Hidden Strike, the latest high octane action thriller from world class action hero and certifiable daredevil, Jackie Chan. This time he is joined by internet legend and WWE wrestling royalty, John Cena. These two should be the modern dream team when it comes to ass kicking duos. John Cena brings the boom to Jackie Chan’s pow in order to take down a despicable eco terrorist organization responsible for kidnapping a group of scientists. If nothing else, the testosterone alone should get the viewer’s hearts pumping with crazy stunts that’ll make viewers go “wow”.The film was directed by Scott Waugh and produced by Changchun film studio. The film was initially released on July 06, 2023 and is currently streaming on Netflix.

Stereotypical Action Plot

The film’s central plot felt as generic as could be. One character is an ex-mercenary trying to forget his past by caring for a village while the other is trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Even with minimal experience of watching action movies, most viewers will be able to predict what happens next in any given scene. This wouldn’t necessarily be such a bad thing as some movies will take advantage of this to bring some sort of self awareness or even break expectations by the end of the film.Unfortunately, there is no such luck for this film.

There’s a twist early on in the film that occurs with little to no proper set up. Despite the lack of a meaningful set up, the twist still comes off as completely predictable. The pacing is okay for a modern day action film but at times it feels like they’re just trying to pad the film up for extra run time. At times, it feels like the film is trying to be like the latter installments of The Fast & The Furious franchise. This is hardly surprising as the director, Scott Wuagh, also worked on Need for Speed. This film also featured intense car stunts and tried imitating The Fast & the Furious franchise to no success. The setting work is simple enough, a warzone located in a Middle eastern-esque location (i.e desert). For the purposes of the film, this setting works but would’ve worked even better if not for the over use of CGI. This, however, will be touched upon in greater length later on in the article.

Chemistry

Aside from his incredible work ethic and death defying stunts, Jackie Chan is also known for his incredible chemistry with his costars. This is the reason why Rush Hour is such an unforgettable classic. The onscreen chemistry shared by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker is so believable and organic that the rest of the movie just naturally falls into place. So naturally, one would assume that putting two of the biggest names in action comedy together would be a recipe for success. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Jackie Chan and John Cena fail to create a believable buddy dynamic. 

The film unsurprisingly uses the typical instant hate followed by gradual love popular in such buddy duo dynamics. This kind of dynamic worked really well in Shanghai Noon, another Jackie Chan film which also starred Owen Wilson. The dynamic between these also felt organic and fun to watch. So why does Hidden Strike fail to achieve the same effect? Simply put, their dynamic is off. In the previously mentioned films, Jackie often played the role of the stoic man ( the serious person in a comedic duo). Starring alongside the likes of Chris Tucker and Owen Wilson who were already known for their goofy and comedic roles prior, Jackie Chan was able to create a believable dynamic.