Jackie Chan and John Cena's Hidden Strike trailer breakdown: 3 major takeaways

Action legends Jackie Chan and John Cena join forces in an explosive trailer for Hidden Strike, which only recently dropped, offering fans a glimpse at the pair they never thought they needed. They play two ex-special forces soldiers in the upcoming action-comedy, directed by Need for Speed director Scott Waugh, which has been in production since 2018.

The setting of the trailer shows Baghdad in a near future, devastated by the oil war. Chan and Cena, two ex-special forces soldiers, are on a mission to escort civilians through a dangerous road called the Highway of Death to safety, while also attempting to thwart the biggest oil heist of the century.

The two-minute trailer promises a fun actioner with lots of intense and action-packed scenes and the usual hint of comedy. Hidden Strike, originally titled Snafu, concluded filming in 2018 and was scheduled for release in 2019, which was delayed for unidentified reasons, and later due to COVID-19.

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Hidden Strike trailer: Chemistry between the leads, and 2 other key takeaways

1) The Hidden Strike trailer shows destruction on a mass level

In the opening scenes of the Hidden Strike trailer, moments after the former WWE champion John Cena is heard saying "hit it," the video shows explosive scenes and destruction of a significant mass level as the war for oil prevails in a dystopian setting from the near future along Baghdad's "Highway of Death" to the Green Zone.

The video begins with destructed vehicles scattered on both sides of the highway and fiery explosions of a massive structure, which likely has everything to do with the "a team of international criminals" and "the biggest oil heist in history" mentioned in the initial parts of the trailer.

The trailer then reveals that only two men, ex-special forces soldiers Chris Van Horne (John Cena) and Luo Feng (Jackie Chan), can stop it, but the former is impatient with anger management issues and the other with his wrongly-timed sense of humor.

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2) A fun dynamic between John Cena and Jackie Chan as the two leads

After a few initial explosions, the trailer switches to a scene where the two leads, Jackie Chan and John Cena, are seen in their vehicle. They attempt to strap themselves in as the latter is seen struggling with the seatbelt in an impatient, angry manner. At first, Chan's Luo Feng observes Cena's Chris Van Horne repeatedly jerking his seat belt before teaching him how to do it correctly.

Chan guides him to be "slow," as he slowly releases his own seatbelt. A much-needed dash of humor is provided by the scene, which plays with the grandiose expectations and sets up the humorous chemistry between the characters at the same time.

The second scene is when they are both seen standing in the middle of what seems like a warehouse consisting of ammunition when the enemy walks in and Chan says to Cena that he believes they want to shoot him because "the first time I saw you, I wanted to shoot you."

The scene insinuates that how anybody who would encounter Cena for the first time would likely end up shooting him.

In a third scene, Jackie Chan falls on John Cena from a height and lands directly on his body and asks the latter if he's okay but not after first telling him about his own situation and he's completely fine. In response, Cena asks him to get off of him.

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3) "An oil war" part of the trailer addresses modern and relatable issues

There is no doubt that Hidden Strike addresses modern and more relatable issues regardless of having been in production for the past five years. A war over oil seems like a problem this generation has been facing given the soaring fuel prices, the severity of which is only going to increase in the coming future. The movie lays down a series of events from the near future, showing devastation and destruction. A desert setting further accentuates the gravity of the situation.

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No release date for Hidden Strike has been revealed as of yet.