Jackie Chan (“Rush Hour”, “Project A”) had apparently wanted to make “Little Big Soldier” for two decades before the film was finally made and it’s a little disappointing so maybe now we can understand why it took so long. There is confusion over the movie’s tone with some parts being comedic but much of it is far darker than most of Chan’s work.

In ancient China, there are many kingdoms at war one another. After a large battle between the forces of Liang and Wey, an old soldier, credited only as ‘Big Soldier’ (Chan), kidnaps a young military leader, credited as ‘Little General’ (Leehom Wang “Blackhat”), and takes him on a long journey to collect the reward. Along the way, an unlikely friendship forms and the two are confronted by various foes.

Jackie Chan is world-famous for his stunts and great fight choreography but this film contains some rather generic action scenes by his high standards. Chan plays a likeable character and generates a few mild chuckles here and there. Little General isn’t really very interesting. The chemistry between Jackie Chan and Leehom Wang really isn’t that great. The villains also are not particularly interesting but I have to say that I wasn’t remotely surprised by that fact.

“Little Big Soldier” is an intriguing watch as it’s nice to see Chan experimenting and trying something new but unfortunately, it seems to come at the expense of his stunt skills. The tone is unclear, the pacing isn’t great and I was a little confused as to what to make of it all. If you are a big fan of Jackie Chan, like me, then “Little Big Soldier” offers a chance to see Chan in a different kind of movie. I think those that are not fans of the martial artist’s films are going to find this a relatively dull experience.