Director: Derek Hui
Year: 2026
Country: China
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Action/Fantasy; Action/Comedy
Plot:
When lovable Panda Hu Hu and international superstar Jackie Chan stumble upon a hidden primitive tribe, Hu Hu is hailed as a “divine beast” believed to be the key to saving the tribe from disaster. As quirky warriors and magical leaders close in, Jackie must protect Hu Hu while uncovering the secrets of this mysterious land. Packed with laughs, action, and heart, this playful fairy-tale adventure is perfect for all ages this Chinese New Year.
Review:
Overall, this wasn’t too bad of a follow-up. One of the better factors with this one comes about from the rather effective storyline that manages to allow the kind of comical adventures that are in place here. With the expedition into the jungle coming across as a way to get him and the panda into the clutches of the tribe, which allows them to become mistaken for the prophecy that they follow, the majority of the film follows along with, and it comes across rather nicely in the sense of managing to accomplish its mission rather nicely. The inner workings of the tribe, with their stoic stance and generally off-kilter behavior, manage to introduce a series of solid clues about their inner workings so that everything is designed to highlight the mission that the two go on later that they were brought into this dimension for. This is accentuated with a solid stream of silly comedic sequences focusing on the unaffectionate tribes members trying to get in better standing with their mother while also going through the usual series of childish slapstick, bodily fluid jokes, and the adorable mugging by the main character designed to showcase a light-hearted, family-friendly atmosphere.
The instances where this develops into more traditional action-packed sequences, it manages to come off nicely enough for what it is. The high-flying, death-defying stunts depicted elsewhere in his catalog are nowhere to be seen, relying on other members of the tribe to accomplish this with their hunting tactics through the jungle or the attempts at keeping him from escaping the village as their prisoner instead. This is fun enough for what it is as these offer up some genuinely solid sequences where his skills are a bit more realistic rathe than anything else as it all sets the stage for the final half where the adventure film scenario becomes a bit more prominent with the two of them forced to go through the jungle and scale a fabled mountain before a catastrophic storm carries through the landscape. It’s genuinely goofy attitude involving an assassin continually stricken in the head and developing amnesia before being struck again to revert to the more dangerous mindset he had before interjects just enough to offset the rest of the more nominal action moments spread throughout here, making for some likable elements within here.
There isn’t much to dislike it but there are some drawbacks. The biggest factor to be said here is the decidedly obvious lack of urgency on display for something that’s supposedly as dangerous and deadly as it’s said to be, where the first half is built far more on cheesy jokes and childish comedy than anything else. With the reveal about how the prophecy is supposed to involve a form of overarching catastrophe that will impact the village unless he stops it with the panda by his side, this supposed ticking clock is treated rather disappointingly where it’s barely mentioned over the series of interactions he has with the villagers where he’s treated with the kind of reverence that’s not becoming of the type of danger this was utilizing seconds before. Other factors here, from a series of confusing intercut sequences featuring cartoon cutouts used for several key backstory sequences to a momentum-sapping dance number that goes nowhere, also creep in to lower this one, and, alongside the ever-present cheese on display, will be what lowers this one overall.
Overview: ***.5/5
Far better than it should be, this is a solid and cheesy family-friendly fantasy/comedy effort that makes for a fun time for those who manage to go along with the type of presentation on offer. Those with an appreciation for this approach, who are curious about it from the original, or who are fans of this era of the creative crew, will have the most to like, while most others out there will want to outright avoid this one.
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