Jackie Chan is twelve years younger than Harrison Ford, and can still pull off some impressive moves, but both actors are well past their prime in terms of action movie star power. Ford's last CGI-laden Indiana Jones movie was so bad it gave us the phrase 'nuke the fridge' to describe a scene that is beyond ridiculous. As if to prove he can go one better (or should that be 'worse'?),Chan has given us the Raider of the Lost Ark-inspired adventure Kung Fu Yoga, which is incredibly dumb and almost as much computer-generated as it is live action: it starts off with a really bad CG historical prologue, and just keeps on going with the not-very-convincing digital trickery, delivering CG car stunts, a CG lion, CG hyenas, and CG snakes, frequently against CG backdrops.

Chan plays Chinese archaeologist Jack, who is approached by Indian princess Ashmita (played by drop-dead-gorgeous Bollywood babe Disha Patani) to help find a legendary treasure. Also trying to get his hands on the riches is Randall (Sonu Sood),descendant of the army general who hid the hoard. Or something like that. The plot doesn't make much sense at times, the emphasis on OTT action, not logic. Director Stanley Tong, the man behind the enjoyable Rumble in the Bronx and China Strike Force, delivers one or two 'nuke the fridge' moments of his own, the most outrageous being the high speed chase that sees Chan playing chauffeur to a CG lion.

Not content with just being inspired by Indiana Jones, Tong shamelessly steals iconic elements from Spielberg's movie: there's an attractive female student at one of Jack's lectures who flirts with the professor by drawing love hearts on her eyelids; one of the characters says the line 'I hate snakes'; and the location of the treasure is revealed by sunlight shining through a diamond attached to a staff. Hell, there's even a character called Jones! Sadly, it says a lot about the overall quality of an action film when the most enjoyable scene is the closing, tongue-in-cheek Bollywood dance routine performed by the whole cast (definitely NOT taken from Indiana Jones - I can't see Harrison Ford pulling off any of those moves).

3.5/10, rounded up to 4 for dishy Disha Patani: terrible actress but great to look at.

Jackie Chan has been on a roll of late, churning out film after film in a short space of time. This one's part of an unconnected trilogy that includes RAILROAD TIGERS and SKIPTRACE. Of the three, SKIPTRACE is the only one I can say that I truly enjoyed; the rest have been middling or, in the case of KUNG FU YOGA, pretty bad. Jackie plays his reliable self here and there's an extended cameo from old buddy Eric Tsang, but those are the only good things about it.

The plot heavily copies INDIANA JONES (a character is even called Jones) and involves the hunt for some ancient treasure in India. It's a bit like THE MYTH, but not as good. The only bit I liked was the photorealistic CGI historical back story at the opening of the movie. The rest is a mish mash of really bad attempted comedy scenes involving the young cast members, who are all completely dreadful actors delivering stilted lines throughout. I thought the Chinese actors were bad, but they're nothing compared to the woodenness of the Indian actors. The action is CGI dominated and Jackie's fights are always sped up, which is disappointing, and the predominance of CGI animals is more annoying than anything else.

In 647AD India, leader of the elephant legion Arunasva revolts against his ruler Magadha. Magadha sends General Bhima with treasure tributes to guide Wang Xuance back to the Tang Dynasty to request for military assistance. Bhima and his men are lost with the treasure. Wang makes it back to China and returns to India to rout Arunasva. Professor Ashmita is from present day India. She arrives in Xi'an to recruit Chinese archaeology professor Jack Chan (Jackie Chan) to find Bhima and the lost treasure. The group finds the lost army in an ice cave only to be attacked by Randall leading mercenaries. He's trying to clear the name of his rebel ancestor and steal the treasure.

This movie is problematic for several reasons. The action is OK but the movie struggles whenever the action stops. The movie starts with a big CGI battle. It looks too video-gamey. The inferior CGI is excusable but it's not a good start. It's also a lot of exposition to unpack. It doesn't need to be when the audience is willing to follow a lost army without learning the Sino-Indian history.

There are some beautiful people but there are also some limitations on the acting. It doesn't help that the writing gets stale at times. I love Jackie Chan but he should be more Indiana Jones. Starting as a professor with all the tech gadgets make him less appealing. Instead of an action hero, he starts too much as a bookish techie. Then there is the treasure hunt. It goes from one place to another on flimsy excuses. There's no reason why Magadha would send a key to the underground treasure to China. The movie ends in a Bollywood dance off. I understand the attempt but it sucks out any remaining tension. This has the potential of an action adventure but it suffers from ongoing stumbles.