Little Big Soldier

Pinnacle Films

R4 DVD

Jackie Chan fans may be a little disappointed with this film. It does not have the non-stop martial arts that his early films were famous for. Instead we see Chan taking on a more serious role. There is still plenty of action but the film is entertainment first and martial arts second. He still retains the humour that made his films stand out from the usual martial arts films.

Little Big Soldier was filmed in China and does not rely on huge battles for its action. Rather, it is the story of a single farmer swept up in a war he doesn’t want. Chan is an old foot soldier, the last of his family. His farmer father has given him a sense of honour and a lot of practical wisdom. Chan would rather go back to the farming life in his quiet little town but continuous war has stopped that. Rival warlords were fighting for power and as usual it was the peasants that suffered. Chan’s town has been lucky so far and avoided the wars, but that can’t last. The current war is between the kingdoms of Liang and Wei. Through treachery a Wei army was ambushed. Chan, a Wei soldier, and a general of the Liang army are the only survivors. Chan intends to turn over the general to his superiors in return for land and money.

Their journey to the Wei army is not without its dangers. The general’s younger brother turns out to be the traitor and he wants his brother dead so he can succeed to the throne. The Wei army will kill both of them on sight –the genera because he is the enemy and Chan because, as a survivor of the battle, must be a deserter. Gradually the two men begin to respect each other and start to defend each other. When he finds outthat the general is really the Crown Prince he extracts a promise that his village will be left in peace. This is in lieu of the land and house that he so badly wanted.

While Little Big Soldier is not exactly classic Chan and does not have continuous action, he makes up for this with good characterisation and some fine acting as the simple but honest farmer. Chan has matured from an action star to a fine actor and I enjoyed the film immensely.

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