I can’t believe how utterly disappointed I’ve been in Jet Li’s north American film projects. Compared to his work done in Asia they are a total joke. The language barrier is a tough one… but in the hands of a skilled director that can be danced around.
But it’s not just Jet Li. Other major talents like John Woo and Jackie Chan have been (Other than a couple of flashes) so completely misused that it brings a tear to my eye (If I was capable of emotion).
The USA Today has a fantastic article on some of these Asian talents and why many of them are leaving the better money in American to return to doing films in Asia. Here’s a short excerpt:
(Jackie) Chan said he’s well-paid but artistically unfulfilled in Hollywood. “I make a lot of money in the U.S., but I can’t make films I like,” he said during a recent interview with The Associated Press. Hollywood movies are so costly that they seldom take creative risks, and that’s why his U.S. films are so similar in genre, he explained.
Chan’s Hollywood movies haven’t veered from the formula of interracial action comedy, a genre he’s excelled in with Chris Tucker in the Rush Hour series and with Owen Wilson in the 2000 Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights in 2003. But his Hong Kong productions are more diverse. He plays a tragic hero in New Police Story in 2004. Chan’s new film The Myth, tracks the journey of man who seeks his lost love from a previous life.
It’s a wonderful article that I really recommend you head over and read. The article can be found here.
