian sequences are in English, as they should be, since the Chinese and Indian characters have to interact in a common language, and she comes off as good as one could expect in a Jackie Chan movie, which means she's on par with most of the non-Chinese actresses he puts in his films (well, except perhaps for Michelle Ferre in WHO AM I?, who was clearly not an actress at all, and has done nothing since).

Plus, Mallika gets to be a very active participant in the rat glue factory fight, one of the better comic setpieces of Jackie Chan's career.

[leepifer]

Hi,

i didn't see the myth yet but i expect a good entertainment with a big production,great and complex fight scenes from Jackie Chan;well a rythmic movie you can enjoy without think.
I read the review of evirei and after describe the story in 25 lines,who seems to be too much for a JC movie,he(or she?)just says in 6 lines it is the worst Chan ever!!!
Hey,what are you waiting for evirei?
You want Jackie explains Chinese culture?
You can't stand the fake FX in a JC movie,why?because he hasn't the right to use them!!!Is he the only one with bad FX in his films?
The plot is not interesting or logical because you didn't understand a detail and it makes you sick!
And you enjoy Jackie death because you think this guy never dies because he's an egocentric actor who wants to be the hero?!?well you didn't see all Jackie's movies or you really don't understand his spirit!
Oh sorry,i forgot he 's too old now to make a good international movie with a Chinese atmosphere and beautiful actress from Asia and India.
Next time evirei,just let your brain off before watching a JC movie or don't watch it at all,you won't be disapointed!

[Brian Thibodeau]

I just gave a slight revamp to some thoughts I posted in an earlier thread about THE MYTH and posted them as a review. Hopefully that will provide some balance. Should've thought of that earlier, especially in light of evirei's harsh words.



NOTE TO THE EDITORS: when I type "The Myth" in the search window, the Chan movie doesn't show up as a result. Only when I type in "Myth" or "Myth, The" do I get it. Other English speakers simply looking for "The Myth," as it's popularly known, might be forced to conclude that the movie is not in your database yet. Any way of fixing the search function so it comes up no matter how it's typed?

[leepifer]

Thanks Brian for your objectivity.
I didn't want to "attack" evirei review but it seems that people who don't like Jackie Chan just repeat again and again same critics!
So ok,we all know he's old and don't do no more death defying stunts;
The plot of his films are simple and not essentials to the rythm;
There're no blood nor sex because children watch his movies too;
Yes,he uses double and FX and "purist" can't stand it!!!
If you don't accept that,just don't watch his films!
For me,he's always one of the most unique and popular actor ever!
And yes he is egocentric because he built his carreer believing in his own talents.
So,with all these defaults,why is he aprecaited?
Because he fits to one word:generosity.
(but it's just my 2cents opinion).

[garycheah]

^ well said!

[bkasten]

I have added some very nice posters of "Myth, The" provided by...evirei.

Thanks evirei!

By the way, while your JC fanboyism is admirable, Leepifer, you are attacking evirei's negative review without actually having seen the movie. That's really not something we should see in the forum. Write your own review.

Secondly, in general, we do not want commercial site ads/links on this completely non-commercial site.

If you want to contribute reviews to HKMDB, then contact me directly.