Jackie Chan reunites with Stanley Tong for A Legendwhere he attempts to return to his former enthusiasm thanks to digital rejuvenation.
It's the latest fashionable innovation: digital rejuvenation is now regularly used by American filmmakers, from Scorsese to The Irishman au Zemeckis de Herevia James Mangold, who resurrected the Indiana Jones of the beginnings in the fifth part of the saga. The process, still regularly criticized both technically and artistically, is no longer the prerogative of the Hollywood industry since the imminent A Legend makes very wide use of it.
And it is of course to relieve the famous Jackie Chan of a few wrinkles, under the supervision of Stanley Tong, director of record since he also directed Police Story 3 et Jackie Chan in the Bronxbut also more recently the very average Venguard. It is in reality a simi-sequence of The Mythone of their box office hits which had already inspired a successful first sequel in 2017 entitled Kung Fu Yoga. The trailer gives us a glimpse of the result.
Jackie Chan sous Pixel
Jackie Chan plays an archaeologist discovering relics that remind him of some of his dreams. A “mystical connection” (says the official synopsis, we still haven't understood) which links him in particular to a brave general of the Han dynasty, on the eve of an epic battle. You will have understood, the general in question is therefore played by a rejuvenated version of the actor… Or almost. Because the technique used is a priori a bit different from that adopted by the American competition.
Indeed, according to the South China Morning Postartificial intelligence would have been used to “paste” Jackie Chan’s face on the protagonist, which would bring it closer to the deep fake technology that is so much talked about, notably when Bruce Willis lent his face to an advertisement. HK cinema fans who come to witness one of his legendary kicks may be disappointed: hard to know if it's really his. Nothing too surprising: the artist is 70 years old. The budget would be in line, with $50 million announced by THR.
These first images avoid exposing the process too frontally, but to say the least, it was not unanimous among local criticswho apparently found the result particularly ugly. Added to this is a distrust of the historical martial theme, the king of comic fighting having since become the favorite mascot of the Chinese government. However, he has not stopped his career, far from it: recently appearing in Project X-Traction and introspective Ride Onhe is expected to reprise his role as Mr. Han in Karate Kid : Legends.
A Legend, he does not yet have a release date in France. By the time he is exported to our countries, Jackie Chan will perhaps have his own army of digital clones, ready to make him the first virtually immortal action star. Strongly.
