Jackie Chan performs in his latest film "Dragon Blade." (Photo/CNTV)
When Jackie Chan announced a couple of years ago that he was taking a break from big action movies, the media thought he was announcing his retirement. But they couldn't have been more wrong, as his latest film "Dragon Blade" shows.
At 61-years-old, actor and martial-arts exponent Jackie Chan says he still finds action movies "easy", and he has no plans to give them up.
"If Stallone and Schwarzenegger can fight, I still can fight. Of course, I need some doubles, special effects and camera angles to help me do all the action," he said.
At a budget of $65 million, "Dragon Blade" is set 2,000 years ago and is about Roman soldiers and a Chinese force coming together to protect the Silk Road.
"It's about peace. Everything is about peace. Especially these days - Japan, China, India and America, the kinds of things have happened, so it is about time to make a movie to show the world. I think everybody has a responsibility to do something for peace," he said.
Chan plays a squad commander who strikes up a friendship with Roman general Lucius, played by John Cusack. Lucius has fled his homeland because of the ruthless ruler Tiberius, portrayed by Adrien Brody.
Chan, who choreographed the fight scenes, praises the commitment of both his costars.
"John Cusack, very hard trainer. I taught him first. Later on, my stunt team taught him. He'd go back to the hotel, he'd take the sword and practice every single minute, every day. (Adrien) Brody, he doesn't have many fight scenes - he just did ending fights, so he has so many months to train. Both are very good. Both are very good actors, very good personalities. I like that," he said.
The Kung Fu star also hopes "Dragon Blade" will show more of his range.
"I want to let the audience know that Jackie is an actor who can fight, not a fighter who can act," he said.
"Dragon Blade" was released in China earlier this year - where it brought in more than $115 million. It will hit U.S. theaters on September the 4th.
