CZ12
Jackie Chan
The story: The title refers to the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. Specifically, there are 12 bronze busts which were looted from the Old Summer Palace when it was sacked in 1860 and some are now being auctioned off, head by head, for astronomical prices. JC (Jackie Chan) is tasked by Max Profit Corporation to track down the six remaining pieces by any means necessary.

Hong Kong action superstar Jackie Chan is 58 this year.
Think about that when you watch him careening headlong at high speed, with nothing between him and the road but wheels and protective body armour. Or entangled in an aerial fight with three baddies while freefalling above a volcano.
Okay, so the volcano scene is probably the result of some digital manipulation.
But he is definitely airborne from the outtakes seen at the end of the film. His absolute disregard for what the human body can take is why his stunts are such a thrill to watch. You marvel at what he does and then grimace when the falls, stumbles and burns are ultimately revealed.
So long as we are watching Chan in an action scene, all is good, especially when there is a touch of that trademark comic underdog element that has served him so well in early films such as Drunken Master (1978) and Police Story (1985).
In one set-up, he fights off the bad guys with a camera on a tripod that keeps flashing and taking pictures.
And after that fight is over, we get to see some of the hilarious moments captured, with faces all bent out of shape.
His grace and agility are also apparent as he fights in narrow walkways and at close quarters as he lands blows and dodges weapons.
A showcase let’s-have-a-fight-without-leaving- the-couch sequence is also nicely executed.
More unusually, CZ12 also reveals Chan’s sweet side. He is shown placating his unseen wife over the telephone several times and trying desperately to get into her good books. Look out for a surprise cameo at the end when her identity is finally revealed.
Unfortunately, the story that strings the action sequences along is a weak one.
It seems like a basic treasure hunt premise that cannot go wrong. But there is a long detour to a wrecked ship in which bit actors who failed to get a part in the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies seem to have been exiled.
Worse, though, is the preachiness about the dubious objects – some stolen, some fake – found in auction markets and some blatant pandering to China audiences.
There is a discourse on the rights and wrongs of the European invasion of China and ends with a French character ultimately admitting her forebears were in the wrong.
The cast here is an international one including South Korean hunk Kwon Sang Woo and Chinese taekwondo champion Zhang Lanxin as part of JC’s crackerjack team and Laura Weissbecker as a French heiress who is roped into the adventure willy-nilly. But the focus is pretty much on director-producer- co-writer-star Chan.
There are even none-too-subtle references to him worked into the film.
The most valuable of the busts is the dragon head and dragon just happens to be Chan’s Chinese name.
And the name of the wrecked ship is none other than Indestructible. Who else does that describe but Jackie Chan?
(ST)