Tracing the career of Jackie Chan is surprisingly difficult, with the actor having appeared in upwards of 200 projects. Yet, many fans of the actor have made curated lists consisting of the essential films, placed around 75 titles, that they consider to be the best of the best. Despite his expansive filmography, Jackie Chan has rarely ventured outside of the action genre.
While Chan has outright avoided genres like horror, he has delved into the realm of fantasy and sci-fi on rare occasions; though these movies still lean on his beloved persona and action chops, acting more as a genre mash-up. Here are the films starring Jackie Chan that one could feasibly call sci-fi or fantasy (avoiding voice acting-only roles) ranked against each other.
7
‘Fantasy Mission Force’ (1983)
Set during World War II, Fantasy Mission Force follows mercenary Don Wen (Jackie Chan) as he assembles an eccentric cast of specialists to save four Allied forces kidnapped by Japanese forces and collect a massive monetary award. Their mission sees them encountering a wide range of threats, including cannibalistic amazons, Japanese Nazis in muscle cars, and hopping vampires. Yet, the series of bizarre events turns out to be orchestrated by one of their own so that they can claim the award for themselves.
Throw all the Genres at the Wall
On paper, Fantasy Mission Force sounds like an absurd genre mash-up that would have most cult films salivating, but the execution falls short of expectations. It is not a great movie, marked by a convoluted and nonsensical plot, a lack of engaging martial arts scenes, and a notable absence of Jackie Chan, despite his receiving top billing. Fantasy Mission Force does have some fun concepts and moments of silliness that keep it from being unwatchable, but if you want to visit a classic era Jackie Chan film, this one does not hold up to the others.
6
‘The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang’ (2019)
Blending humor and fantasy, the Chinese film The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang saw Jackie Chan portraying Pu Songling, a legendary demon hunter tasked with investigating a series of mysterious disappearances in a small village. With his apprentice, Yan Fei (Austin Lin), and an eccentric group of benevolent monsters, Pu Songling’s investigation brings him to discover a sinister demon manipulating monsters and people alike.
Jackie Chan: Demon Hunter
Anything with Jackie Chan is going to have some appeal, and his charismatic performance in this family-friendly outing makes The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang a passable outing for long-time fans. The action sequences with demons also give the movie an action-oriented fantasy flair that is utterly charming. Yet, Jackie Chan does not receive enough screen time, despite being the lead, and the CGI is inconsistent in quality, matching the narrative that clumsily picks up and drops subplots.
5
‘Bleeding Steel’ (2017)
Hong Kong special agent Lin Dong (Jackie Chan) is assigned to watch over Dr. James (Kim Gyngell), a brilliant scientist targeted by Andre (Callan Mulvey). An attack on the doctor costs him his life. At the same time, Lin grieves the death of his daughter in the same period, causing him to leave the force. Cut to thirteen years later, and Lin learns that his daughter is alive, thanks to the technological advances envisioned by Dr. James that gave her enhanced blood and memory loss. Around the same time, Andre also learns of the young girl’s existence. Now a half-cyborg machine himself, Andre tries to kidnap her to learn more about her unique abilities.
Chan Goes Cyberpunk
We hear you, that is one convoluted plot. Bleeding Steel’s biggest downfall is trying to string together a lot of silly plot lines into something coherent and failing miserably. There is a lot of inconsistency here, both in the quality of the effects and the performances. Still, Bleeding Steel is a good starting point for this list of Jackie Chan sci-fi and fantasy films worth watching, as, despite its flaws, it features some great stunt work and action sequences that come with a cool cyberpunk aesthetic. Bleeding Steel also lands with some moments of humor, including nods to past works of Chan as fun Easter eggs for longtime fans to uncover.
4
‘The Tuxedo’ (2002)
In The Tuxedo, Jackie Chan plays an unlikely hero in taxi driver Jimmy Tong, who is hired as a chauffeur for a spy, Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs). After Devlin is injured, Jimmy learns that his suit is a high-tech wonder, allowing its user to perform aerobatics, martial arts, and even turn its user into a suave ladies’ man. Thrust into the role of hero after being asked to carry on Devlin’s mission, Jimmy teams up with rookie agent Del Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt) to stop the villainous Detrich Banning (Ritchie Coster) from contaminating Earth’s water.
