Hidden Strike (formerly SNAFU/Project X-Traction/Ex-Baghdad) (2023) Jackie Chan, John Cena, Rachel Holoway, Tim Man

[laagi]

On 7/31/2023 at 12:06 AM, DiP said:

Worth storing in you PC though, just for good action scenes.

[36tripsofdeath]

I had very high hopes for this movie based on the premiere trailer. Those hopes were realistically not met. In fact, the movie is pretty bad.

Still, I was proven right on my initial hunch that this movie is better than Skip Trace.

First of all, all of the good humor was in the trailer. The rest is terrible. John Cena does a mostly bad job in the film. The majority of the action is uninvolving and boring. That said, Jackie displays some nifty moves during the attack on the plant and village respectively. The vehicular sequence where they break into the plant area is actually a perfect melding of action music, and reactive acting from everyone involved, Jackie in particular stands out in this scene. The villains aren't even slightly interesting. The last 25 minutes of the movie really suck other than Susie crashing after a cool chase which was admittedly awesome. The awful estranged daughter subplot, the ultra cliched ending, etc. made the ending a complete disaster. Also, the majority of the runtime before our two heroes meet is pure trash. 

My biggest gripe, however, is the direction and choreography of the foam fight. Why would you play up the fantastical elements  instead of the comedic elements here. This is could have been a worthy follow up to Armour of God 2's wind tunnel fight if the emphasis had been squarely placed on comedy and creativity. Also, it's idiotic to have a lack of closeup shots when the scenario involves foam. 

Needless to say, my previous plan to get this on DVD has been scrapped. I give this movie a 4/10.

Now, I'll be waiting for The Diary or Project P, which ever comes out first. As for Myth 2 and the Karate Kid sequel, don't make me laugh. I wouldn't touch those with a 10 foot pole.

 

[DiP]

1 hour ago, laagi said:

Good old habit from @Eric Jacobus, and @rdenn 

[laagi]

At least we all know now that John Cena is an ass muncher.

A piece of knowledge that was sorely missing from my life.

Then again he's been eating ass since his sincere apology to the CC... I mean "Chinese People".

Staying true to his roots. Gotta respect the man!

[PandaPawPaw]

1 hour ago, laagi said:

At least we all know now that John Cena is an ass muncher.

A piece of knowledge that was sorely missing from my life.

Then again he's been eating ass since his sincere apology to the CC... I mean "Chinese People".

Staying true to his roots. Gotta respect the man!

He's been a kiss ass forever! He always comes across as fake. Can't stand the man.

=

Edited August 2, 2023 by PandaPawPaw

[laagi]

17 minutes ago, PandaPawPaw said:

He always comes across as fake.

Professional Wrestler after all...

But to be fair I loved him as Peacemaker!

[PandaPawPaw]

20 minutes ago, laagi said:

Professional Wrestler after all...

But to be fair I loved him as Peacemaker!

Was his costume meant to look so fucking daft though (yeah the same as comic but still)?

More like the Pissmaker.

Edited August 2, 2023 by PandaPawPaw

[Drunken Monk]

This film, in my opinion, is hugely enjoyable. It's not exactly Shakespeare but for a slice of action fluff, you could do much, much worse. Jackie and Cena's combined charisma really works and even though the script it a bit wonky, there are enough laughs to allow the film to keep its head above water. In fact,. I laughed out loud a few times (the bit where they're in the weapon's cache and getting shot at is fantastic. Cheesy, but fantastic). I haven't felt this much fun in a Jackie film for years.

I also enjoyed the action. A lot! Jackie's still got the moves and Cena's "strong man" thing works as a nice juxtaposition. Yes, there are modern gimmicks (mainly a shit-ton of wires) used to heighten the action but I found them oddly satisfying. It's no worse than what we see in the Fast and Furious franchise.

The film is flawed and many won't be able to see beyond those flaws. Yes, there's poor CGI. But shit, we've seen bad CGI in Marvel films. I think people are just choosing to be more picky with this film. Also, yes, some of the film is very corny. Cena's relationship with the village kids is entirely unnecessary and adds absolutely nothing to the overall plot other than "See? He has a heart!" Same with one of the character's being Jackie's daughter. It simply doesn't add anything.
But who cares? There are explosions, people being pulled through walls, kung fu fights, funny jokes, faceless henchmen, Tim Man, car chases, foam fights, gatling guns and recycled Drunken Master 2 visual gags. Good stuff.

