‘Chinese Zodiac’, also known as ‘CZ12’, has JC
searching the world for 12 artefacts (12 bronze heads of the animals from the
Chinese zodiac).
There are umpteen number of commercial
potboilers that release in India, including films such as ‘Dabangg 2’, ‘Son Of
Sardaar’, ‘Singham’ etc. Such films have low-brow humour, inane plots,
whimsical characters and, most importantly, a larger-than-life superstar who
brings in the numbers at the box-office. The downside to such films is that they
can only work within a particular region, in this case, India, and for a
certain kind of audience, in this case Indians. They fail to cross the cultural
barrier, and no matter, how humungous their popularity is within their country,
these films do not strike a chord with foreign audiences. ‘CZ12’ is one-such
film. It’s a ‘Dabangg 2’, albeit from China. Unwatchable!
JC (Jackie Chan) is hired by shady antiques
dealers to track down six missing bronze animal-heads, part of a treasure
looted in the 1800s from the Old Summer Palace, outside Beijing, by the British
in the Second opium war, by all means possible. The six bronzes were initially
part of a set of twelve, representing the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.
JC, and his team, head to France, where two of
the bronze-heads are believed to be tucked away. The operation to acquire the
bronzes from Chateau leads JC into an uneasy alliance with Coco (Xingtong Yao),
a Chinese student in Paris, an active participant in a global movement, which
campaigns for stolen cultural treasures to be returned to their homeland.
Along the way, JC makes an enemy-for-life of
Pierre, the chief of staff at the Chateau Marceau, and an unexpected friend of
Katherine, a bankrupted aristocrat whose home contains another of the missing
bronzes. The trail next leads JC and his team, now including Coco and
Katherine, to a forgotten tropical island in the South Seas, where two missing
animal heads are found in a beached wreck.
Back home, JC learns that his employers have
bluffed him all along and already have the sixth missing bronze-head in their
possession. A stunned JC sets to teach them a lesson for tricking him.
If you’re still reading this, the plot is a
lost cause. The only reason why you should watch the film is that it may be
Jackie Chan’s last actioner. The actor, way past-his-prime, had expressed a
desire to do more meaningful films henceforth. Well, one hopes he sticks to
that promise. As for the film, it has its ‘caricaturized’ moments which will
make you guffaw at one or two points, but the longish two-hour duration will
definitely tire you. Besides Jackie Chan, none of the actors really leave any
sort of impact. The story, or the lack of it, also fails to impress. Another
major flaw in the film is that large portions are entirely in Mandarin or
French. A good part of the film is in English, but there are easily 4-5 long
dialogues played out in foreign languages. Such occurrences (this should be
noted by distributors who bring foreign films to Indian shores) tend to waive
the viewer’s attention away from the on-screen happenings. It should be ensured
that if the scenes cannot be dubbed, there should be subtitles at least. Or,
don’t bring the film to India at all. This film, ‘CZ12’ or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ can
be given another alias, ‘Gibberish’!
A major disappointment! Jackie Chan fans from
India will not understand most of the film, let alone enjoying it!
Shivom Oza
Another Jackie Chan starrer with lots of stunts and special effects and no storyline and no acting. Watchable only for Jackie Chan Fans!
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