Jackie's belated third entry into his Armour of God series, Chinese Zodiac unfortunately lumbers like a cheap DVD knock-off of one of his old classics. It's decent if unsophisticated family entertainment that demonstrates that Jackie can still put together creative and unique action set pieces. The problem stems from the fact that it lacks so many of Jackie's creative staples and goes way overboard in terms of preaching to the choir with characters practically stopping dead in their tracks to put on their moralising hat and deliver some earnest statement about national pride; there is certainly a feeling of toeing the party line found here that won't be found in his earlier films. Dealing with the film is like dealing with Jackie himself: you have to tune out the crappy stuff to appreciate the unique entertainer that lies within. That being said, Jackie doesn't phone it in as would be so easy with a legacy sequel like this, he still has some charisma to burn and despite the ugly and glossy digital sheen that coats the movie, it's very well shot and directed. Outside of Jackie the only other member of the cast I enjoyed was Kwon Sang-woo, he certainly made a good impression here and I hope I get to see more of him in future. Lacklustre, slow and overly long, Chinese Zodiac only hints at Jackie's winning combo of kineticism, martial arts and comedy despite being occasionally strikingly shot and having its share of populist fun, it just really doesn't do justice to Jackie's film heritage.