Jackie Chan made his screen debut as a child extra in the 1962 film Big and Little Wong Bar when he was eight years old. He made his breakthrough starring role in 1978’s Snakes in the Eagle’s Shadow.

It wasn’t until 1998 however that he became a more mainstream global star when he starred in Rush Hour, opposite Chris Tucker, marking his first English speaking role, having been dubbed up until this point.

And although the kung-fu legend is now seventy, and having appeared in over 150 films, he continues working, as this latest Chinese action comedy proves.

Having just finished his most recent action film is Jackie Chan (Chan). He’s going through some next options with his agent David (Xiang Wei), such as appearances at various film festivals, but nothing really grabs him. But one thing does: he’s asked if he’ll visit the latest addition to the Noah Zoo, a rare baby panda. Not only that, he’s been asked if he’ll adopt it. And as baby pandas are so very cute, how could he say no?

Little does he know however, that there’s a mercenary group that are getting paid handsomely to steal the baby panda, heading to the zoo at the same time.

Can the aging screen legend still manage to pull out all the moves to save the baby panda?

This film is painfully bad, there’s just no two ways about it. It begins promising enough, being quite meta with Chan enjoying some action scenes, playing himself. But as soon as the panda arrives, it doesn’t just go downhill, a huge crater opens and swallows it up.

Now you have to give it some leniency, it’s a film primarily for the domestic market of China after all, where their tastes maybe fairly broad, and they would have to be to enjoy this. You can imagine someone who has just had a lobotomy still being disappointed in it on every level.

For instance, the acting is woeful; watching your child’s nativity play would be considered Hamlet compared to this. Everything is agonisingly telegraphed, and has the subtlety of Saturday morning cartoons.

And even visually it looks poor, as if it were shot on a smartphone.

And although Chan still has some moves, you can’t help but look at him like you would an elderly parent as they struggle to get out of a chair, bless.

At least he has Rush Hour 4 to look forward too, but on this evidence, maybe not the rest of us.

Chan has given more than most to the world of entertainment, putting his body through so much pain and torture in the name of winning audiences over with his stunt antics, but when the audience starts feeling the same pain watching you, then surely it’s time to stop.