Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Tweekums This film is set during China's 'Warring State's' period and begins in the aftermath of a particularly bloody battle between the Liang and Wei armies. There are only two survivors; a lowly Liang soldier who survived by playing dead and a princely general on the Wei side. The former takes the latter captive with the intention of taking him home for the reward. The journey back to Liang won't be an easy one; the general's younger brother is searching for him and there are plenty of other unfriendly characters they will have to pass… not to mention a bear! At first the two don't get on but as they travel and fight various foes a friendship develops.Given that this film not only stars Jackie Chan but was also written by him it isn't surprising that there is lots of slightly slapstick action and plenty of laughs. He does a fine job as the lowly soldier and is ably supported by Leehom Wang as the general; they work well together; especially during the impressively choreographed fights. There are plenty of these fights and they are nicely varied in style. It isn't all fighting though; there is a decent amount of conversation between the two protagonists that allows the characters to develop nicely as well as being amusing. The story moves at a good pace and even though it is only an hour and a half long it doesn't feel rushed. Without going into too much detail the finale comes as quite a surprise and is far sadder than one would expect from this sort of film… it is effective though. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of Chinese cinema in general or of Jackie Chan in particular.

elshikh4 Let's see what we have here : a buddy comedy, an action adventure, a road movie, a historical war movie, a story about a little soldier who turns big, and a meaning about the necessity of peace. Just WAW. Pure WAW !The greatest thing about this movie is being solid and entertaining while delivering a substance as well. The genre movie always, and maybe forever, is described as a way to make you enjoy, however I believe that with the right hands, it can make you think as well. This is perfection in my book. And this movie beautifully did it.The storyline of that old, clumsy and kindhearted foot soldier fascinates me. He's originally a poor farmer, who dreams of having money, land, kids, and respect, though his dreams turn usually into nightmares. Someday he found himself in conscription during a long war, hoping to get out of it unharmed, so he avoided fighting to the extent of feigning death while the battles. But, he got through the journey which proved that he could be a hero; as a soldier and human being, even if he eventually had none of his dreams fulfilled. I loved the way of transforming into the very general he saw dying at the start, to end up exactly like him; dying with his flag up. I loved how he trades 10 years of peace for his captive's life. I loved his wise-cracking lines and dad's sayings. And I loved how Jackie Chan surprisingly didn't play him as Jackie Chan; the martial arts expert and the competent fighting machine.The endless problems that the 2 leads get into during the difficult road made worthy action comedy. Yet the drama of them as from-haters-to-lovers, then the conflict of the title character to be brave and successful, added to the conflict of the second character, the general of Wei, with his own brother—all enriched the movie to be such a delight satisfaction on many levels.Did you notice smart touches along the way; like how the 2 leads have no names, or the consecutive dreams of the foot soldier which are colored with darkness, and predict his final fate, or Lin Peng as the singer who sings for peace and life, or a sorrowful line such as "Sorry dad, I will never have children." when the soldier is dying, or even how that character loses his fortune / the gold of the Wei general; as if to assure that he has nothing at the end but himself, and his proved success. Ahh, this is more than enjoyable, and makes this movie suitable to be watched for more than once. I bet, within a few years, Hollywood will remake it in let's say a western movie; just remember that you heard it firstly here ! I was astonished when knew that Jackie Chan wrote it (at first I guessed it needed at least a professional playwright to master !). Undoubtedly this is the best of Chan ever as a writer. Directer Ding Sheng made an impressive world of a movie, where all the aforementioned genres were very well served. Leehom Wang was keen as the little general. And the cinematography did something to be proud of. Aside from picturing the exotic backgrounds mostly ravishingly, it sometimes mounted the character to raising skies, to be like abstract symbols in a folk story.Now to the problems. I thought that the pace of the second half was more fast, less sane than the first half. The final battle was sure less powerful than the one before it; where Chan rode a bull to break a wall. The matter of the general's brother killing himself to save his brother was melodramatic and forced. At times, I got the feeling of more than enough action and not enough drama. And it was wrong to have the bloopers right after the tragic ending; for one reason it somehow weakened the serious effect of the movie's end, and for another it was like compulsory Jackie Chan move; which while belonging to, and fitting more, his pure action comedies—represented sort of dissonance this round. This is unique Jackie Chan movie. Enough to recall that he isn't the usual Jackie Chan in it; however succeeds. And as a genre movie, it reaches really high top that not a lot of genre movies can reach. It is more like its own metaphor about the little soldier who could be big; a sparrow that could be a phoenix.

daworldismine little big soldier is a solid action comedy for sure, but after reading loads of reviews saying how this was jackie chans best movie in years, i went in expecting a masterpiece, and i didn't get it, the movie looks expensive and is very nice to look at, and some of the action scenes are really top notch, but anybody expecting a fight fest like the usaul chan fare will be very dissopionted. as chan is very much the underdog here, and really isn't a good fighter. the comedy here is funny, and it has an ending that will be shocking, and surprising. the movie has a lot to recommend, and it is very well made, but its far from perfect, and at times it drags, and there are long bursts without action. never the less this is still a decent jackie chan movie, and is definitely worth a watch

karledwards2010 I would recommend this film to any one who is after a comedy for the night, Before i saw this film i was wary of it because of films I've seen with shabby Chinese - English conversion, or just terrible Chinese matrix styled martial art films, and i am glad I've been proved wrong. From the start to the end it is pact with Action and Humor. Jackie Chan is a sleek as ever with his strange ability to use the environment to his advantage in brawls and his strange antiques are as fine tuned as ever, ontop of this, his comedy is a fine as it ever has been, he pulled this off well and truly. I also though how the film ended was brilliant, i don't want to spoil it, so take my word, the ending couldn't be any better. In my opinion i would say this is in the top 10 films I've seen this year.