Review: Jackie Chan meets Bollywood in comedic action adventure ‘Kung Fu Yoga’
East meets, uh, East in “Kung Fu Yoga,” an affably corny action adventure spanning China, India and Dubai that marks the latest collaboration between Jackie Chan and his favorite director, Stanley Tong.
Chan, who plays an archaeology professor and martial arts aficionado named Jack Chan, makes like Indiana Jones when he’s enlisted by a visiting yoga-practicing Indian colleague (Disha Patani) to unearth long-lost treasure.
In short order he and his assembled team are ambushed by a group of mercenaries whose leader (Sonu Sood) has his own plans for the sacred jewels.
The absence of an imaginative name for Chan’s character isn’t the only thing that comes up short in the originality department, but for once script isn’t everything.
Even while kowtowing to the dictates of those international production agreements, Tong, who first directed Chan in 1992’s “Police Story 3: Super Cop,” puts his ever amenable 62-year-old star through his lively paces, from holding his breath in icy Icelandic waters to speeding his way through the crowded streets of Dubai in an SUV while attempting to calm a lion in the backseat.
By the time it all culminates in a Chan-led classic Bollywood production number, the cuteness factor may have been pushed to its limit, but good luck trying to stop that goofy smile from spreading across your face.
-------------
‘Kung Fu Yoga’
In Mandarin and English with English subtitles
Not rated
Running time: 1 hour, 37 minutes
Playing: AMC Atlantic Times Square, Monterrey Park; AMC Puente Hills 20, City of Industry
See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour »
Movie Trailers
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
