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Chapter 374 - Chapter 373: An Excellent Commercial Production

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the guests took their seats, and the fans who had entry passes also found their spots. The film officially began.

Skipping over the opening credits, the film wasted no time and delivered a big opener right away.

As an archaeologist, Jackie Chan, along with a few companions, ventured into an ancient castle in Italy and encountered a series of traps. In the end, they managed to escape thanks to a strange shield they found inside the castle.

To study the shield further, Jackie Chan decided to take it back with him.

However, he was unaware that his movements were already being watched, especially due to that mysterious shield.

With the long delay of a fourth Indiana Jones installment, The Mystery of the Talisman emerged as another fantasy-adventure treasure-hunting film that drew attention from movie fans once more.

At the very least, the opening sequence had already captured the audience's attention and glued their eyes to the big screen, leaving them no time to think of anything else.

After the opening sequence, Jackie Chan eturned to the antique shop located in San Francisco's Chinatown. This shop was run by the old man played by Ng Man-tat.

The old man's entrance was quite entertaining; he kept repeating, "One more thing, one more thing."

Anyone hearing that phrase repeatedly would likely get irritated.

Finally, the old man said, "One more thing, this is your niece from China. Her parents sent her to San Francisco. Please take good care of her."

With that line, the character Jade, played by Shu Chang, made her formal appearance.

And to be honest, seeing Jade on the big screen immediately brought to mind words like clever, mischievous, and playing even though she was still playing a mute at that point.

Before Jackie Chan could even get a handle on Jade, a group of strange people arrived at the shop, demanding the odd shield.

Jackie, of course, refused to hand it over. The strange group then began to wreak havoc, and a fight broke out between them and Jackie.

This was a classic "furniture store war god" action sequence thrilling, humorous, and full of flair. Judging by the reactions from the back-row audience, the fight scene was a huge hit.

To be honest, Jackie Chan's earlier films in Hollywood didn't fully showcase his unique kung fu comedy style.

Even in the Rush Hour series, some compromises had to be made in the action scenes to accommodate co-star Chris Tucker.

While that gave the films a bit more of a Hollywood flavor, it also meant that some of Jackie Chan's signature style was lost.

But in The Mystery of the Talisman, Jackie was given complete freedom to perform.

As one of the best action choreographers in the world, Jackie always knows exactly what effect he wants to deliver.

That's why the fight scenes were both impressive and entertaining exactly the experience Jackie Chan wanted audiences to have.

Sitting together, Gilbert and Tom Cruise were full of praise for the scene. Tom Cruise said, "That looked amazing really fun."

Gilbert asked, "Have you ever thought about incorporating Jackie Chan's style into Mission: Impossible?"

Tom Cruise thought for a moment and shook his head. "That's not possible. I can't be as effortlessly cool as he is."

Truth be told, both men are known for their daredevil stunts in action films.

Ever since being inspired, Tom Cruise has taken his stunts to the next level.

As for Jackie Chan, after years of doing his own stunts and rarely using doubles only when something couldn't be done or didn't look good he's established a global reputation.

Jade was instantly captivated by Uncle Chan's brilliant fighting, turning from a withdrawn child into a chatterbox.

Watching Jackie Chan and Jade interact was genuinely entertaining.

In a film with two adult actresses, there might be a sense of competition. But with a duo consisting of one adult and one child, that competitive edge disappears.

So when Bingbing Li saw the scene, she said to Shu Chang, "Changchang, you acted wonderfully really impressive."

Jackie Chan also voiced his approval. "I didn't expect it myself, but when we shot that scene, our timing was perfect."

In Gilbert's words, Shu Chang might be a few years older than the role suggests, but she was the perfect choice for Jade more fitting than other actresses.

With the main characters now introduced, the old man peeled off a talisman from the shield, which bore a depiction of the Chinese zodiac dragon. It seemed to possess some magical power.

Jackie Chan asked, "Old man, why is there a dragon on the shield?"

The old man smacked Jackie Chan on the head. "Idiot, that's because the dragon represents defense. That's why it's on the shield."

