This weekend you can celebrate two centennials worthy of praise. The first is the 100 year anniversary of the Chinese revolution that ended 250 years of Qing dynasty rule. The second is that this is Jackie Chan’s 100th film, a major accomplishment for the world renowned actor. The movie that celebrates both these centennials is titled 1911 and is directed by Zhang Li and Jackie Chan.
The film, which stars Jackie Chan, Joan Chen, Lee Bing Bing,, Jaycee Chan and Winston Chao, is about Sun Yat-Sen’s (Winston Chao) and Huang Xing’s (Jackie Chan) struggle to raise money and revolt against the Qing Dynasty and its new modern army. With the country in a state of disarray, revolution is the only option if the Chinese people wish to hold onto their country and bring it up to date with the other leading nations of the world. The film chronicles the struggle of Sun Yat-Sen’s attempts obtain funds for the revolution and prevent the cash strapped Qing leaders from getting outside loans. It also chronicles the war aspects of the revolution through both Huang Xing’s eyes, the general of the revolution, and the Qing leaders and its army leaders’ eyes.
So how was the film? Unfortunately, it was just ok. I say this because it was a very repetitive film and it tried to force the idea and cause of the revolution down the throats of audience members. We get it, you are revolting against tyranny. Throughout the film there are three stories going on simultaneously and practically every time we complete a round of jumping from character to character, not much has actually changed. You have to wait 60 minutes before you see the revolution actually taking shape and then waste a lot more time waiting to see how it will actually succeed.
Another thing that it does is it forces the travesties of war upon the audience. It shows certain characters losing limbs and continuing to fight but the way it is approached is so blatant that it loses all its meaning and begs the question, do I really care about these characters? When you watch this compared to something like Saving Private Ryan or even other Chinese historical dramas it makes this feel a little less authentic.
The one part of the film that was truly awful, and this is the case with any Asian movies that use these actors, was the performances by the English speaking actors and actresses. Not only was the dialogue horribly written but their delivery was laughably fake. They sound as if they are trying to have a conversation with a four year old, speaking slowly and with a creepy enthusiasm that makes you want to throw up. In all honesty these actors/actresses ruin the scenes that they are featured in and really downgrade the quality of the film. The Chinese performers were much better than their expat counterparts and did a decent job of keeping me interested in the film. I can’t say this was Chan’s best performance but it sure as hell beats out any of his recent American forays.
When it comes to the battle scenes, I thought there were some quality moments and I really enjoyed the look and feel of the battles as well. It was very Saving Private Ryan-ish in that there were lots of dark and gray colors to give it that gritty and patriotic feel to it. The scenes themselves weren’t that special and Jackie only has one or two scenes where he actually kicks some ass so don’t expect to see any of the typical Chan fighting that you are used to.
I will give the film credit for clearly explaining the entire revolutionary process from almost start to finish. 1911 is a true historical epic and, as a result, it has a lot of history to cover if it wants its audience to have an accurate understanding of what happened in China from when the revolution began to when the Qing dynasty fell (this isn’t a spoiler if you took 9th grade history). The only way it is able to cram in all of the information is by creating chapters and clearly labeling the many characters that you encounter. The transitions come in the form of a few paragraphs of text that you must read while the scenes are changing. This got a little annoying at times but at least it kept the continuity of the film intact.
I also respect the film’s message in that even after the revolution, China is still hegemonic nation, an old world trying to fit into a new world with ideas and philosophies being challenged daily. The story of 1911 is still relevant and it can be compared to all the current cultural and political revolutions occurring throughout the world today.
Overall, 1911 wasn’t nearly as good as I was hoping it to be. Most will find it hard to care about the topic when you already know the end result. The performances and battles scenes were pretty average despite some moments of bold and graphic intensity. It’s a must see film for fans of Chan but other than that it is another very patriotic Chinese film made primarily for the eyes of Chinese viewers. Luckily, it does become relevant to everyone else through its final message about the hegemonic state of China and the world’s current revolutionary political environment-
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