Chinese Zodiac (2012)
CZ12 also known as Chinese Zodiac, is a 2012 Hong Kong action-adventure comedy film co-written, co-produced and directed by Jackie Chan, who also starred as the main character in the film. CZ12 is the third film of a franchise that began with Armour of God (1986) and its sequel, Armour of God II: Operation Condor (1991). The film co-stars Kwon Sang-woo, Liao Fan, Zoe Zhang, Anna Yao and Laura Weissbecker. Released in December 2012, the film went on to gross over US$145 million at the Chinese box office and US$171 million worldwide with mixed reviews from critics. Chan also earned two Guinness World Records with the film for “Most Stunts Performed by a Living Actor” and “Most Credits in One Movie”. The film won Best Stunt Action Choreography for Chan at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards.
Plot.
The movie begins with the story of the Old Summer Palace and its looting and destruction by British and French soldiers in the Second Opium War. Among the artifacts looted are twelve bronze heads of the animals of the Chinese zodiac. In the present day, the bronze heads are auctioned for millions of euros each. The main company supplying the bronze heads and other looted relics is MP Corporation. JC (Jackie Chan) is tasked by MP Corp to find the remaining lost bronze heads, with a promise of a 10x bonus if he can recover all of them. JC visits Professor Guan, who had created 12 identical replicas for study purposes with his team of researchers, under the guise of a reporter named Martin from National Geographic. When left alone, JC scans the multiple bronze Zodiac animal heads using special gloves so that his secret organisation can replicate an extremely realistic model of them. After scanning, he goes to Paris to find a woman named Coco,
recommended by Guan, for more information on the whereabouts of two bronze heads.
JC, along with his partners Simon (Kwon Sang-woo), David, and Bonnie, infiltrate a mansion to find two of the bronze heads. JC manages to decode the password to a top secret vault and finds two bronze heads, a painting called “The Roses”, along with many other valuable national treasures thought to be lost inside. JC’s cover is soon busted but he manages to evade capture with all the valuables. However, he is spotted by Coco. Having no time to explain himself, he tells Coco to meet him at a boat house while fleeing from the mansion’s security. At the boat house, Martin tells Coco that he is working for a secret corporation that is trying to recover all the lost relics for China. The guards from the mansion storm the boat house and try to attack JC, but the police are called
in and they are all arrested. JC, Coco and Simon are cleared of any wrongdoing and are released.
Coco, JC and his team are invited to a castle owned by a lady named Catherine (Laura Weissbecker), unaware that the guards from the mansion are tailing them out of suspicion. It turns out that the captain of the “Indestructible”, one of the ships involved in the destruction and looting of the Old Summer Palace, is Catherine’s great-great-grandfather. This upsets Coco, who confronts Catherine on the issue. JC and his team find many valuable treasures in the castle, including the Bronze head of the Rooster, and hatch a series of plans to ferry them out. JC promises Catherine that he will help her locate her great-great-grandfather’s remains.
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Production, Release.
From 18 April to 2 May 2012, Jackie Chan filmed several scenes in the Aerodium Latvia vertical wind tunnel in Jelgava, Latvia. Filming also took place in France, China, Taiwan and Vanuatu. Chan did most of the stunts and fight scenes himself with little support from his stunt team. Jean-Yves Blondeau, the inventor of the skate suit, trained Chan to use the suit for the film’s body blading sequence. This film was simultaneously made in IMAX 3D. The gala premier of the film was held on 12 December 2012 and was later released across Asia on 20 December and in India on 28 December.
U.S. release, Reception.
It was originally announced that the film would be released in U.S. theaters sometime in the summer of 2013 with about 20 minutes edited out by Jackie Chan himself in order to optimize the pace and content for North American audiences. This release date was pushed back to the fall; the re-edited version was released on 18 October 2013 for theatrical exhibit exclusively by AMC Theatres. In competition with films from abroad CZ12 grossed HK$11.7 million (US$1.5 million), as well as becoming the top-ranked Chinese film at the Taiwan box office. The film debuted second in mainland China (after Lost in Thailand), going on to gross over US$145 million at the box office and emerging to be one of the highest grossing domestic films in China.
Awards and nominations.
32nd Hong Kong Film Awards. Won: Best Action Choreography (Jackie Chan, He Jun)
Nominated: Best New Performer (Zhang Lanxin)
Nominated: Best Film Editing (Yau Chi-wai)
Nominated: Best Visual Effects (Han Young-woo, Victor Wong, Patrick Chui, Seong Ho-jang)
