Little Big Soldier

Jackie Chan held onto this story for more than twenty years and finally wrote and produced it himself, with Ding Sheng directing. It is set in 227 BCE, during the Warring States period. On a battlefield everyone is dead except two men. The old soldier from Liang, played by Chan, is an ordinary peasant conscripted into the army whose only wish is to survive and farm. The young general played by Leehom Wang commands the enemy state. The old soldier takes him prisoner and sets out on a long journey to hand him over for the reward. The best thing about it is that it never praises heroism. Chan's character boasts about being a coward, explains the rig he has built for playing dead, and mocks every sentence about the glory of war. The action follows the same logic: running, stumbling, getting away. Who it is for: viewers who like late Jackie Chan and anti-war historical films. Who it is not for: anyone expecting dense fighting, since the film proceeds as a road story and its ending is harder than expected.