"The dragon represents defense? Why does the dragon represent defense?" Jackie Chan was confused he still didn't understand why the shield had magical powers.

The old man claimed he had figured it out, and he believed it was the dragon talisman on the shield that gave it its mystical abilities.

"This must've come out of China during the late Qing Dynasty. It's at least a thousand years old man analyzed". He also believed there were other charms, all based on the Chinese zodiac.

So Jackie Chan was given an important mission by Old man to collect these charms for research, and at the same time, prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

From here, about forty minutes had passed in the movie, but the audience was still engrossed and found it extremely entertaining.

This is the fun part of treasure-hunting films—they give viewers a sense of participating in an adventure, solving puzzles alongside the protagonist, which is incredibly satisfying.

With this important mission, Jackie Chan could no longer look after Jade and had to hit the road.

But Jade obviously didn't want to be left behind by Uncle Jackie. She snuck into the car and hid in the back seat.

When Jackie Chan turned to grab his clothes and discovered Jade, he was startled. After a bout of arguing, Jackie Chan finally agreed to take Jade along.

Of course, Jade called it treasure hunting. Jackie Chan said it was for research.

Their journey wasn't smooth, as they were being watched by two groups. One was the gang that had harassed the antique store earlier, claiming to be working for Valon.

The other was District 13, an agency that specializes in investigating the world's mysterious phenomena. Lately, they had started investigating the secret of the charms and thus took an interest in Jackie Chan.

The head of District 13 was none other than Director Nick, played by Dwayne Johnson. At one point, he and Jackie Chan even had a fight due to a misunderstanding.

From Nick, Jackie Chan finally learned the secret behind the charms and became determined to find them all before they could fall into the wrong hands.

Jackie Chan, Jade, and Old man traveled to the Yucatán Peninsula after hearing that there were clues about other charms there. Who knew Valon's gang had followed them all the way?

The two sides engaged in a series of battles and even ended up destroying a few Mayan pyramids.

It seems Jackie Chan has some Lara Croft energy wherever he goes, local landmarks get wrecked.

But unlike Tomb Raider, which even fans of the games disliked, this movie The Mystery of the Talismans turned out to be quite enjoyable.

Not only were the visual effects spectacular, but Jackie Chan's signature action-comedy style made viewers break into a sweat and then burst into laughter.

Old man and Jade were also popular, especially Jade.

In traditional Eastern thinking, obedient kids are considered good and likable.

But that doesn't fly in North America or at least, it's not the mainstream. Jade, a kid with her own ideas, full of clever tricks, fit North American tastes perfectly.

It wasn't until the second half of the film that Li Bingbing's character, Little Snake, made her appearance. She tried to steal the magical artifact Jackie Chan had found.

Li Bingbing's dashing entrance got a decent reaction from fans.

Maybe not everyone loved her, but at least no one disliked her.

The final act of the film takes place in Boston. Because of the pig charm's magical powers, half of Boston almost went flying into the sky.

Jackie Chan delivered a slew of action stunts in the film—grabbing onto planes, riding mountain bikes.

Even Old Man put on a magic show, with "Demons, begone!" becoming a catchphrase among fans.

The beloved Jade also performed a fan dance that drew applause from the entire audience.

After successfully safeguarding the pig charm, Jackie Chan and District 13 reached a cooperation agreement to search for the remaining Talismans together.

The Mystery of the Talismans left a hint of suspense at the end.

When the film ended, thunderous applause filled the theater, with the audience cheering for this fantastic adventure.

As a commercial adventure film, The Mystery of the Talismans doesn't match The Lord of the Rings in depth or scale, but it's definitely a solid and well-made blockbuster.

Seeing the response at the premiere, Gilbert said to Nolan and Jackie Chan, "We can start planning the sequel now."

That said, Jackie Chan still had to film Rush Hour 3 this year, and Gilbert would need to find a new director to take over the series.

Whether The Mystery of the Talismans 2 could hit theaters quickly would depend on how strong the market support turned out to be.

...

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