Ride On, 2023.
Written and Directed by Larry Yang.
Starring Jackie Chan, Liu Haocun, Kevin Guo, Wu Jing, and Xiao Shenyang.
SYNOPSIS:
A washed-up stuntman and his stunt horse become an overnight social media sensation when their real-life fight with debt collectors goes viral.
In case viewers might be having trouble piecing together the analogies, Ride On stars Jackie Chan as an aged stuntman who, at the expense of his love for his physically grueling and punishing career, became estranged from his daughter, with writer/director Larry Yang going as far as inserting a highlight reel of the real-life star’s most insane action moments (sliding down buildings, crashing through glass, etc.), potentially suggesting that all of this caused some drama for both the character and the person. There is also a sincere celebration for the brutal pain all stuntmen themselves go through, although it bizarrely takes 90+ minutes to introduce a subplot involving CGI taking over, which feels like a missed opportunity.
That’s because Ride On has another metaphor at play; Jackie Chan’s career-struggling Lao Luo is also attached to a horse named Red Hare, who becomes an overnight social media sensation and a sought-after stunt animal in his own right following a public nighttime brawl where the animal amusingly aids his owner in battle (Lao Luo seems to owe some money to send unforgiving circles). Shortly thereafter, Red Hare becomes the breadwinner of this duo, earning them work in an upcoming project where we also see the filmmaking process, specifically the action sequences (that don’t bear much meaning on the greater narrative, in turn losing impact and effect) so the script can repeatedly hammer home the idea that stuntmen are overworked horses that rarely receive fame or financial safety in return for putting their bodies on the line. Interspersed are also lines advocating animal rights, which becomes a major plot point considering Lao Luo begins pushing Red Hare to the limit.
Meanwhile, it also turns out that Lao Luo is set to lose ownership of Red Hare unless he can prove that the now-bankrupt company he got the horse from never actually owned him. Otherwise, a different company will repossess Red Hare, subsequently putting him up for auction. This causes Lau Luo to reconnect with his daughter Bau (Liu Haocun), who still wants nothing to do with her father after feeling ignored and abandoned after her mother died but is willing to give him a second chance based on some dialogue from a sappy flashback. Bau’s boyfriend is a rookie lawyer named Mickey (Kevin Guo). Cue the feel-good moments of a daughter beginning to understand her father’s career, as the two start getting along but still frequently drift apart due to Lao Luo’s selfishness and insistence on pushing Red Hare to his physical limits to replace him as a revered stuntman.
Unsurprisingly, Jackie Chan is the strongest aspect of Ride On. As much as having him watch footage of his own stunts and injuries at one point feels far too on-the-nose, watching a narrative grapple with his legacy from the perspective of someone that never became famous and made these physical sacrifices in place of being a more supportive father, coupled with a call to arms for stuntmen respect, makes it easy to admire what Larry Yang is striving to accomplish. Not to mention, this is the perfect role for a late-career Jackie Chan, who does get a more reflective role here, but still, one that allows him to show off his kung fu agility and excite viewers. Most importantly, there is heartwarming chemistry between him and Red Hare, who he loves, aside from being caught up in overworking him.
Everything else is cloying, registering as either underwritten or overwritten, but cringe in some way. The last 15 minutes of Ride On tug for the heartstrings while an overbearing score (that is otherwise solid and whimsical) swells and swells. From the strained father-daughter relationship to filmmaking commentary to animal rights and more, Ride On quickly starts bogging itself down, incapable of fixating on what’s actually intriguing about this story. That would also be forgivable if the film were competent in those areas, but alas, it is relentlessly mawkish and irritating.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
