Donnie Yen will get his ass kicked in a single scene in “Polar Rescue,” titled “Sou jiu/Come Again Residence” when it opened in China. And albeit, it’s not an excellent search for the martial arts icon, who has been extra at house within the delivering of on-screen ass-kickings than on the receiving finish.

However he’s over 60, so possibly the sentimental slop of “Polar Rescue” is his filmic destiny from right here on out.

It’s a “I misplaced my child in a blizzard” story of a household trip gone flawed within the frigid north of China. And it’s a story of irritating lazy cops, not-secret-enough guilt, a mini media circus and the battle to discover a child now we have simply sufficient time to get to know to notice is kind of the spoiled brat.

De and Xuan (Yen and Cecilia Han) are benefiting from their journey “north,” displaying their two younger children the pleasures of snow and winter sports activities. However headstrong Lele (Yuan Jinhui) has his coronary heart set on seeing fabled Lake Tian and its mythic “monster.” He throws a tantrum when Dad informs him that the highway is closed. So indulgent Dad finds a again option to drive their rented Chinese language SUV there.

After all they get caught. Keep in mind, Donnie Yen, “there is just one Jeep.”

That’s when Lele recklessly nearly will get run over, standing in the course of the snowy-icy highway. Subsequent factor we all know, he’s gone lacking and the mother and father are pleading with a do-nothing cop — “Southerners are so RUDE!” — to try to a search launched.

“How did you lose him?” (in Mandarin with English subtitles) De is requested for the primary and definitely not the final time.

Even after the chief (Hou Tianlai) intervenes and an enormous search will get underway, numerous the searchers have their suspicions, which they gossip about within the chilly.

De grows extra frantic with every passing hour, whilst “There’s no hope” and “Even an grownup can be useless by now” gloom units in.

Diving into social media for crowd-sourced “assist” simply makes issues worse, as customers voice their darkest fears for what this seemingly distraught father might need achieved and on-line predators present up.

The snowy manufacturing design is first price as this frigid melodrama feels chilly, first scene to final.

However the script, which is credited each to director Chi-Leung Legislation as “written and directed by” and individually by three different “screenplay by” writers within the credit, is a maudlin mess of weepy anecdotes, head-slappingly apparent parental “blunders,” tepid flashbacks and a pause for a patriotic tune by the Pink Military Refrain of searchers.

Motion beats involving a river the distraught father tries to cross, heedless of the hazard, and a frozen lake are spectacular.

It’s simply that no matter they spent the cash on — Donnie Yen, results and site taking pictures — it wasn’t on a compelling and even all that competent script.

Ranking: unrated, violence

Solid: Donnie Yen, Cecilia Han, Yuan Jinhui and Hou Tianlai

Credit: Directed by Chi-Leung Legislation, scripted by Xiaoli Zhang, Sin Lengthy Younger and Chi Wen Ying. A Effectively Go USA launch.

Working time: 1:42