With all things, personal taste plays a large part in what we enjoy. I like Jackie Chan films a lot: his humour, the characters he plays, and the fact that most of his films are generally family-friendly really appeal to me. His latest film, ‘Bleeding Steel’, is a sci-fi thriller, and with that, Chan-fans and and non-fans alike should both enjoy watching.
It’s 2007. Lin Dong, played by Chan, is a special forces agent in Hong Kong with a lot on his plate. The film opens with him racing across town at a rate of knots, in order to get to his daughter, played by Na-Na OuYang, undergoing surgery to treat her leukemia. At the same time, he gets a call to say that a crucial witness, Dr James (played by Australian actor Kim Gyngell) has been kidnapped from witness protection. Dr James had been working on developing “bioroids” – superhumans whose cells are able to repair themselves. Before the opening titles even roll, we see Lin Dong embroiled in a high-tech conspiracy involving the bioroids, and pursued by a heavily armed militia. In true Chan style however, he manages to save the day, while even injecting some humour into it, such as driving his car through a market stall, ensuring loads of hats and pots and so forth fly everywhere.
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Fast forward 13 years to 2020 and the closely guarded high threat conspiracy is suddenly revealed with the publication in Australia of an epic sci-fi novel, entitled ‘Bleeding Steel’. There’s way too many similarities to what really happened for it to have been the product of the author’s imagination; and so the conspiracy, as well as Lin Dong, rises once again to the surface.
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As said earlier, Jackie Chan films are known for their humour. Most notable in ‘Bleeding Steel’ is Taiwanese actor Show Lo, who plays Leeson, a humorous foil to Chan, and a crucial part of the plot.
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‘Bleeding Steel’ was shot in Sydney, Australia, and it’s worth keeping an eye out for the Australian actors, including the previously mentioned Kim Gyngell, as well as Callan Mulvey, who plays Andre in the film. Mulvey is best known in Australia for his TV work, but he also appeared in Marvel’s ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’, where he portrayed Jack Rollins. Of course the actor to watch out for is Sydney herself – quite apart from the spectactular scenery, there’s a brilliant fight scene on top of the Sydney Opera House.
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‘Bleeding Steel’ is directed by Leo Zhang and will be avaiable for digital download from November 5 via iTunes, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Sky Store, Sony, TalkTalk, and Ubiquity.
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