1911 Directed by Zhang Li and Jackie Chan

1911 Revolution
Rated R

My Review:  At the beginning of the 20th century, China is in a state of crisis. The country is divided into warring factions and people are starving. After 250 years of unquestioned power, the ruling Qing Dynasty, led by a 7-year-old emperor and his ruthless mother, Empress Dowager Longyu (Joan Chen), has become completely out of touch. With the citizens beginning to revolt, the Qings are creating a powerful, modern army (the "New Army") to quash any rebellion. But foreign weapons are expensive, and so the Qing leaders are trading away anything they can get their hands on to try and raise funds. China's future is being mortgaged away in exchange for guns.

Huang Xing (Jackie Chan) has recently returned from Japan, where he has studied the art of modern warfare. When he finds his country falling apart, he feels he has no choice but to join the opposition, leading a series of violent rebellions against the powerful Qing Dynasty. As his plans begin to succeed, the Qings turn the might of the New Army towards him and his fellow revolutionaries.

With the intention to produce the story as historically accurate as possible, Jackie Chan spared no expense in his epic cinematic depiction. The set locations are phenomenal as are the intricate and elaborate costumes. With this being Chan's 100th film, it was clear that he set out to create a movie experience that would be timeless yet convey a story that was important to him. It essentially focuses on the rise of Sun Yat-sen as the leader of the revolutionaries and the compromising efforts of Yuan Shikai, a Qing military strongman, who would lead to the abdication of the Dynasty's power.

If you are not familiar with the revolution of 1911, the film does an excellent job of accounting the details that lead to the overthrow of old school Feudalism and backlash against foreign powers looking to China with gluttonous eyes. The revolution not only ends the Qing Dynasty but establishes the Republic of China, and of course, modern day China as we know it. 1911 vividly chronicles the events in an epic fashion and if you are fan of historic films, you will be delighted by Chan's adaptation. My only closing critique is in the size of font used for the subtitles. Be warned, they were hard to read and at times flashed too quickly for my liking.

Cast and Credit:
Directed by Zhang Li and Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan - Huang Xing
Lee Bing Bing - Xuzong Han
Winston Cha - Sun Yat-Sen