cover

image courtesy of IMDB


Rating:

6


Year of release: 2003

Company: Touchstone

Genre: action/comedy

Running time: 114 min.

Director: David Dobkin

Action director: Jackie Chan

Script: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

Producers: Gary Barber, Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman

Cinematography: Adrian Biddle, Harvey Harrison

Editor: Malcolm Campbell

Music: Randy Edelman

Stars: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Aaron Johnson, Tom Fisher, Aidan Gillen, Fann Wong, Donnie Yen

Rated PG-13 for violence, crude humor and language


Related links:

Jackie Chan biography
Donnie Yen biography
Movie Review index
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Shanghai Knights

Shanghai Knights

Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. Image courtesy of IMDB.

While Shanghai Noon was one of the few US crossovers for Jackie Chan that actually worked, its' follow-up Shanghai Knights unfortunately falls prey to "sequel-itis". This is a good movie, but it's basically a total retread of the first film. There's some decent action and mildly funny comedy, but any Jackie Chan fan has seen this kind of stuff done before, and done much better.

The film opens as Jackie's father is killed by a slimy British politician (Aidan Gillen), who steals an Imperial Seal in hopes of placing a rogue leader (Donnie Yen) as emperor of China, and himself as king of England. So yeah, you can guess what happens next -- Jackie and Owen Wilson pack their bags and head to England, along with Jackie's firey sister (Fann Wong). Will Jackie save the day? If you don't know the answer to that, then stop reading this review and go back to watching "Teletubbies".

Shanghai Knights

Donnie Yen and Aidan Gillen. Image courtesy of IMDB.

Anyway, everything here is by the numbers. The jokes are similar to those in the first film, with Jackie and Owen meeting up with future stars like Charlie Chaplin (the mandatory annoying kid you want to kill in this case), and lots of guffaws as they try to eat things like spotted dick and haggis. The comedy works for a bit, but falls apart after a while. Part of the reason is the script; it's not really believeable that people would go around saying "cool" in 1890's England, and some of the jokes fall flat as a result.

Action-wise, things are a mixed bag. There are some good fights -- many of them (ala Project A) taking their inspiration from classic American movies, but, again, it's the same thing we've all seen before. The fights are staged well and showcase some good moves, but they just aren't that exciting. Even the much-anticipated (at least among HK movie fans) Jackie/Donnie Yen fight comes off a bit flat. It doesn't help matters that some of the action bits are directly taken from other movies, like the final stunt, which has Jackie and Owen falling down a building and using a flag to slow their fall -- something which was already done in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies.

Though not nearly as bad as The Tuxedo, Shanghai Knights still isn't anything great. Like The Tuxedo, Shanghai Knights almost doesn't seem like a Jackie Chan movie. It's got a lot of stunts and comedy, but there's little of the spark which has characterized Jackie's best work.

Shanghai Knights

Jackie Chan and Donnie Yen. Image courtesy of IMDB.