By | Published August 6, 2010

We all know Jackie Chan is currently in the cinemas with THE KARATE KID, so what better way than to pull an ‘Asylum’ and release a film on DVD that’s got a similar name in the hope of attracting or fooling buyers into thinking it’s either related or the real thing?  Well, the region 2 release of JACKIE CHAN AND THE KUNG FU KID has done just that.  Taking the working title of THE KARATE KID remake and adding Jackie’s name to the start is getting dangerously close to TRANSMORPHERS and UNIVERSAL SOLDIERS territory.

So is the film related?  Well, no.  It’s actually the 2009 drama LOOKING FOR JACKIE (JACKIE CHAN KUNG FU MASTER in the US) about a boy looking for the star whilst also learning some valuable lessons along the way etc etc.  Upon hearing it wasn’t a martial arts film (and Jackie was hardly in it), my interest level plummeted and so I haven’t yet got round to finishing it – but far from one to judge a book by its ‘someone-said-its-not-got-much-fighting-in-it’, I’ll get a review up as soon as I’ve seen it.

It comes out on DVD on Monday from Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment, so I thought I’d flag it up for anyone that’s interested.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/musicvibes Kevin Celebi

    Oh man. This movie was the among the most horrendous 90 some minutes of my year. Production companies will do anything to make people buy worthless crap like “Looking for Jackie.” Kung fu kid? Seriously? The kid doesn't lift a single finger during the entire film!

  • Rhythm-X

    Technically I think this should be known as “pulling a Xenon”, after the shady ass company that pioneered the practice. (Xenon fancies itself legitimate these days, but it's a company built on the backs of Hong Kong filmmakers who never saw a penny from Xenon's ubiquitous tapes and DVDs.)

  • D.Z.

    So what's the other Kung Fu Master coming from LG w/ Yuen Biao?

  • Rhythm-X

    According to these very forums it's apparently the TV Series “Legend of Shaolin Kung-fu II: Thirteen Cudgel Monks” edited down to 90ish minutes. I'd probably check out the series if Lionsgate cared to make it available – but I'm not going to buy what amounts to a tiny fraction of the TV show.

    Also that DVD cover sucks hard, but it's Lionsgate, so I guess it's to be expected by now.

  • D.Z.

    Thanks.

  • James Eduard

    Actually how long does it takes to have a huge muscles like that? I also have a skinny body which i actually don't like specially when i take my clothes off. Anyway what does Yuen Biao something to do with these kung fu masters? Does it have something to do with kung fu style..

  • D.Z.
  • James Eduard

    Jackie is a veteran kung fu action star in Asia and had invaded Hollywood and now the hottest star of the Hollywood. He had created several action movies including of some biggest action star Chris Tucker and Owen Wilson. And now hes up to new movie “The Karate Kid” a remake of 90's Karate kid.

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  • lblisters

    I hear you, but I've actually enjoyed the Tai-Seng movie-length edits of TV series more than the full series themselves… basically nonstop action with just enough plot between to get from scene to scene… whereas the full series are relatively sparse with the action, and by the time I slog my way through the full thing I have a hard time keeping track of the whole plot anyway. I don't really have the time to dedicate to a full series, so those digest versions are a pretty good compromise in my opinion.

    Not saying LG won't mess it up, or that it wouldn't be nice if they made the whole package available bare-bones for those interested, but there is also a place for the digest version.