30 Second Bottom Line: A princess leaves China and travels to the Wild West in America, to escape a tyrannical Emperor. She is followed by members of the Chinese Imperial Guard, who intend to return her to China.

Story Line: Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Lui) does not want to become a wife by way of a marriage arranged by the Emperor. A confidant turned traitor encourages her to escape to America. When she arrives at the American "estate," expecting to live in luxurious exile, she finds it's a Chinese slave labor camp, for mining and building the railroad. The camp is managed by Lo Fong (Roger Yuan), a long time nemesis of the princess, who she knew in China¾and hated.

Ray O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), a young, blond Robert Redford type, is a thief who robs trains. On this particular train are the Imperial Guards and 100,000 gold bars. In the course of robbing the patrons and stealing the mail car, Owen and his group kill Chon Wang's (Jackie Chan) uncle. A running joke is that his name when pronounced sounds likes John Wayne. The kung fu starts as Chon tries to avenge the death of his uncle and a battle between Chon and Ray begins. Starting as adversaries, after being jailed in the same cell for a saloon brawl, they begin to work together.

Tell Me More About It: There are plenty of bad guys to give Chan an opportunity to strut his stuff with the kung fu, along with a fair number of laughs. PS…don't miss the out takes (flubbed shots during filming) while the credits roll at the end. The bath tub scene is a hoot with something that is as funny as anything you will see in "Road Trip" or "Big Momma's House."

Kids and young adults will probably enjoy the film as well as the 50+ crowd, for reasons that might not be apparent at first. On the surface, the movie is the normal thin plot, action flick, set 100 years ago, featuring train robberies and quick draw gun battles in the center of town, rather than car chases.

Beneath the surface of action and humor, we are introduced to the slave labor of the Chinese to develop the West, much as blacks were used in the South. All the bad guys are not white but even the powerful Lo Fong can not get a drink in the local saloon because of his race. It is interesting to see blacks in the saloon both as patrons and prostitutes because it demonstrates that freedom is a door that can swing both ways.

While the film does not pretend to be historically accurate, the power that blacks had after the Emancipation Proclamation during the reconstruction period demonstrates this has happened in the past. Like the Jews in Israel and the blacks in the US, one should not relax, as hard won freedoms can be lost. From the movie "The Cup," the Dali Lama observes that "one's enemies are limitless," with an implication to both the number and time frame. All things that go around do not have to come around.

The dialogue on diversity is done with humor and intelligence. Chon has a relationship with a Native-American woman (Brandon Merrill) who becomes a heroine and her father observes that "at least the man that wears the dress is not white." The redeeming value of all the conflict among the races is that as humans, when we work together toward our common goals, collectively our lives are improved and we move toward the primary goal of our lives, which is happiness.

Finding so much social dialogue not forced down our throats presented in such an entertaining way makes the 2000 version of "High Noon" a great family film.

Acting and Directory Credits: Jackie Chan (Rush Hour); Owen Wilson (Armageddon); Lucy Liu (Charlies Angels: The Movie 2000); Roger Yuan (Lethal Weapon 4)