Brief Story Line
When a group of workers in the oil refinery in Baghdad were under threat by terrorist attacks, Luo Feng aka Dragon Luo (Jackie Chan - Ride On, Bleeding Steel etc) and his team were sent to escort them to the safe location (Green Zone). The workers were led by Professor Cheng (Jiang Wen Li - Lan, And the Spring Comes etc) that also included her assistant Mey (Ma Chunrui - A Chinese Oddysey 2022, The Fate of Swordsman etc). Luo decided to go through dangerous path called Highway of Death as it was the shortest way. However, their mission was made complicated when a group of military contractors led by Henry (Amadeus Serafini - Scream: The TV Series etc) and his boss Owen (Pilou Asbæk - Samaritan, Overlord etc) were also attacking Luo and his team with a specific purpose.
Meanwhile Chris (John Cena - Fast X, Playing with Fire etc), a former special forces soldier was trying to live a normal life in a small village near the refinery. His peaceful life was soon interrupted as he was somehow caught up in Luo's mission.
So what would happen to Luo and Chris? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
Well this movie was what we expected. It was fun, had some nice action and best of it all, we got to see Jackie Chan and John Cena fight against each other and cooperate to fight the enemy. This marked the first time they worked together in a movie and frankly I liked their chemistry as both of them were really accustomed to playing in comedic roles that were combined with action. There were plenty of time where both of us and the rest of the audience laughed due to their behaviour.
There was nothing special in the early part of the movie as we were introduced to the characters and Luo's team getting ready for the journey to the safe zone. In fact, I actually felt the movie only came to life when Luo and Chris interact for the first time. Some of the action sequence in the death zone also looked a bit too obviously computer generated, though the fights were quite seriously crafted and exciting enough. However, subsequently the fights were done a lot better, plus the sound effects were very good as well, making them more suspenseful and intense, especially in the climax.
During the whole movie, we enjoyed the bantering between Luo and Chris who were like cat and dog. There were some funny moments involving their inability to read each other's mind. Few times they misunderstood the other's intention and almost created dangerous situation. But for us, this brief misunderstanding and the way they managed to save themselves was what made it more enjoyable. The comedy was something that fans of Jackie Chan love to see, although it might not be up to the level of those Rush Hour movies, but my wife and I were still satisfied.
This film was directed by Scott Waugh whose prior experience was directing films like Need for Speed and Act of Valor and written by Arash Amel (Erased, A Private War etc). It has a duration of 142 minutes which included a brief mid end credit scene and some funny bloopers that were common in Jackie Chan's other movies. The ending of the movie was quite interesting, probably to open some possibilities for the future. Oh btw, I read somewhere that this film completed production in 2018 but the release was delayed so long due to various reasons, which would explain Jackie Chan's younger look than his latest film.
Overall this movie would be enjoyable for fans of Jackie Chan and/or John Cena. I do not believe it would win the hearts of critics or even audience who expect something serious or well written plot. But for me and my wife and those who do not mind these kind of attributes, we were OK with it and had fun watching it.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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