[KUNG FU BOB]

Oof, it's mostly pretty bad.  Still vaguely amusing, and occasionally fun with decent action, but with many groan-inducing moments and it all looks horrible (like video game cut-scenes from a decade ago). The Tim Man versus JC fight was the biggest disappointment for me. The whole fighting in foam thing sucked in '74's BLACK BELT JONES, and it still does. It obscures the action and minimizes any impact. It's not visually funny (with the exception of a few brief bits in BBJ) or exciting either. There's simply no upside to it.  Cena and Chan have their moments where they click, but a lot of it falls flat thanks to a completely uninspired script. I totally agree with @One Armed Boxer's assessment in his City on Fire review that the "father/daughter" scene is the worst mix of cliches and clumsy, nonsense character-building tedium. Ahhh well... the film's been summed up pretty well by the posts before, so there's no use in me beating this (nearly) dead horse further. I liked it less than silly KUNG FU YOGA, but more than boring 1911. Fortunately, thanks to my brother from another mother @Karlos, I was able to watch RIDE ON the very next day. And while that film has its limitations, it's vastly better, with lots of heart, and extremely enjoyable. It was a trip to see two new Jackie Chan movies two days in a row!

Seeing that HIDDEN STRIKE is so popular on Netflix makes me want to scream a message out to viewers from the top of a mountain- if you liked that crap, you'll love POLICE STORY, PROJECT A, DRAGONS FOREVER, SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW, etc. Sigh.

[KUNG FU BOB]

7 hours ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Was his costume meant to look so fucking daft though (yeah the same as comic but still)?

More like the Pissmaker.

Yes, Cena's Peacemaker costume, first seen in THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021), was absolutely supposed to look silly.

[laagi]

1 hour ago, KUNG FU BOB said:

Seeing that HIDDEN STRIKE is so popular on Netflix makes me want to scream a message out to viewers from the top of a mountain- if you liked that crap, you'll love POLICE STORY, PROJECT A, DRAGONS FOREVER, SNAKE IN THE EAGLE'S SHADOW, etc. Sigh.

Don't waste your breath brother Bob. The average Netflix subscriber (no offense) will gulp down literally anything that is trending!

BTW, to add insult to injury I thought one scene was so hysterically bad it deserves a special mention. It's the scene in the control room with the "professor" at gun point. Her acting and especially use of english language is some of the worst and funniest I've seen in quite some time.

Edited August 2, 2023 by laagi

[popsjnr]

Hidden Strike is along with Ride On, and not forgetting Vanguard (the worst movie I have ever seen)absolute garbage, something Old Man Chan has become a master of...in the last 20 years only The Foreigner has actually been watchable ...

To think a fight between Old Man Chan and Tim Man, the choreographer between two of the finest martial arts fliks of the last decade (Ninja Shadow of a Tear and Boyka Undisputed) could be so terrible, is truly hilarious 

[PandaPawPaw]

I try to give Vanguard and Hard On a watch but every time I try to I just feel...........

[DrNgor]

On 8/2/2023 at 6:10 AM, laagi said:

At least we all know now that John Cena is an ass muncher

Yeah, that outtake about Reverse Motorboating was certainly unexpected. Was that originally in the script? Or just ad-libbed by Cena?

[DrNgor]

So, who was the female member of Jackie Chan's team that got to spar brlefly with Tim Man during the bus sequence?

[laagi]

@DrNgor That her? Name is Rima Zeidan. @PandaPawPaw more food for your... uhm... google search history.

Edited November 15, 2023 by laagi

[PandaPawPaw]

5 minutes ago, laagi said:

@DrNgor That her? Name is Rima Zeidan. @PandaPawPaw more food for your... uhm... google search history.

Is she in the first 30mins as I don't remember her and that's all I watched as it was shiitake!

[DrNgor]

1 minute ago, PandaPawPaw said:

Is she in the first 30mins as I don't remember her and that's all I watched as it was shiitake!

She's a member of Chan's team. She briefly fights with Tim Man inside a bus before getting kicked through a windshield.

[PandaPawPaw]

6 minutes ago, DrNgor said:

She's a member of Chan's team. She briefly fights with Tim Man inside a bus before getting kicked through a windshield.

TBH I don't remember much of the 30mins I saw just Cena trying to be funny and lots of bad CGI.

Edited November 15, 2023 by PandaPawPaw

[DrNgor]

4 hours ago, PandaPawPaw said:

TBH I don't remember much of the 30mins I saw just Cena trying to be funny and lots of bad CGI.

If John Cena was going to want to reverse-motorboat anyone, it should've been her.

Edited November 15, 2023 by DrNgor

[DrNgor]

Full review of the film posted to the site: https://abeautifulfilm.blogspot.com/2023/11/hidden-strike-20182023.html 

[laagi]

3 hours ago, PandaPawPaw said:

TBH I don't remember much of the 30mins I saw just Cena trying to be funny and lots of bad CGI.

Lost you there for a sec... What were we talking about!?