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Pu Songling is best known as the Qing dynasty author of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, published all the way back in 1740. It’s comprised of over five-hundred fantasy tales that have been adapted for television and film, and The Knight of Shadows is the latest. In this adaptation, Pu Songling is a character in the narrative and isn’t just an author of these tales, he’s a demon hunter creating them. He’s played by Jackie Chan, which is an interesting role for the legendary performer since fantasy films are a rarity on his resume. I love the fact that later in his career, he has taken more risks than he ever has.
When two young girls come up missing from a small village, Pu Songling (Jackie Chan), a demon hunter, is asked to investigate. He quickly learns that there’s an evil force sucking the souls of its victims in order to gain strength. With the help of a young apprentice and few friendly demons, Songling will have to save humankind from the vicious threat hellbent on destroying the world.
I’m a hardcore Jackie Chan enthusiast. I’ve followed his career for as long as I can remember and I know his history inside and out. So when I review a film, I have to look at it with a different perspective. His career is sort of divided into three sections. The Early Years (1972-1978) were basically filled with mindless chop sockey and Bruce-sploitation in the wake of Bruce Lee’s passing. His Renaissance Era (1979-2008) is what most know and love. It’s when he developed his own style, risked his life, and injected his own brand of humor into what many have tried to emulate but could never surpass. The Twilight Years (2009-present) is his most interesting. Chan is going to be sixty-six this year and he has to make adjustments to the persona he perfected. It’s a transition era for him, so he’s been experimenting with genres and characters. He’s done drama, comedy, animation, sci-fi, and fantasy, all with mixed results. It’s great that he isn’t afraid to do this. He hit gold with Kung Fu Yoga, a perfect mix of what we come to expect from Chan, playing up his strengths, hiding his weaknesses, and it’s just a damn fun film. Then there’s something like Skiptrace that failed on every level. American audiences seem to have trouble accepting him in a film that isn’t done in the style of something like Rush Hour or Shanghai Knights. While there are rumors he may be returning to those worlds, he’s been focusing on Asian audiences once again with The Knight of Shadows.
The movie itself is all over the place, as it combines, fantasy, action, comedy, and romance with mixed results. It’s never dull, not even for one second. The script is the weakest aspect while the look and performances shine. It’s absolutely stunning as far as the color palette goes. The backgrounds have a dark, grayish look to them while the characters are clothed in colorful costumes that just pop off the screen.
The forbidden love story works, but it couldn’t hit maximum effect by mixing it with humor. That story could have been it’s own film even, if it had similar overtones to the Ronny Yu masterpiece The Bride with White Hair. Chan’s storyline (technically, its all one story but in a way they felt separate) was the most fun and satisfying. Seeing Chan as a demon hunter, using magic to fight the forces of evil was a blast. There’s not much in the martial arts arena, but there’s one amazing and hilarious action sequence involving Pu Songling being split in half. Did I mention that one of the good demons is a little green guy that farts on his victims to knock them out? Now I have and yes, as a grown man I still find farts hysterical.
The Knight of Shadows is a major departure for Jackie Chan, but director Jia Yan does craft a highly entertaining feature, as uneven as it may be at times, that is able to show the veteran actor in a different light (even if it’s a bit weird). The story might be a bit convoluted, so the visual design of the film quickly hides those shortcomings and explodes off the screen with vibrant color and a radiance that delivers a unique viewing experience.
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