Kung Fu Yoga

Summary

Kung Fu Yoga (Chinese: 功夫瑜伽) is a 2017 Chinese action adventure comedy film written and directed by Stanley Tong and starring Jackie Chan.[5][6][7] It is the sequel to The Myth (2005), with Jackie Chan reprising his role as an archeologist Jack.[8] The film's cast includes Chinese actors Aarif Rahman, Lay Zhang, and Miya Muqi, and Indian actors Disha Patani, Sonu Sood, and Amyra Dastur.

Kung Fu Yoga
Theatrical release poster
Chinese功夫瑜伽
Literal meaningKung Fu Yoga
Hanyu Pinyingōngfū yújiā
Directed byStanley Tong
Written byStanley Tong
Produced byJackie Chan
Jianhong Qi
Jonathan Shen
Barbie Tung
Wei Wang
StarringJackie Chan
Aarif Rahman
Lay Zhang
Disha Patani
Miya Muqi
Sonu Sood
CinematographyWing-Hung Wong
Edited byChi-Leung Kwong
Music byNathan Wang
Production
companies
Taihe Entertainment
Shinework Pictures
Distributed byKhorgos Taihe Digital Entertainment Cultural Development
Sparkle Roll Media
Release dates
  • January 26, 2024 (2024-01-26) (Brunei, Taiwan)
  • January 28, 2024 (2024-01-28) (China)
Running time
108 minutes[1]
CountriesChina
Hong Kong
India[2]
LanguagesMandarin[1]
English
Hindi
BudgetUS$65 million[3]
Box officeUS$257.8 million[4]

The film was released in China on 28 January 2017.[5][9] It features original music composed by Nathan Wang[10] and an ending dance number choreographed by Farah Khan.[11]

It is Jackie Chan's highest-grossing film in China.[12] It was also the highest-grossing comedy film in China, until it was overtaken by Never Say Die (2017).[13]

Plot edit

Jack is a renowned archaeology professor of at the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi'an, who teams up with young Indian professor Ashmita from the National Museum Institute in Rajasthan to locate India's lost Magadha treasure in Tibet. Their team Jones Lee, Xiaoguang, Kyra and Noumin; find the treasure underneath a frozen lake using modern technology, but they are interrupted by a group of mercenaries led by Randall who steals the treasure and leaves them there to die. In the chaos, Jones, who is more a treasure hunter than an archaeologist, smuggles away a diamond artifact. Jack's and Ashmita's team manages to escape from the underground icy cavern through an opening.

Two weeks later, the 212-carat diamond artifact pops up in Dubai for auction on the black market. To save his job, Jack attempts to get back the artifact with the help of a rich friend. Jack wins the auction, but Randall strikes again with his goons which results in a high speed car chase through heavy traffic in Dubai. In the ensuing chase, Ashmita snatches it from them. Jack investigates Ashmita's whereabouts and finds she is not who she claimed to be before, but the youngest descendant of Magadha royalty. Ashmita explains the diamond artifact is known as the "Eye of Shiva" in their family chronicles and is the key to immense treasure hidden somewhere. Ashmita asks Jack to help her find the real treasure and protect it from wrong hands.

They further find the diamond artifact is a part of a scepter that opens a map room built using vastu shastra and astronomical positions of that period in a closed part of a sacred temple. Randall kidnaps Jack and Ashmita, where he demands to find the treasure for him because it belonged to his family. They all together find the map room which happens to be a puzzle room where a wrong move can cost lives. They reach an underground Shiva temple made out of gold that is nearby a secluded waterfall. Reaching there, Randall's group begins to extract gems and diamonds from the temple decorations and searches for the treasure, but they find that the legendary treasure is an ancient knowledge about medicine, Buddhism, mechanical structures and many more.

In despair, Randall tries to destroy everything, but Jack, Ashmita and their team fight to stop them. Jack uses principles of yoga and kung fu to defeat Randall and convinces him of the significant importance of this finding. During this, group of Sannyasis arrive through the new opening above ground, where they see the magnificence of the deity in the underground temple and starts to sing and dance in joy. The groups which were fighting, realizes their pettiness and happily join with the joyous expression.

Cast edit

Production edit

Principal photography began in Beijing in September 2015, before moving to Xi'an and Dubai on 27 September and ended on 30 October.[15] Filming then continued in Beijing and India in December.[16] Filming also took place in Iceland.[17]

The film originally began as a Sino-Indian co-production. However, its Indian production partner Viacom 18 eventually pulled out of the production.[18] Viacom 18 stated: "We had every intent to collaborate with ‘Kung Fu Yoga.’ However things didn't work out as planned. But we are optimistic about more such partnerships in the future."[19]

The film was produced primarily by the Chinese studios Taihe Entertainment and Shinework Pictures.[15][20]

According to director Stanley Tong, Bollywood star Aamir Khan was initially offered a major role in the film, but he could not take up the offer due to scheduling conflicts, as he was busy shooting for his own film, the blockbuster Dangal (2016).[21] The ending dance number in Kung Fu Yoga was choreographed by Bollywood musical dance choreographer Farah Khan.[11]

Music edit

Kung Fu Yoga
Soundtrack album
Recorded2016
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length10:18
LanguageMandarin, English, Hindi

Nathan Wang composed the background score. The soundtrack was released on 2017.

