Polar Rescue

A great drama that showcases a parents worst nightmare regarding their children especially as it happens while on a family vacation in the mountains during winter (a great visual motif that makes the film all the more harrowing). Donnie Yen plays the father of a young and unruly son that gets lost in the winter wilderness after the father wants to teach him a valuable lesson. Yen's character and his wife go through so much guilt and suffering as they try not to tell the police too much of how their son got lost and coming to terms that their son may have been kidnapped or something far worst. It's a great showcase for Yen as he plays an "Everyman" instead of the fighter and martial arts expert that he is.

A rare purely dramatic role for action star Donnie Yen (though Big Brother from a few years ago had him as a teacher, but that did have action as well), Come Back Home allows Yen to flex his acting chops and shine. Really just a family drama, Yen elevates the proceedings just by being Donnie with his intensity. It's also great to hear his own voice in Mandarin. Production values are decent, capturing the snowy cinematography. Overall a nice departure from the usual Donnie kicking ass and taking names all the time. It's definitely worth a viewing, though replay value is not so much as it's not one of those movies where you can keep watching over and over (like Yen's other action movies).

Donnie Yen is truly one of the greatest box office draws in the world. His contributions to martial arts and action films is immeasurable. His star status transcends continents, language, and generations. In his latest film release he departs from his suave, devastating martial arts persona to give a memorable and moving performance as the head of a family torn apart by the disappearance of his eight (8) year old son.

This international action drama is distributed by Well Go USA and is in Chinese with English subtitles.

This dramatic film is not without its share of action and adventure, as Yen and the search party must face the treacherous elements of an Avalanche prone mountainside in the midst of a storm that threatens to disrupt the "time is of the essence" search for Yen's son.

The film is, somewhat, of a risk for Yen and the filmmakers as audiences normally come into a Yen film expecting to see some martial arts. There are several scenes in this one where you expect that a martial arts melee might break out, but then we are reminded that this is a dramatic film, not a martial arts one. Yet Yen, the cast, and the Director sell it. It is a very moving and engaging film. We are reminded that Donnie Yen is not just a good martial arts movie star, but that he is a good actor, as well.

The supporting cast is very good. In fact, there are times their roles are more prominent that Yen's, as the lead.

The film is laden with many typical Chinese made themes, including Nationalism, positive messaging, respect for authority etc. These characteristics run through all Chinese made films that are intended for worldwide Distribution. While the storytelling is good, it clearly is within the parameters of what the Chinese government outlines for these films. Those themes are not a distraction, but I was aware of them, throughout.

Additionally, without providing any spoilers, there are many moments during the film where it became necessary to suspend belief . Those moments did not detract from my viewing of it. It is still a powerful and well done film.

If you are prone to tears, I suggest you have the tissues handy when viewing.

The cinematography throughout Polar Rescue is visually stunning.

Donnie Yens more or less first non fighting film is quite non sensible and unbelievable. The acting of Ten is quite okay, but his "wife" is really acting bad. The supporting cast is doing a good job. The story is, when you are parent, quite unbelievable. On a road trip Yen and his family are trying to go to Tian lake. The son gets into an argument with Yen and he leaves him alone and the family drives off with Lele. When they return Lele is lost and is nowhere to be found.

If you still think this a believable story, your beliefs will be tested even further as the movie goes along, coming up with crazier/dinner plot developments.

Hallmark romantic movies are more credible than this.

This is one of the best movie of a man's responsibility and a beautiful sacrifice. A man can makes some mistakes in his life, but is it valued in what he will do to compensate that mistake, and whether he has the courage and persistency to complete what he has started against social criticism and everything else.

This may be most appropriate for people who prefer a movie with combination of dramatic, heroic, thrilled, unbreakable, hopeful elements.

Additional and personal opinion, the story takes place in Eastern society where is has many implicit rules of manners, prejudice, relationship between roles in family or workplace such as the younger or inferior have to respect the older or the superior even they are wrong sometimes. Therefore it may have deeper impact on the Eastern audience who can feel the character situation.