Jackie Chan vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger in new film
- By Zhang Rui
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 24, 2019
A new fantasy film raised some eyebrows in the audience contemplating Chinese kung fu star Jackie Chan faced a choice between an epic battle and cooperation with American action star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Director Oleg Stepchenko's "The Mystery of Dragon Seal: Journey to China," formerly entitled "Journey to China: The Mystery of the Iron Mask," and also known as "Viy 2: Journey to China," is actually a sequel to "Forbidden Empire" (or "Viy"), the 2014 Russian cinema hit loosely based on the Nikolai Gogol story "Viy."
Set in the 18th century, the film follows the continuing exploits of cartographer Jonathan Green as he undertakes a scientific and supernatural journey from England to China to make some breathtaking discoveries, according to the synopsis.
The film naturally touches on some Chinese legends that are even exotic in the eyes of a Chinese audience, such as the eyelashes of the Dragon King that can grow tea leaves, tended by a white wizard played by Jackie Chan and his daughter played by Chinese actress Anna Yao. The former California governor Schwarzenegger takes the role of James Hook, which could be inspired by Captain Hook from the fairy tale "Peter Pan."
"Journey to China" also introduces other Western literary themes such as the Man in the Iron Mask and Tsar Peter the Great. Actors Jason Flemyng, Charles Dance, Rutger Hauer and Chinese triplet actors Luu Brothers also star in the film.
The new Sino-Russian production wrapped up shooting in Beijing as early as February 2017 after two years of on-location work in the United Kingdom, Russia and China. It was originally scheduled for release within the same year, but the release plan was shelved until now.
The new China release date is set for Aug. 16, the same day as it is released in Russia.
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