Railroad Tigers

Railroad Tigers is a 2016 Chinese action comedy film directed by Ding Sheng and starring Jackie Chan.[3] It was released in China on December 23, 2016.[1] It is about a railroad worker who leads a team of freedom fighters to oppose the Japanese during the occupation in World War II.

Railroad Tigers
Poster
Chinese铁道飞虎
Directed byDing Sheng
Produced byZhou Mao Fei
Zhao Lei
StarringJackie Chan
Huang Zi Tao
Jaycee Chan
Wang Kai
Wang Ta Lu
Production
companies
Shanghai Film Group
Yaolai Entertainment Media
Shanghai New Culture Media Group
Beijing Motianlun Media[1]
Distributed byYuyue Film Company[2]
Release date
  • December 23, 2016 (2016-12-23)
Running time
124 minutes
CountryChina
LanguageMandarin
Japanese
BudgetUS$50 Million[3]
Box officeUS$103 Million

Plot

In December 1941, Japan expands the occupation of its neighbouring countries to Southeast Asia. The railway from Tianjin to Nanjing in East China became a key military transportation route, heavily guarded by Japanese soldiers. Railroad worker Ma Yuan (Jackie Chan) leads a team of freedom fighters. Using his deep knowledge of the train network, he and his men sabotage it, ambushing Japanese soldiers and stealing supplies to feed the starving Chinese. Although the freedom fighters have no weapons of their own, they employ whatever tools are at hand, including a hammer and shovels, loose railway track planks and diverted trains. The local Chinese call the unlikely heroes the “Railroad Tigers”. The freedom fighters find themselves on the wrong side of the tracks when the Japanese send reinforcements to Shandong. In an act of defiance, Ma Yuan launches his most dangerous mission yet, blowing up a heavily guarded railroad bridge. When the Japanese learn of the crippling plan, which will derail the war effort, the stakes are raised even higher. After many missed opportunities and missed shots, the bridge is blown up by the ragtag Chinese railroad tigers.

Cast

Production

The budget of the film is US$50 million.[3] The film had railway sequences shot in Diaobingshan using steam trains.

Release

On September 1, 2016. Well Go Entertainment announced the acquisition of Railroad Tigers for distribution in English-language territories including North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The film opened in December to coincide with its release in China.[5]

Reception

The film grossed CN¥215 million (US$30.1 million) on its opening weekend in China.[6] It has grossed CN¥697.2 million in China.[1] As of June 2020, the film holds a 38% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 34 reviews with an average rating of 5.49/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Railroad Tigers throws a few sparks hearkening back to Jackie Chan's glory days as an action comedy star, but they're smothered by an unfocused story and jarring shifts in tone."[7]

References
  1. "铁道飞虎（2016）". Cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. Papish, Jonathan (December 22, 2016). "On Screen China: 'Tigers' and 'Tomorrow' Look to Scale 'The Great Wall'". China Film Insider. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  3. Coonan, Clifford (May 13, 2015). "Cannes: Jackie Chan's Action Comedy 'Railroad Tigers' Goes to Golden Network Asia". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 28, 2016.
  4. "铁道飞虎 (2016)". movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  5. McNary, Dave (2016-09-01). "Jackie Chan's World War II Comedy 'Railroad Tigers' Bought by Well Go". Variety.com. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  6. Papish, Jonathan (December 25, 2016). "China Box Office: 'The Great Wall' Adds $26.5 Million in Second Weekend". China Film Insider. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  7. "Railroad Tigers". Rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.