Little Big Soldier

Jacky Chan’s new movie was film in China and production was in Hong Kong. Furthermore this movie, starring Jacky Chan, was directed and produced by him. The new movie, Little Big Soldier, is about a soldier who mange to capture an enemy general. Both armies were annihilated and they were the sole survivors. The setting takes place around the Warring States Period which is around 2500 years ago. The movie like almost all Jacky Chan’s movie is hilarious and fun, but is lacking in the action he is usually know for. The lack of action does not bother me at all, but the setting did.
Like I mentioned before, it is the Warring States period and Jacky Chan, starring as a foot soldier, who captures an enemy general is trying to get back home. He hopes to be able to claim a reward by turning in the general. The foot soldier is from the state of Liang while the general is from the Wei. During the Warring States period, the kingdom of Liang most likely did not exist. I have never heard of this kingdom before. After researching, I discovered that the Liang state actually existed several hundred years earlier in the Spring and Autumn Period of China, which is practically the era before the Warring States period. It is historically known that the states in the period that the movie takes place in was conquered by the Qin, another of the five warring states. Countless battles took place in this era, but it is not portrayed much in the movie. Instead, the audience only learns about the battles through the conversations between the foot soldier and the general.
In Little Big Soldier the foot soldier is looked down upon by the general and everyone else they come across. Through the perspectives of both characters, I can see the difference in the lives of regular soldiers and high ranking generals. As the movie progresses, the two begin to understand each other, though unwillingly. Mostly, both characters try to force the other to understand his own position. Through their adventure I began to understand the hardships that the people of that time faced as every state was at war with all others in an attempt to conquer the other states.
I can tell that Chan is trying to create something different from his earlier films by using more words and less action, but even then this movie fits best under the action genre. The film is likeable in some ways because it tries to get the audience to sympathize with the main characters. The bad side is that it failed to do so. However, I like how he imagined how that period of Chinese history was like. I would love to see more of what Chan can do in his upcoming films.