Red Hare, a horse that makes the actors look like chicken-legged weaklings, helps pull the emotional strings in this maudlin going over of old ground
Old warhorse Jackie Chan, who still has a heap of movies in development, doesn’t look ready for the knacker’s yard quite yet. But that’s not the impression given by this valedictory-seeming and downright maudlin family action film, with its refrain of “Jumping down is easy, stepping down is hard”. Playing a one-time master Hong Kong stuntman who has been laid low by injury, Chan is seen watching reels of his classic spills – including the iconic Police Story shopping mall plunge – with all the misty-eyed reverence of Cinema Paradiso.
Ride On lays it on doubly thick: not only is Master Luo (Chan) partnered with Red Hare, a cute horse who all but talks, he is also rebuilding his relationship with estranged daughter Bao (Liu Haocun). Scraping a living by giving rides in comedy outfits to tourists outside movie studios, Luo and Red Hare are called back to stunt work when video of them tag-teaming some local debt collectors hits social media. Bao, still resentful of her dad for prioritising his career, agrees to become his agent. But the comeback is threatened when a pair of corporate goons turn up to auction off Red Hare, apparently someone else’s property.
