Little Big Soldier

Little Big Soldier (simplified Chinese: 大兵小将; traditional Chinese: 大兵小將; pinyin: Dà Bīng Xiǎo Jiàng; Jyutping: Daai6 Bing1 Siu2 Zeong1) is a 2010 action comedy film directed by Ding Sheng and produced and written by Jackie Chan, also starring Chan and Leehom Wang. The film was produced with a budget of US$25 million[1] and filmed between January 2009 and April 2009 at locations in Yunnan, China. According to Chan, the film was stuck in development hell for over 20 years.[2]

Little Big Soldier
International poster
Directed byDing Sheng
Produced byJackie Chan
Written byJackie Chan
Starring
Distributed by
Release date
  • 14 February 2010 (2010-02-14) (China)
  • 25 February 2010 (2010-02-25) (Hong Kong)
Running time
96 minutes
Country
  • China
  • Hong Kong
LanguageMandarin
BudgetUS$25 million
Box officeUS$30 million

Little Big Soldier takes place during the Warring States period of China, and tells the story of three men and a horse.[1] An old foot soldier (Chan) and a young high-ranking general from a rival state (Wang) become the only survivors of a ruthless battle. The soldier decides to capture the general and bring him back to his own state in hopes for a reward in return.[3]

Plot

On 1 December 2009, a press conference was held for the film, along with Chan's announcement of a new teaser trailer posted on the film's official Sina website. Twitch also released a plot synopsis of the film:[4]

It was the darkest of times in China, when ruthless warlords waged battles to satiate their endless aggression. Millions of lives perished, and those who survived had only two choices – kill or be killed.

The battalions of warring states Liang and Wey collided in a bloodbath that lasted from dawn until dusk. Only two men were left standing – a foot soldier from Liang and the rival General from Wey. The Soldier survived because he is an expert in playing dead, with a device strapped on his body which protruded like an arrowhead for added realism.

The Soldier captured the wounded General, hoping to use the enemy as his ticket to freedom – by handing the General to the Liang warlord, the Soldier could be honorably discharged and return home to his peaceful life. The young General, though taken captive, was condescending towards the Soldier. The two men were often at loggerheads during the long and winding journey.

Cast
Newcomer Lin Peng was chosen as the film's lead actress.

Production

Little Big Soldier was a joint production of China's Polybona Films and Hong Kong's JCE Movies Limited, a company set up by Jackie Chan in 2003. The film is notable for having been in production for over 20 years. Chan had wanted to perform in and write a comedic film that took place in a historical background since the 1980s, when Hong Kong action cinema was rising in prominence.

Casting

Chan originally had Daniel Wu in mind to play the part of the young general, but Chan disregarded that thought after realising that he had already filmed two movies earlier with Wu. Joan Lin, Chan's wife, suggested their son Jaycee Chan, but Chan was highly against it. Lin later suggested Leehom Wang, whom Chan agreed to immediately.[5]

Video game

At a conference in Beijing on 20 November 2009, Jackie Chan announced, along with Universal Culture Limited and EURO WEBSOFT, that an MMO is being released to promote the film. Chan and Wang's characters in the game were also shown at the conference.[6] On 26 January 2010, the MMO went online under the name FLASH Little Big Soldier (Chinese: FLASH大兵小將).[7] It is free to play under an account subscription. However, the game is available only in Chinese.

See also

References
  1. Al Young (9 April 2009). "Jackie Chan + Three Guys + Horse = Big Soldier". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  2. "Jackie Chan and Leehom Wang appear for Little Big Soldier". HDZXQ (in Chinese). 16 May 2009.
  3. Mark Pllard. "First look at Jackie Chan's Little Big Soldier". Kungfu cinema. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  4. Al Young (1 December 2009). "Second teaser for Jackie Chan's LITTLE BIG SOLDIER". Twitch. Archived from the original on 16 June 2010. Retrieved 1 December 2009.
  5. "Jackie Chan refuses to work with his son in new film". Sina (in Chinese). 7 April 2009.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. http://dbxj.mmo9.com/
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