Fun. Sometimes that’s all I’m looking for in a film. It doesn’t always need to be high art with fully formed characters to be enjoyable. Sometimes a film can even be enjoyable in spite of itself. That’s exactly how I felt whilst watching Jackie Chan’s latest Panda Plan. I had already seen some reviews online, one even going so far to give it a 1 out of 10. Even before viewing the film I wondered who pissed in their cereal. To say that Panda Plan is up there with the likes of Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) is nonsense. Sure, this is definitely no classic, but I don’t think the filmmakers ever had any illusions that it would be.
Even the biggest Jackie Chan fan, myself included, would be silly to think that Panda Plan would be top tier Chan action. I see many online ridiculously wondering why Chan can’t be making films like Police Story (1985). Hmm, I wonder why the 70 year old Chan can’t be making films like he did when he was 30. Panda Plan doesn’t even come close to reaching the giddy heights of films such as Police Story or Dragons Forever (1988). It doesn’t even come close to emulating the best of his Hollywood output, with the likes of Rush Hour (1998) and Shanghai Noon (2000) being overall superior Chan vehicles.
Even so, at age 70 Chan still brings an effortless enthusiasm to proceedings, with him still being fairly agile in his seventh decade. Whilst this is a considerably tame actioner, almost akin to a kids movie, it is a more suitable starring vehicle for the ageing star than his recent A Legend (2024). In that movie Chan’s screen time was fairly limited, with the majority of the film clearly featuring a stunt double with Chan’s de-aged face plastered over him. At least with Panda Plan Chan is front and centre.
Bored by churning out the same old action films, superstar Jackie Chan is looking for something to entertain him, something out of the norm. With this in mind, his agent David (Wei Xiang) organizes for Jackie to visit Noah Zoo so that he can adopt a beloved panda which he names Hu Hu.
Unbeknownst to Chan and David, a notorious crime syndicate has been hired to kidnap the panda, with them being offered millions for the bear’s capture. With a small army storming the zoo, Jackie has to use his martial arts skills to face off against them, with David and Hu Hu’s caretaker Su Xiaozhu (Shi Ce) being his only allies.
The three have to use all their wits to survive and at the meantime hopefully find out the real reason someone is willing to pay millions for the kidnapping of a Panda.
As mentioned, Panda Plan could almost be considered a kids movie if it wasn’t for the odd swear word and random violence. To be fair, the majority of the violence comes in the opening section of the film, where Chan takes on an assortment of mercenaries. Take out multiple enemies with a machine gun before being riddled by a hail of bullets, there is a fair amount of blood letting. However, it quickly turns out that this is in fact a scene from Chan’s latest movie rather than anything to do with the main plot. The film even has fun afterwards, joking about Chan’s status as an action star, with him questioning how unrealistic it would be for him to take out so many people at once.
Actually, the first third of the film has many meta elements, with there being several in jokes based on Chan’s real life exploits. The actual reason he finds himself at the zoo in the first place is because he can’t be bothered going to Sylvester Stallone’s house warming. When he reaches the zoo many people lose their shit, which would probably be the norm if Chan showed up to a public event.
Of course, this is a very idealized version of Chan. Unlike Ride On (2023) where his character was very much based on himself, it was still ultimately a fictional character. Here, he is actually playing Jackie Chan, the world renowned film star. Panda Plan doesn’t allow for the same nuances of character that Ride On did, with Chan being very much the same type of hero he has played countless times. Still, the filmmakers do include a couple of notable scenes that humanize Chan, with him discussing his increasing age and how everything seems to have passed by in the blink of an eye. He also speaks of what initially attracted him to the action genre and keeps him going all these years later. These scenes may be too little for some but I personally appreciated their inclusion.
There is as much of a focus on humor as there is on action, and your enjoyment of the film really depends on how much silly slapstick you can take. For me, who grew up watching increasingly silly Hong Kong comedies, I don’t mind much of the humor. It can certainly grate on occasion but some jokes work meaning they don’t drag the film down as much as they might have done. I would have appreciated it if some of the humor was toned down but thankfully it doesn’t derail the film as much as I had anticipated.
With a lot of the focus being on the comedy, there isn’t as much action as I would have liked. What is included in pulled off well enough even if it pales in comparison to when Chan was in his prime. The fight scenes are certainly slower than what he would have pulled off in the past but Chan still manages to impress with his agility, pulling off moves men half his age would struggle with. The most notable action scene is a midway set piece that takes place in that Chan movie stalwart, a factory. The action takes full advantage of the space, with Chan facing off an assortment of opponents whilst trying to protect Hu Hu at the same time.
Luan Zhang’s previous directorial works wouldn’t make you think he would be the most suitable candidate to helm a Jackie Chan movie. He does a decent job but at parts you may find yourself hankering for an old school Hong Kong director who would have given the film a different energy. Well other than Stanley Tong, who seems to be slumming it these days. At least Zhang has competent people working behind the camera on the action.
Fight choreographer Lü Shijia has worked on numerous Chan movies throughout the years such as Police Story 2013 and The Foreigner (2017). Whilst his work here lacks the ingenuity shown in those films, the choreography still puts Chan through his paces. An early fight between him and long-time JC Stunt Team member Temur Mamisashvili is memorable, having some of that old school Chan magic. Personally, it could have been cut a little tighter, with it seeming to run longer than it should. Still, at this point in his career I will take what I can get.
Speaking of Temur Mamisashvili, it was nice to see him getting a more substantial role. He may not be what you would class as a thespian but he always manages to impress with his martial arts skills. My only disappointment from his role was that it seems to be diminished in the latter half of the film, with him taking a back seat to the film’s real villain played by Han Yanbo.
Mamisashvili should be recognizable to most Jackie Chan fans, with him showing up in several of his films going back to Dragon Blade (2015). However, it isn’t just Chan movies he works on. He has also worked on countless big budget Chinese productions, with him memorably showing up in Wandering Earth 2 (2023) and more recently in Wolf Hiding (2023).
The rest of the supporting cast don’t make as much of an impression. Shi Ce is the typical cutesy character seen in many of these types of films. She’s not asked to do much other than be rescued by Jackie and look pretty while it’s happening.
Wei Xiang who plays Jackie’s agent David can sometimes test your patience, with the playing of his character being extremely broad, even in comparison to the other characters in the film. With most of the roles being portrayed in broad strokes, Xiang still manages to go above the rest. Still, there was one particular scene with him that made me laugh, a surprisingly adult joke that stands out amongst the more childlike humor. Xiang was much better utilized in director Luan Zhang’s earlier Give Me Five (2022).
Then there’s Hu Hu himself, who is created through the use of atrocious CGI. For most of the film you will be watching characters pretend to carry about what essentially amounts to a poorly animated cartoon bear. The filmmakers should be commended for not putting a real life animal in harm’s way, but the poor CGI does more harm than good. It does look cute, but at no point will you ever mistake this for a real animal.
Panda Plan is a harmless piece of fluff. An entertaining 90 or so minutes go by relatively quickly, with just enough of classic Chan action to keep us entertained. I doubt you will find yourself revisiting it multiple times like his classics. It is more likely that this will be a one time watch, unless you’re like me and will have to own it for their Jackie Chan collection.
Panda Plan is being released in cinemas thanks to the good people at Well Go USA. It may not be for everyone, but those looking for an action film they can take their (older) kids to, they could do worse than Panda Plan.
Plot: 3/5
Acting: 2.5/5
Action: 3/5
Overall: 2.8/5