Girls Go Crazy for a Sharp-Dressed Chan
While marking a tone down in the stunt-heavy action of Chan’s Hong Kong films, The Tuxedo acted as the perfect highlight for the comedic chops and charming personality of Jackie Chan. The film also remains one of his best family-friendly outings, with the concept of a suit that manages to imbue its user with skills and swagger ideal for Chan’s mastery of physical comedic timing. At the same time, the film is a series of hit-and-miss gags, and the suit itself is kind of over-utilized and deters slightly from Chan’s actual innate abilities as a performer. It is a fun time with no overt flaws, but there are much better action-comedies starring Jackie Chan.
3
‘The Medallion’ (2003)
The Medallion follows detective Eddie Yang, played by Jackie Chan, who is in the middle of an investigation of a ruthless crime lord named Snakehead (Julian Sands) when he learns that he is seeking an ancient medallion. Killed during one of his missions, Eddie finds himself resurrected due to the Medallion’s power, now able to defy death and gifted with superhuman powers. Teaming up with Interpol agents Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) and Nicole James (Claire Forlani), Eddie rushes to ensure that Snakehead can’t harness the same powers.
A Super Powered Up Jackie Chan
The Medallion is a double-edged sword. On one side, you have an exciting version of Jackie Chan killing with a set of superpowers, but on the other, you have a reliance on CGI and wire effects, dulling the actor’s innate abilities as a martial artist. While the action feels inconsistent, The Medallion is a quintessential family-friendly entry in Chan’s filmography. An entertaining, albeit slightly misguided, fantasy action film, The Medallion is also one of Chan’s most nostalgia-inducing entries, as many tie it into the fan-favorite animated series Jackie Chan Adventures despite the movie releasing three years after the series debut.
2
‘The Myth’ (2005)
Archaeologist Jack (Jackie Chan) starts to experience vivid dreams of another life as General Meng Yi, a loyal soldier serving under China’s first emperor during the Qin Dynasty tasked with protecting Princess Ok-Soo (Kim Hee-sun). Jack, joined by his friend and fellow scientist William (Tony Leung Ka-fai), heads to India to try to unearth artifacts related to the visions he sees. Upon arrival, Jack learns that his visions are grounded in truth, and he is thrust into an adventure based on his past life.
Jackie Chan Becomes a Hero of Both the Past and Present
The Myth stumbles a bit on its execution in trying to meld past and present, with some unsatisfactory narrative threads running bare by the end. Yet, pacing issues aside, the movie is a grand sweeping fantasy adventure whose scope and Chan’s charms make it an unforgettable journey. While Chan’s natural skills get slightly drowned out, instead the audience gets some large-scale battles, which is ideal for the type of fantasy story The Myth aims to tell; though it also falters slightly with some audiences for the same reason.
1
‘The Forbidden Kingdom’ (2008)
Jason Tripitikas (Michael Angarano), is a teenager from Boston obsessed with kung fu movies who thinks he has found his next obsession in an ancient warrior’s staff at a pawn shop. Shortly after obtaining it, he finds himself teleported back to ancient China and learns that the staff belongs to the legendary Monkey King, played by Jet Li, who has been imprisoned. With his appearance seen as destined, Jason becomes tasked with saving the Monkey King, and recruits fighters in kung fu master Lu Yan (Jackie Chan), a silent monk (Jet Li in a dual role), and the young, revenge-seeking Golden Sparrow (Liu Yifei), to aid him.
Two Legends Appear on Screen Together for the First Time
While The Forbidden Kingdom does not have Jackie Chan in the lead role, instead sharing screen time with others, it nonetheless remains the best fantasy feature Chan has worked on by leaps and bounds. Notably, the pairing of Jackie Chan and Jet Li was a long-awaited cinematic event that did not disappoint. Moreover, the movie offered the classic wuxia fantasy flair with a modern polish that perfectly bridged the gap between younger and older audiences. Centering the film on an American teenager is a bit of a downer when all fans wanted was more Chan and Li, but it is a minor hiccup in what is a legendary pairing of talents on the screen, duking it out with mythical creatures and warriors.