What do you expect from a Jackie Chan film?
Sophisticated martial arts action, slapstick comedy and, above all, spectacular stunt scenes.
His latest work, Skiptrace, has no shortage of white knuckle sequences that are hallmarks of Chan's work.
The intrepid Hong Kong actor has survived joint dislocations, brain hemorrhages and near-blindness throughout his illustrious career.
While Chan, 62, has been seriously injured countless times, no incident has been as life-threatening as a scene in Skiptrace that nearly took his life.
In the stunt sequence, Chan fell from a raft into a bubbling river with treacherous rapids, calling it the “scariest scene” he had ever filmed.
“I should fall into the river and pretend I can’t swim,” he told M in an email interview.
PARTNERSHIP
“I almost drowned because the river was very rough and I'm not a good swimmer. I really called for help.”
The Chinese-American action comedy opens here on July 22 with previews on July 21 and sees Chan teaming up with Hollywood actor and comedian Johnny Knoxville.
Chan's detective Bennie forms an unlikely partnership with Knoxville's petty criminal Connor to help Bennie's goddaughter Samantha (Fan Bingbing), who finds herself in a predicament with a notorious Chinese criminal.
The buddy road trip film takes audiences to scenic Hong Kong, Macau and Russia. It also features the scenic rivers and mountains of Guilin and the desert and grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
Directed by Hollywood filmmaker Renny Harlin and produced by Chan, Skiptrace is his love letter to China and has been in the making for over 20 years.
Chan said: “The story has been with me for a long time.
“I really like Midnight Run (Robert De Niro's 1988 action comedy) and was thinking about doing something like that with Jet Li or Queen Latifah.”
“I also spoke to Owen Wilson and Chris Tucker, but it took a while to get Skiptrace together.”
US actors Tucker and Wilson were Chan's co-stars in his Hollywood hits Rush Hour (1998) and its 2001 and 2007 sequels, as well as Shanghai Noon (2000) and Shanghai Knights (2003).
“Injuries while filming are common, I’m used to it,” he said.
“One of the most memorable injuries I suffered was during the filming of Chinese Zodiac (2012). I had a terrible fall and injured my back. At this point I was very afraid that I would be paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of the rest of my life.
“But of course I was lucky.”
Chan, who has at least six films in production, including “The Karate Kid 2” and “Rush Hour 4,” never thought about stopping work.
“There are no words like 'slowing down' or 'retiring' in my dictionary.
“I love films and hope I can continue making good films.”
Comments are closed.