Vanguard, Starring Jackie Chan

China must be feeling the heat from their genocidal (so-called de-radicalization) policies in Xinjiang, because their loyal cheerleader, Jackie Chan is now fighting Islamist terrorists. In this case, it is the super-Middle Eastern-sounding terror group, the Arctic Wolves. They are really more of mercenary gang, but at least they operate from a subjugated ancient walled city inspired by Timbuktu. Fortunately, Tang Huating heads a London-based Treadstone-like security firm that can take them down in Stanley Tong’s Vanguard, which opens this Friday in actual theaters.

In the opener, family man Zhang Kaixuan and his fellow Vanguard agent Lei Zhenyu must leave their Chinese New Year banquet to save a kidnapped client. He happens to be the former business partner of the Arctic Wolves’ chief financial backer. He had a crisis of conscience, right before finalizing a significant arms deal. The wolves want that mega-weapon, so they need the funds he hid from them.

Saving the client is the easy part. They also need to secure his daughter Fareeda, who made plenty of enemies of her own exposing poachers in Africa. Conveniently, the Wolves will hire them as subcontractors. From there, the action shifts to the Middle East, where Vanguard must rescue one of their own, before traveling on to Dubai (where everyone is eager to tell Tang how great China is, even though he lives in England), for the final showdown.

So, there is a lot of globe-trotting in Vanguard, as well as several elaborate action sequences. Wisely, Tong, the HK action veteran (who directed Chan in the Supercop I & II, Kung Fu Yoga, and several others) takes it easy on the Chinese propaganda this time around. Westerners are not the bad guys. Instead, it is the vaguely Arabic Wolves who are threatening world peace. However, there is one conspicuously unnecessary, momentum-killing scene, in which Zhang and his little boy talk about how vastly superior “Captain China” is to Captain America. Yeah, whatever.

Kung Fu Yoga: Jackie Chan Goes Bollywood

It is a martial arts film deliberately crafted to support Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” neo-Silk Road-sphere of influence policy. It is also a tomb-raiding film without tomb-raiding, Instead, world famous archaeologist “Jack Chan” risks life and limb to recover lost artifacts for the greater glory of China. In addition to physical danger and extreme elements, he must also deal with deceptions and double-crosses in Stanley Tong’s Kung Fu Yoga (trailer here), which opens today in New York.

When a highly regarded and impressively limber Indian archaeologist requests Chan’s help tracking down a treasure lost during the Journey to the West era, he can hardly say no. Along with his teaching assistants and Jianguo an old crony who specializes in remote petroleum drilling, Chan globe-trots off the China-India border, to follow the clues on an ancient map. Unbeknownst to them, the well-heeled descendant of the rebel Magadha army lies in wait to ambush Chan’s team. It was his ancestor who lost the fabulous treasure, so he intends to steal it back to restore the family honor.

However, the real treasure remains buried somewhere deeper within India. To find it, both parties will have to acquire the artifact stolen by Jones, the son of Chan’s late friend and colleague. Unfortunately, Jones has put it up for auction in Dubai, the conspicuous consumption capitol of the world.

Granted, KFY is a little wacky, but it is not a full-on goofball spectacle in the mode of Chuen Chan’s 1979 Kung Fu vs. Yoga. Arguably, the sequence in which Jack[ie] Chan pursues a car chase with a not so tame lion in the back seat of his appropriated SUV harkens back to the madcap spirit of vintage Chan movies. Tong also makes Dubai look like an absolutely horrible, nauseatingly shallow place to visit and an even worse place to live.

Chan mostly acts two-thirds his age in KFY, even checking into the hospital at one point. Aarif Rahman’s Jones displays some solid chops, carrying a disproportionate share of the martial arts load, while Eric Tsang is about as shticky as you would expect as Jianguo. Disha Patani is certainly a good sport flirting with Chan as the secret Indian princes Ashmita. However, Mu Qimiya matches and maybe exceeds her yoga flexibility and screen appeal as Chan’s assistant Nuomin.

There is a good deal of corn in KFY, but there are also a handful of gleefully outlandish action scenes, including one set in a cage full of hyenas (beasts are definitely beastly in this Chan outing). It closes with a Bollywood number which is a cliché, but it is still good, clean fun. It can get silly, but never in the way that makes loyal fans gag. Recommended as a fluffy, harmless romp, Kung Fu Yoga opens today (1/27) in New York, at the AMC Empire.