Rating of
2/4
"Little Big Soldier" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 10/30/12
A cowardly conscript kidnaps the general of an opposing army and attempts the long journey back to his homeland to claim a reward and leave the life soldiering behind. Little Big Soldier is one of those "two characters from each end of the social spectrum learn life lessons from one another" type films and is essentially a martial arts road movie containing Jackie Chan's usual blend of high kicking Kung Fu and slapstick comedy. It's a little more serious than most and spends a little too long in places staring at its own navel although some quality fight sequences embellished by attractive photography and production design stave off boredom for the most part. Unfortunately its meandering script is both contrived and uneven and the dialogue (at least the English translation anyway) is stilted and clumsy. Chan is always watchable but the anti-war message the film seems so desperate to convey is unfocussed and the comic relief just doesn't work. As a whole Little Big Soldier is very nice to look at but ultimately feels sloppy and lacking in the kind of narrative momentum required to maintain the interest.
