It's interesting to note that the Genesis of the 80s/90s Ninja trend may have more to do with 70s American super hero comics than anything from Japan. Eastman and Laird's original Ninja Turtles comics were a wink and nudge parody of Marvel's creative direction at the time. Chris Claremont and especially Frank Miller were loading up their stories with ninja stuff in the late 70s and early 80s.
You didn't really need to tell me that this one was a stinker but it's a real shame, seems to be a classic case of American studios not really getting the appeal of popular foreign films. Chubby guys with frightening agility and oafish tendencies (Sammo Hung) and pratfalling, slapstick comedy heroes (Jackie Chan) weren't parody territory for martial arts movies by 1997, they were practically the whole genre!
It’s funny, for as much acclaim and attention that Hong Kong action (of both the Heroic Bloodshed and goofy stunt fighting variety) was getting around this point in the ‘90s, Hollywood didn’t really develop major homegrown talent who could tap into that style with any competency until well past Y2K.
In a just world, Tristar would have gone the route of Maximum Risk or Broken Arrow and just imported an actual HK director who could make a good looking fusion of comedy and action because he’d made 11 in the past decade. One of Jackie Chan’s regular collaborators would have absolutely been the right call to direct this instead of one of Sandler’s.
It's interesting to note that the Genesis of the 80s/90s Ninja trend may have more to do with 70s American super hero comics than anything from Japan. Eastman and Laird's original Ninja Turtles comics were a wink and nudge parody of Marvel's creative direction at the time. Chris Claremont and especially Frank Miller were loading up their stories with ninja stuff in the late 70s and early 80s.
You didn't really need to tell me that this one was a stinker but it's a real shame, seems to be a classic case of American studios not really getting the appeal of popular foreign films. Chubby guys with frightening agility and oafish tendencies (Sammo Hung) and pratfalling, slapstick comedy heroes (Jackie Chan) weren't parody territory for martial arts movies by 1997, they were practically the whole genre!
It’s funny, for as much acclaim and attention that Hong Kong action (of both the Heroic Bloodshed and goofy stunt fighting variety) was getting around this point in the ‘90s, Hollywood didn’t really develop major homegrown talent who could tap into that style with any competency until well past Y2K.
In a just world, Tristar would have gone the route of Maximum Risk or Broken Arrow and just imported an actual HK director who could make a good looking fusion of comedy and action because he’d made 11 in the past decade. One of Jackie Chan’s regular collaborators would have absolutely been the right call to direct this instead of one of Sandler’s.