Master Luo Zhilong (Jackie Chan) was once the best stuntman in Hong Kong, following in his father’s footsteps. That is, until an accident derailed his career. He now spends his days dressing up his beloved horse, Red Hare, in funny costumes and standing around a film studio backlot trying to sell photos to tourists. Luo’s home is in danger of being foreclosed, and debt collector Dami (Andy On) has come to collect the money he owes. But Master Luo refuses, and tries to run way when a fight breaks out. A video of the altercation goes viral, and catches the eye of a film director who wants to give Luo a second chance as a stuntman.

Meanwhile, some men show up at Luo’s home, telling him that Red Hare is not his rightful property, and hand him a court order demanding the horse’s return. Red Hare is not just a scene partner, but Luo’s best friend. He nursed the foal back to health and has been training the horse since it was born. The two are inseparable, and would do anything for one another. Luo doesn’t have the money to hire a lawyer, so he desperately turns to his estranged daughter, Bao (Haocun Liu), whom he hasn’t seen in 7 years. She’s still a student and doesn’t have a law license, but Bao reluctantly agrees to help, asking her boyfriend Mickey (Kevin Guo) to take the case. Mickey has only has his license for a month, but what he lacks in experience, he more than makes up for in heart and determination. While Mickey researches the case and establishes a plan of action, Bao starts to reconnect with her father, taking on the role of his agent for his newly blossoming career.

Ride On is a lot more dramatic than I was expecting it to be, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It is a heartfelt tale of this man who gave everything to his career, and nearly lost his life and family because of it. Now he is in danger of losing his best friend and partner. Red Hare is like another child to him. He cared for the horse ever since it was born with a broken leg and bad lung, and people had written it off, but the two have become an amazing stunt duo. As the film goes along, we learn more about Luo’s past and why his relationship with his daughter had become so deteriorated. Luo had always hoped of reconnecting with his daughter, but never thought that would happen, but now he’s been given a second chance at both his career and a relationship with Bao.

While the film has this dramatic story at the core, there is still all of action and humor that one would expect from a Jackie Chan film. It is evident from the first fight sequence with the debt collector that this is still the same Jackie Chan that fans love, with his iconic comedic-but-skilled style of martial arts. The horse is also worked perfectly into the routines—you almost forget that this is an animal and not another skilled human martial artist. Whether it’s actual training or just CGI, it’s hard to tell, the the horse blends in seamlessly in the action and is so much fun to watch. Jackie Chan has such great chemistry with the animal that their relationship feels so earnest and real. Another relationship I found to be a lot of fun is Luo and his daughter’s boyfriend. When they first meet, Luo warns the young man about being good to his daughter, and we see Mickey nervously darting his eyes at all of the various weapons that line the walls—no doubt Luo purposely selected this location for the talk.

In addition to Luo’s more comedic fight sequences against the debt-collectors and other people looking to take Red Hare, we also get many exciting action scenes from the films that Master Luo is starring in. These scenes often start with Luo and Red Hare preparing for their stunt, and then morphing into the full, high production final action sequence. Whether it’s a Western showdown with a trolley full of ninjas, a massive jump across a mountain, or a samurai taking on hundreds of men, there’s always some exciting new scene Luo is filming. The filmmakers also have a lot of fun paying homage to Chan’s previous roles and work, putting him into highly-recognizable costumes or scenes.

Well Go’s Blu-ray release offers the film in both its original Mandarin language track as well as an English dub track. With these foreign releases, I always try the English dub first, so that I can fully enjoy the visuals rather than reading. I have to say that the voice performances were excellent. I’m not sure if it was Jackie Chan who also did Luo’s English track voice, but it sure sounded like him. The English subtitles are very well written and pretty much matched up with the language used in the English dub. However, it looked like many of the signs or documents that appear on-screen were not translated into captions on the SDH track. The non-SDH English subtitle track was better at this, but still missed at least one sign. The audio track sounds great, making excellent use of the stereo and surround channels to really bring the action to life and provide an immersive ambiance, especially during some of the big theatrical action sequences. The picture quality is also very good, with a clean, clear picture and solid level of detail throughout.

Well Go’s Blu-ray release includes nearly 12 minutes of behind-the-scenes featurettes with writer/director Larry Yang & star Jackie Chan, plus the film’s trailer and some previews for three other Well Go releases. The disc comes packed in a locking HD keepcase, and doesn’t include a digital copy. Our review copy did include a nice embossed slipcover.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:05:53)

Blu-ray:
• 1080p / Widescreen 2.39:1
• Audio: Mandarin DTS-HDMA 5.1, Mandarin Stereo, English DTS-HDMA 5.1, English Stereo
• Subtitles: English, English SDH, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese

Extras:

• Behind The Scenes (8:49)
  Writer/director Larry Yang and star Jackie Chan (“Luo”) talk about the premise of the film, how the stunt profession and work has changed over the decades, filming the Ferris wheel scene, some close calls while filming, the film’s nods to some of Jackie’s iconic roles, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage. The featurette ends with a trailer. Presented in Mandarin with English subtitles.
• Oh My Horse (2:55)
  Writer/director Larry Yang and star Jackie Chan talk about making a story about a stuntman and his horse, working with the animal and some incidents, how the horse was protected and cared for on set, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage. Presented in Mandarin with English subtitles.
• Trailer (1:27)
  Presented in Mandarin with English subtitles.
• Previews
  • The Wandering Earth 2 (1:55)
  • Born to Fly (1:57)
  • Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman (1:36)

Final Thoughts:

Ride On is an entertaining film that finds a nice blend of action, humor and drama, giving Jackie Chan the chance to show off his martial arts and comedic skills, but also explore a deeper, more dramatic and personal character. The film takes a look at what it means to be a stuntman, and the dangers involved, and how it can affect those they love. Well Go’s release looks and sounds great, and provides an excellent English Dub track. There’s even some interesting behind-the-scenes featurettes included for the film. This is an easy recommendation for Jackie Chan fans, but is also family friendly fare the whole family can enjoy.

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