Credit to Jackie, he does try to do something different with his Hong Kong films. It would be easy for him to churn out countless sequels to already established series, but he does try to vary his output. Well, that is in as much as the constraints of his fans expectations and his established film persona will allow, anyway. The Myth, as a film, suffers paradoxically because of these two things; trying to satisfy by offering something new, while fulfilling audience expectation based on Jackie's previous output. The historical side of the film works best, providing Chan with a role (Army General bound by honour, compromised by love) that is unfamiliar and more interesting largely because of that. The action is more gritty and brutal in these sequences, with lots more blood on show than in typical Jackie fare. The present day character is classic Jackie, though the comedic set pieces and brief fight scenes don't have quite the inventiveness or sparkle of yesteryear. You can imagine the glue factory scene in particular being more involving and exciting if it had been choreographed twenty, or even ten, years ago. Stanley Tong's handling of the material is, due to the nature of his script, very uneven. The presentation of the modern day settings is fine, if a little uninspiring; especially when you consider some of the film's spectacular locations. However, the historical battles look and feel dull and lack any kind of epic quality. This may have been down to budget constraints, but watching the film you feel that if more clever camera-work had been employed, this effect could have been conveyed. Ultimately, it's a pity Jackie wasn't brave enough to do a straight, serious historical action/drama, because under The Myth's familiarity there's a different Jackie Chan film trying to get out.
