Railroad Tigers
{{Infobox film
| name = Railroad Tigers
| image = Railroad Tigers poster.jpeg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| native_name = {{Infobox Chinese/Chinese|child=yes|hide=no|header=none
| t = 鐵道飛虎
| p = tiědào fēi hǔ
| l = railroad flying tigers
| s = 铁道飞虎}}
| director = Ding Sheng
| producer = Zhou Mao Fei
Zhao Lei
| writer =
| screenplay =
| story =
| based_on =
| starring = Jackie Chan
Huang Zitao
Jaycee Chan
Wang Kai
Wang Ta Lu
| narrator =
| music =
| cinematography =
| editing =
| distributor = Yuyue Film Company{{cite web |url= http://chinafilminsider.com/screen-china-tigers-tomorrow-look-scale-great-wall/|title= On Screen China: 'Tigers' and 'Tomorrow' Look to Scale 'The Great Wall'|first=Jonathan|last= Papish|date= December 22, 2016|accessdate= December 23, 2016|work= China Film Insider}}
| released = {{film date|2016|12|23
}}
| runtime = 124 minutes
| country = China
| gross = US$103 million
| production_companies = Shanghai Film Group
Yaolai Entertainment Media
Shanghai New Culture Media Group
Beijing Motianlun Media{{cite web |url= http://www.cbooo.cn/m/637972|title= 铁道飞虎（2016）|accessdate= January 28, 2017|website= Cbooo.cn|language= Chinese}}
}}
Railroad Tigers is a 2016 Chinese action comedy film directed by Ding Sheng and starring Jackie Chan.{{cite web |url= http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-2015-jackie-chan-action-795293|title= Cannes: Jackie Chan's Action Comedy 'Railroad Tigers' Goes to Golden Network Asia|first= Clifford|last= Coonan|date= May 13, 2015|accessdate= May 28, 2016|work=The Hollywood Reporter}} It was released in China on December 23, 2016. The film is about a railroad worker who leads a team of freedom fighters to oppose the Japanese during the occupation in World War II. The film performed well at the box office.{{cite web | last=Verhoeven | first=Beatrice | title=Jackie Chan's 'Railroad Tigers' Earns $127,600 at Indie Box Office | website=TheWrap | date=Jan 8, 2017 | url=https://www.thewrap.com/jackie-chan-railroad-tigers-box-office/ | access-date=Jul 26, 2021}}
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
- Jackie Chan{{cite web |url= https://movie.douban.com/subject/26389069/|title= 铁道飞虎 (2016)|accessdate= May 29, 2016|work= movie.douban.com|publisher= douban.com|language= Chinese}} as Ma Yuan
- Huang Zitao as Da Hai
- Wang Kai as Fan Chuan
- Darren Wang as Da Guo
- Sang Ping as Dakui
- Xu Fan as Auntie Qin
- Jaycee Chan as Rui Ge
- Hiroyuki Ikeuchi as Captain Yamaguchi (Japanese: 陸軍大尉山口, Rikugun-Tai-i Yamaguchi)
- Zhang Lanxin as Yuko
- Andy Lau as School Teacher (cameo)
Production
The budget of the film is {{USD|50 million}}. 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.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/jackie-chan-railroad-tigers-bought-1201850352/|title=Jackie Chan's World War II Comedy 'Railroad Tigers' Bought by Well Go|last=McNary|first=Dave|date=September 1, 2016|language=en-US|website=Variety.com|access-date=September 1, 2016}}
Reception
The film grossed {{CNY|215 million}} ({{USD|30.1 million}}) on its opening weekend in China.{{cite web |url= http://chinafilminsider.com/china-box-office-great-wall-adds-26-5-million-second-weekend/|title= China Box Office: 'The Great Wall' Adds $26.5 Million in Second Weekend|first= Jonathan|last= Papish|date= December 25, 2016|accessdate= December 26, 2016|work= China Film Insider}} It has grossed {{CNY|697.2 million}} in China. {{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."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/railroad_tigers_2017|title=Railroad Tigers|website=Rotten Tomatoes|accessdate=June 3, 2020}}
Peter DeBruge of Variety criticized Railroad Tigers as "instantly forgettable" and "a tired, often incomprehensible mess".{{cite web|last=DeBruge|first=Peter|title=Film Review: 'Railroad Tigers'|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/railroad-tigers-review-jackie-chan-1201949085/|website=Variety|publisher=Variety Media, LLC|access-date=December 10, 2020|date=December 28, 2016}} Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com gave the film one and a half out of four stars, criticizing it as unengaging with both the lack of tension and mishandled tonal combination of slapstick comedy with seriousness, stating that "[Railroad Tigers] doesn’t have the finesse to pull off a more innocent riff on [Inglourious Basterds]."{{cite web|last=Allen|first=Nick|title=Railroad Tigers movie review & film summary (2017)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/railroad-tigers-2017|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|access-date=December 10, 2020|date=January 6, 2017}} Fellow RogerEbert.com critic Simon Abrams, however, considered the film to be superior to Chan's later film The Foreigner.{{cite web|last=Abrams|first=Simon|title=The Foreigner movie review & film summary (2017)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-foreigner-2017|website=RogerEbert.com|publisher=Ebert Digital LLC|access-date=December 10, 2020|date=October 13, 2017}}
Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a positive review, considering it to be a "pretty effective" action comedy; he wrote that despite it not being one of Chan's best films, "at least it accomplishes the film's modest mission."{{cite news|last=Tsui|first=Clarence|title='Railroad Tigers' ('Tie Dao Fei Hu'): Film Review|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/railroad-tigers-tie-dao-fei-hu-film-review-959276|access-date=December 10, 2020|work=The Hollywood Reporter|publisher=MRC Media & Info|date=December 28, 2016}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|4687848}}
- {{Hkmdb title|17638|Railroad Tigers}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes|railroad_tigers_2017}}
{{Ding Sheng}}
Category:2016 action comedy films
Category:Chinese action comedy films
Category:Films directed by Ding Sheng