Railroad Tigers

I went to see RAILROAD TIGERS because Jackie Chan is in it... and found a nice mix of comedy and drama as an inept group of railroad thieves during the Second World War discovered they were Chinese first and out for themselves second.

I have been watching a goodly number of Chinese movies in the theaters over the last few years and have been impressed by the manner in which those movies mix and match elements from genres that, for more other national cinemas, seem impossible; a movie might start as a Noir caper, turn into a coming-of-age romance and mutate into a time-travel story. So, looking at RAILROAD TIGERS, I don't see much stretching. Service comedies began to penetrate the cinema with WHAT PRICE GLORY? in the 1920s; comedies in which thieves and con men discover a love of country so fierce that they are willing to die for it were handled well in the 1940s with MR. LUCKY; so this movie, which starts off as slapstick and ends in a desperate, deadly battle, is neither disrespectful nor unprecedented. It is simply well done, thanks to Mr. Chan and and a cast and crew that includes a fine performance by Kai Wang as the former warlord's soldier who finds his commitment to China in the face of Japanese oppression.

Jackie Chan leads a motley crew of Chinese resistance fighters, called the Tigers, against their Japanese occupiers. Their main mission will be to sabotage and blow up a railroad bridge that is a vital Japanese supply route.

Although some of the slapstick comedy works at times, I felt the movie was severely hampered by very drawn out action sequences that become quite tedious. In my opinion, this could have been a better film with a 90 minute running time, instead of being over 2 hours.

All in all, this movie, directed by Ding Sheng, just meanders way too much and loses focus. Therefore, the rather low rating on my part.

I watched this movie with very low expectation. It was not hollywood big budget movie and not so much dramatization. It was a simple story about few freedom fighters but showed in a very lighter way (Jackie Chan way). Not much stunts and action sequences by the legend Jackie Chan but his presence is still enough. If you had high expectations and think there would have been something new then don't watch it but if you just watch it as a Jackie Chan fan or chinese movie fan , you won't be disappointed. My recommendation is one time watchable with few laughters and few surprises.

I have seen this movie twice. The tempo of the plot seems to be a little jerky, but, the plot is followable and enjoyable. If the viewer is looking for a well written smooth story be prepared for disappointment. The main thing this movie has is entertainment. It is humerous with lottsa Jackie Chan action. Try it. You will like it.

An action/comedy/war/drama film with a heart and actually funny moments, dialogues and acting.. Laughed out loud many times..

Don't know who rated it this low, probably the people who think comedies should have sex to be funny...

Extremely entertaining.. Criminally underrated...

7.5+/10