I was not expecting that much emotional drama from a movie starring Jackie Chan like this one, and I'm super glad it captured those emotional pinpoints.
This really looks like the type of film Jackie has always wanted to act in given his comments about trying other acting chops besides the typical kung-fu action scenes, and I couldn't be more happier for him to finally have that opportunity. I think the closest film to his best dramatic role before Ride On was Police Story: Lockdown.
The movie has a good balance of action, comedy, & drama, and doesn't rely on action fight scenes to showcase Jackie and the rest of the cast. I truly felt the heartwarming & heartbreaking father-and-daughter dynamic between Luo and Bao.
All of that goes without mentioning that the fight scenes we all love from Jackie Chan & the stunt team are in the movie, and to me, that is excellent and satisfying fan service well presented & fun.
The few issues I did have with the movie, but not that big of a deal, are some of the story beats that seem off at times, a few minutes of the second act that was slightly rushed & not enough to process, and some of Luo's disciples that deserve more screentime.
Finally, almost exactly like the fanbase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that hunt Easter eggs for references, superfans of Jackie Chan are in for many, many treats throughout the movie. Superfans will point out props, set designs, costumes, some martial arts techniques, and other elements that either reference or at least remind them of scenes from films throughout Jackie Chan's career.
This movie also reminds me of movies like The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent paying tribute to Nicolas Cage's career or The Fabelmans subtlety telling the origins of Steven Spielberg's early stages in his filmmaking career.
Ride On serves perfectly as a touching tribute to Jackie Chan's work.
