Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe review by Bobby Blakey
Throughout his career Jackie Chan has not only mastered the martial arts and world of the action star, but he has infused comedy into the genre to perfection. In 2023 he teamed up with a horse for a heartfelt action-comedy Ride On followed by Panda Plan in 2024 teaming him up with Hu Hu. Now they are getting the duo back together for the follow-up Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe co-starring Li Ma and Shan Qiao with Derek Hui directing. Could this next chapter bring more of the silly fun, or will it get lost in the jungle?
Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe follows lovable Panda Hu Hu and international superstar Jackie Chan who stumble upon a hidden primitive tribe where Hu Hu is hailed as a “divine beast” believed to be the key to saving the tribe from disaster. As quirky warriors and magical leaders close in, Jackie must protect Hu Hu while uncovering the secrets of this mysterious land. Packed with laughs, action, and heart, this playful fairy-tale adventure is perfect for all ages this Chinese New Year.
Jackie Chan’s films over the last few years have leaned into the more family friendly direction and often way too much CGI. Good or bad I give him credit as he seems to just be doing what he wants at this point and having fun doing it despite whether it works or not. That being said, while not great I had fun with the first movie as it went in a silly direction and knew it was going for the younger audience while trying to bring the Chan action fun. It didn’t work great but was what it was. It did make me look forward to seeing what they were going to do with this one that was clearly going bigger. Sadly, it missed almost every mark this time around.
This story seems to almost ignore the first film on some level and just drops us into this new place under weird circumstances. Where it goes in the end helps it to make some sort of sense if you can buy into it, but it immediately makes it feel off. Once we get passed that and into the jungle adventure there are elements here that
harken back to early Chan films like Operation Condor without all the great action and anything you might care about. The film spends almost the entire run time dealing with this silly tribe of people that come off more cartoony than anything else they might want to accomplish.
The over-the-top performances are just ridiculously silly and make anything that might be meant to be serious fall flat along with any of the relationships that tend to be all over the place. I wanted to love this film as much as it seems like Chan is making it, but it just never lands. Even the action that is here is all over the place and never brings anything that fans expect from Chan. You can obviously give him some space now that he is in his 70s, but at the same time he has still brought impressive action in recent outings like Karate Kid Legends. I still love Chan and will always be there for anything he puts out, but this one just failed to work.
Maybe this will connect with the younger audiences it is aiming for, but little else. Decide for yourself and check out Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe in theaters now from Well Go USA.