“Shanghai Knights” (Touchstone Pictures)
Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson join forces again in “Shanghai Knights,” the sequel to their hit film of a few years back, “Shanghai Noon.” The chemistry between the two stars is still alive and well but the stunts and the story seem to be more of the same ole same ole, and that makes “Shanghai Knights” a pale imitation of the original.
In the film Chon Wang (Chan) receives word that his father has been killed. His sister Chon Lin (Fann Wong) was with him when he was attacked and saw the Imperial Seal of China being stolen. Now she is on her way to London to track down the killer and get the Seal back. Wang plans to meet her there, but first he needs some money to finance his trip.
He goes to his old partner Roy O’Bannon (Wilson) to collect on money owed to him. Roy of course does not have it but he does manage to get both him and Wang to London where their adventure begins. It all somehow gets involved with their meeting a man from Scotland Yard named Artie (Thomas Fisher), and finding out about a plot to kill Queen Victoria.
Wilson is once again a man with a million quips. Some are funny and some are stale, but his delivery is always fresh. Chan has a few new moves in his martial arts arsenal of skills but it is a known fact that Jackie is in his fifties and has to be slowing down a bit. The fight sequences look totally choreographed and there isn’t a spontaneous move to be seen.
It should be mentioned that Chan’s English and his acting skills improve with each movie. He even gets a few jokes off in this film that are funny, and not just because of his accent. He and Wilson partner up well, with each actor complementing the other in charm and skills. Wilson certainly is better with Chan than he was with Eddie Murphy in “I Spy” and Chan is much better off with Wilson than he was with Jennifer Love Hewitt in “The Tuxedo.” Thank God for small favors!
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
“Shanghai Knights” is not a bad movie. It just isn’t a fresh new one. If repetition is the most sincere form of flattery then “Knights” is certainly trying to flatter “Noon.” The original had all the right moves and all the right jokes, plus it had Lucy Liu. Fann Wong is a nice enough looking woman but she doesn’t have Lucy’s fire.
I scored “Shanghai Knights” a distressed 4 out of 10.
©2002 Jackie K. Cooper
