A Legend (film)

A Legend (simplified Chinese: 传奇; traditional Chinese: 傳奇) is a 2024 Chinese mainland fantasy action film. It was written and directed by Stanley Tong and starred Jackie Chan, Lay Zhang, Guli Nazha and Aarif Rahman. It was originally scheduled to be released in mainland China on July 12, 2024, but was later moved up to July 10. The film is a sequel to The Myth and Kung Fu Yoga.

A Legend
Film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	傳奇
Simplified Chinese	传奇
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chuánqí Yue: Cantonese Jyutping cyun4 kei4 / zyun6 kei4
Directed by	Stanley Tong
Written by	Stanley Tong
Produced by	Barbie Tung Defu Jiang Dong Yu Hongbo Yin
Starring	Jackie Chan Lay Zhang Gülnezer Bextiyar Li Chen
Cinematography	Jingle Ma
Music by	Nathan Wang
Production companies	Bona Film Group Services Shanghai Lix Entertainment China Film Distribution Emperor Motion Pictures
Distributed by	Emperor Motion Pictures
Release dates	July 10, 2024 (2024-07-10) (Mainland China) August 1, 2024 (2024-08-01) (Malaysia, Singapore) TBA Netflix (International, planned) (TBA Netflix (International, planned))
Running time	129 minutes
Country	China
Language	Mandarin
Budget	USD 50 million

Plot

This is a story about a past life relationship, a sequel to The Myth. Professor Fang (Jackie Chan) unearthed a mysterious ancient Shaman jade during an archaeological excavation. It led Professor Fang and his assistant Wang Jing (Lay Zhang) back to the Western Han Dynasty in their dreams. They transformed into brave and skilled Han generals, fought in the boundless Hexi grasslands, led cavalry to fight against the Xiongnu to protect their country, and started a past life relationship with the Xiongnu princess Meng Yun (Gülnezer Bextiyar) that spanned thousands of years. To find the truth, Professor Fang and his assistant invited their good friend Lei Zhen (Li Chen) to go deep into the 10,000-year-old glacier to find the sacred place for offering sacrifices to heaven, to uncover this unknown legendary story.

Cast

• Jackie Chan as:
  • Professor Fang, an archeologist. Chief archeologist and specialist in Western Han and Hun history.
  • Zhao Zhan, Han Dynasty General serving under Huo Qubing. Skillful on horseback melee skills.
• Lay Zhang as:
  • Wang Jing, an assistant of Professor Fang
  • Huajun, Han Dynasty General serving under Huo Qubing. Friend of Zhao Zhan and skillful with a bow whilst on horseback.
• Gülnezer Bextiyar as:
  • Princess Mengyun, is good at both literature and martial arts, and her martial arts skills are unrivaled. She also practices medicine and saves lives.
• Aarif Rahman as:
  • Hubbard, a shaman expert
  • Hun Prince
• Xiao Ran Peng as:
  • Xin Ran, Wang Jing's friend and love interest. Also working under Professor Fang.
• Li Chen as:
  • Lei Zhen
• Zheng Yecheng as:
  • Ye Cheng
• Shawn Dou as:
  • Huo Qubing, famous Western Han general and commander of the cavalry army that broke through the Hexi Corridor and wiped out the Xiongnu Confederation, expanding Han territories into Xinjiang.
• Jin Qiaoqiao as:
  • Mengyun's mother
• Bing Jia as:
  • Ice Fishing Man
• Kim Hee Sun as
  • Mysterious Woman

Production

• In January 2023, the film was registered with the National Film Administration. In February 2023, the film's lead actors were first exposed in Zhaosu County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. In April of the same year, the film's main creative team appeared at the Beijing International Film Festival, released the first concept poster, and announced the list of leading actors. In May of the same year, the film entered the Cannes Film Festival trading market, revealing that the film's budget was 50 million US dollars. On July 28, the film was completed.
• The film's "Thousands of Horses and People" scene mobilized 1,090 herders and more than 6,000 horses to participate in the filming. AI technology was used in the film to recreate the image of Jackie Chan at the age of 27.
• On July 4, 2024, the film A Legend was roadshowed in Chengdu, where the creative team told the behind-the-scenes stories of the filming process.
• On July 9, 2024, the film was officially announced to be released on July 10, and the MV for the promotional song "Our Legend" sung by Jackie Chan was also released at the same time.

Reception

Released on July 10, 2024, in mainland China, A Legend opened at third-place, earning 6.67 million yuan (US$934,959) on its opening day. It earned a final gross of US$11,164,000 in China. The World of Chinese reported, "The film received widespread criticism for its messy plot, poor acting, and the stiffness of the AI technology used to de-age Jackie Chan, making it an internet laughingstock for a few days. The much-maligned film now sits at a barely passable 5.1 out of 10 on Douban."

External links

• A Legend on Weibo (in Chinese)
• A Legend at Douban (in Chinese)
• A Legend at IMDb