Film: Robin-B-Hood
Release date: 24th May 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 134 mins
Director: Benny Chan
Starring: Jackie Chan, Michael Hui, Louis Koo, Matthew Medvedev
Genre: Action/Comedy
Studio: Cine Asia
Format: DVD & Blu-ray
Country: Hong Kong
The glory days of Police Story and Armour Of God are now long, with an aging Jackie Chan reigning in the insane stunts and breakneck action in recent years for more endearing comic bumbling. With the addition of a baby, the softening process is complete.
Jackie plays Thongs, who is one third of a trio of cat burglars, together with Octopus (Louis Koo) and their leader, Landlord (Michael Hui). These three erstwhile amigos regularly work together to ‘liberate’ valuable items from more wealthy citizens. The items in question range from priceless jewellery to gourmet shark fin.
As the head of the crew, Landlord has taught Thongs and Octopus that there is still honour among thieves. They may rob, but don’t cross the line - they don't rape, murder, or kidnap. However, when his retirement fund goes missing, Landlord willingly takes on a job that involves the kidnapping of a baby boy (Matthew Medvedev). Knowing that Octopus and Thongs would never agree to it, he keeps them in the dark, and by the time they realise what‘s happened, the baby is in their bag and they're already mid-getaway.
As the hand-off goes wrong, Landlord crashes the getaway van and ends up in jail, while Thongs and Octopus manage to escape with the baby in tow. When Landlord checks in from his cell, they learn that the child is the offspring of a ridiculously rich tycoon and rather than an expected $7 million payday, they could stand to pick up much more…
Landlord needs to get out of jail first though, which could take a while, so Thongs and Octopus are left holding the baby. Not surprisingly, this is a struggle. Thongs is deep in debt, with a gambling addiction - and a man who allows his family to be harassed by loan sharks. Meanwhile, Octopus passes his time trying to seduce rich young women in the hopes of getting his hands on some family jewels and trying to convince his pregnant wife to have an abortion. Not obvious choices for babysitters. Once they take on responsibility for the baby though, the emasculating scenarios and poopy gags come thick and fast – and the two are forced to rethink their selfish approaches. When the baby can't stop crying they enlist the aid of a young nurse (Gao Yuanyuan), who teaches them good parenthood. In the space of a five-minute montage, Thongs and Octopus go from unwilling nannies to fully-fledged parents.
While the film received some extra press in the West due to Jackie Chan playing a ‘baddie’, it’s really not the case. Jackie Chan’s amazingly amiable screen presence, coupled with the run of the mill nature of the storyline, ensures that we never see him as anything other than a good guy or, at worst, a good guy in waiting.
The film follows a very common blueprint, a bunch of selfish masculine types go gooey eyed after spending some time holding a baby. The script is unoriginal, and hits us with cliché after cliché to wring the expected tears and laughs from an obviously family-filled target audience. Yes, it’s predictable, and, yes, it’s obvious - but it’s fun. We laugh, we cry, we learn lessons, and we grow with the characters. Chan first appears robbing a hospital, but the film hinges on his sacrifice to save a helpless child. Octopus relents in his desire for his wife to abort their unborn child. Lesson learned? Check. Conscience developed? Check.
We shouldn’t expect the action scenes to be vintage Jackie Chan, but they are still tightly choreographed, enjoyable and well executed. Robin-B-Hood may be unoriginal stuff, but it hits its marks well - and does what it should with commercially rewarding efficiency. Benny Chan directs the film and ticks all the boxes smartly, mixing the jokes, the "goo goo" baby scenes, and Jackie Chan's trademark creative action into a decently entertaining package.
Finally some mention must go to the film’s real star, Matthew Medvedev, who has so much charisma. Considering the scrapes he gets into – including, but not limited to, being put into washing machines and being dangled from the window of an apartment building - it's helpful that the young boy the filmmakers cast is just so engaging. When the baby cries after being separated from kidnappers/foster parents, it's hard not to feel a bit of a wrench. It's crass manipulation on the filmmakers' part, but, thanks to little Matthew, it works.
It’s obvious, it’s manipulative, it affords Jackie Chan a well-earned rest after years of acrobatic adventures, but it’s fun for all the family. PD
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