Film

Ride On

Name: Ride On
Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama
Released: 2023
Cast: Jackie Chan, Liu Haocun, Guo Qilin, Wu Jing, Yu Ailei

Car-chase action

Jackie Chan plays a broke stuntman whose chaotic life—including his beloved stunt horse—becomes internet gold when a debt-collection mishap goes viral. It's a film that finds genuine warmth in failure and friendship, mixing slapstick comedy with real affection for people scraping by. Perfect for anyone who loves Chan's later work: funny, humane, occasionally touching.

TMDb rating

3.6

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Police Story1985

The template for everything Chan would become: inventive action, physical comedy, charm that survives every explosion. His performance is so alive it makes most action heroes look like statues.

But The subtitles can be thin on English prints, and the plot—cop goes undercover—barely matters. Also 1985, so the pacing is patient.

Rumble in the Bronx1995

Chan's first major English-language success, and you can see why. Fights choreographed like dance, humour that doesn't need translation, genuine warmth in how he treats every character as real.

But The dubbing is aggressively 90s. The plot is thin, and some jokes about his love interest haven't aged brilliantly.

Drunken Master III1994

Chan at peak physical comedy, fighting while drunk, fighting while on fire, his relationship with Yuen Lo as his father giving the action unexpected emotional weight. A masterclass in using the body to tell stories.

But The opening is slow and talky by modern standards. Some viewers find the slapstick broad, especially in the early scenes.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ride On

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Shaolin Soccer2001

Both celebrate people on society's margins—Chan's stunt horse and Chow's monks—and transform their scrappy survival into joy. Both are about the dignity in collective struggle.

Stephen Chow directs and stars in this film about shaolin monks playing soccer. It's absurdist, visually inventive, utterly joyful—the same spirit as Ride On's found-family chaos, but filtered through kung fu and impossible physics.

But It's deliberately surreal and unreal in ways that can feel saccharine. The comedy lands on whimsy rather than anything grounded, which either delights or exhausts you.

My Spy2020

Chan reunited with director Kevin Tancharoen, playing a softer role than you'd expect. It's genuinely funny, genuinely sweet with its young co-star, and proves Chan's gift for comedy has never left.

But It's a Disney+ film, so it feels made for a smaller screen. The spy plot is genuinely thin, and some will find it too sentimental.

The Foreigner2017

Chan plays it mostly straight—a grieving father hunting those responsible for his daughter's death. Paired with Pierce Brosnan, and directed by Martin Campbell with real stakes. Shows his range isn't a gimmick.

But It's closer to a thriller than an action comedy, and the tone is genuinely bleak. IRA politics aren't everyone's idea of entertainment.

Bleeding Steel2017

A sci-fi action film that leans into both the spectacle and the absurdity. Chan fighting in futuristic settings, still finding comedy in the chaos, paired with Callan Mulvey's charisma.

But The plot is messy and the science-fiction logic doesn't hold up. Some of the effects look underbaked, and the emotional beats feel forced.

Police Story: Lockdown2013

An older Chan playing a retired cop drawn back into danger, working mostly in a single location. It's tighter than you'd expect, and watching him navigate age and fatigue adds real texture.

But Being trapped mostly in one space makes it claustrophobic. The film is slower and more introspective than his classic work, which some will find dull.

Wheels on Meals1984

Chan and Sammo Hung as elderly widowers making deliveries and accidentally solving crimes. It's funny, it's gentle, it's about friendship in the margins of life. Genuinely moving.

But The elderly-men-in-action formula is well-worn by now. And if you're not invested in their lives, the crime plot is thin as rice paper.

The Protector2005

Chan as a grieving man learning about his past, mixing action with actual emotion. It has the shape of a martial arts mystery, and unlike some of his later films, it commits to the drama.

But The plot becomes genuinely convoluted toward the end. The emotional moments can feel manipulative if you don't connect with the central premise.

C.R.A.Z.Y.2005

Both are about finding yourself through chaos and connection with an unlikely family. Both have real tenderness beneath their messiness, and both trust the audience to sit in complicated feelings.

A French-Canadian family drama about a gay boy growing up in a chaotic, loving household. It's funny and brutal by turns, full of rock and roll, genuinely aching about belonging. Nothing like what you'd expect but absolutely worth your time.

But It's intimate and slow in ways action films never are. The subject matter will challenge viewers uncomfortable with sexuality, and it's almost two hours of family dynamics rather than plot.

Petite Maman2021

Both are ultimately about generational inheritance and the things we cannot save each other from, presented with tenderness rather than melodrama. Both make you feel more than their plots would suggest possible.

Céline Sciamma's film about a girl meeting her mother as a child. It's only seventy-two minutes, it's animated with a painter's eye, and it's about how we inherit our parents' unhealed wounds. Quiet and profound.

But It's slow and contemplative to the point of silence. If you watch Ride On for action and spectacle, this will feel like watching paint dry. No soundtrack, no stakes in the conventional sense.