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Beautiful Fairy Tales"Jackie Chan, M.I.C3:36
2."Curry Flavor"Jackie Chan, Zhang Yishan, Yang Zi3:12
3."Money Home"Manihong3:30
4."Goosebump (Ending song)"Fazilpuria2:56
Total length:10:18

Release edit

Kung Fu Yoga was released in China on 28 January 2017.[22] It was released in the Philippines by Star Cinema (replacing Viva International Pictures as distributor[23]) on 1 February 2017.[24] In India, the film was released by Tanweer Films on 3 February 2017.[25]

Reception edit

Box office edit

The film was a major box-office success in China, where it became Jackie Chan's highest-grossing film in China and one of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time, grossing ¥1.753 billion[26] (US$254,531,595).[27] In comparison, it was a commercial failure in India, where it grossed 40 million (US$614,235.52) on its opening day.[28] The film opened at number 1 in Singapore, earning $1.85 million, during its weekend debut of 28 January 2017.[29]

Critical response edit

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a score of 48%, based on 23 critics' reviews.[30] On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[31]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Kung Fu Yoga". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  2. ^ "Viacom 18 Exits China-India Movie 'Kung Fu Yoga'". Variety. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  3. ^ Frater, Patrick (4 November 2015). "AFM: Golden Network Kicks Off With Jackie Chan Movie Pair". Variety. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Kung Fu Yoga Box Office Mojo Listing". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "功夫瑜伽 (2016)". movie.douban.com (in Chinese). douban.com. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
  6. ^ Nyay Bhushan (30 March 2015). "Jackie Chan Planning to Shoot India-China Co-Production 'Kung-Fu Yoga'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  7. ^ "Aamir, Jackie to star in Kung Fu Yoga". THE HINDU. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  8. ^ ""Kung Fu Yoga" with Jackie Chan receives confusing additional German title – Thorsten Boose".
  9. ^ "Jackie Chan lands in India for Kung Fu Yoga promotions, Sonu Sood plays host. See pics". The Indian Express. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
  10. ^ "'Kung Fu Yoga' to release on January 28, 2017". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Farah Khan to choreograph song in Jackie Chan's 'Kung Fu Yoga'". The Times of India. 28 January 2017.
  12. ^ "Jackie Chan caper 'Kung Fu Yoga' tops China's box office during New Year holiday". Los Angeles Times. 7 February 2017.
  13. ^ Cain, Rob (13 October 2017). "'Never Say Die' Is Now China's Biggest Comedy Ever". Forbes.
  14. ^ Kung Fu Yoga (2017) - IMDb, retrieved 1 April 2022
  15. ^ a b Ramachandran, Naman (28 September 2015). "Jackie Chan's 'Kung Fu Yoga' Begins Shooting in Dubai". Variety. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Jackie Chan is a superhuman: Sonu Sood". 6 November 2015. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  17. ^ Lee, Maggie (27 January 2017). "Film Review: 'Kung Fu Yoga'". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  18. ^ Lee, Maggie (28 January 2017). "Film Review: 'Kung Fu Yoga'". Variety. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  19. ^ Ramachandran, Naman; Frater, Patrick (26 October 2015). "Viacom 18 Exits China-India Movie 'Kung Fu Yoga'". Variety. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  20. ^ 网易. "中印合拍片《功夫瑜伽》签约_网易娱乐". ent.163.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  21. ^ "Here's the real reason why Aamir Khan is NOT a part of Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga". Bollywood Life. 26 January 2017.
  22. ^ Schwankert, Steven (3 November 2016). "Jackie Chan Set for December, January China Releases". China Film Insider. China Film Insider. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  23. ^ Shackleton, Liz (4 November 2016). "AFM: First look and deals for Jackie Chan's 'Kung Fu Yoga'". Screen Daily. Media Business Insight Limited. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  24. ^ ClickTheCity (24 January 2017). "Kung Fu Yoga hits Philippines cinemas Feb. 1". ClickTheCity. Surf Shop, Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  25. ^ "Kung Fu Yoga". Tanweer. Tanweer Group Ltd. 20 January 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  26. ^ 内地总票房排名 ("All-Time Domestic Box Office Rankings"). 中国票房 (China Box Office) (in Chinese). Entgroup.
  27. ^ "Kung Fu Yoga (2017) – International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  28. ^ "It flopped in India, but Jackie Chan's Kung Fu Yoga has already made Rs 1200 cr". Hindustan Times. 10 February 2017.
  29. ^ AsiaOne.com
  30. ^ "Kung Fu Yoga (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  31. ^ "Kung Fu Yoga Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 30 September 2019.

External links edit

  • Kung Fu Yoga at IMDb