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30 Second Bottom Line: This "Shanghai Noon" sequel reunites Chan and Wilson as they travel to nineteenth century London to hunt down the murderer of Chan's estranged father. Tracking down the villains-a corrupt British politician and a Chinese rebel intent on securing positions of power-involves the usual hijinks, most notably Chan's jaw-dropping stunts.
Story Line: The Chon family has been guardian of the powerful Imperial Seal for over twelve generations but this noble succession is interrupted when the elder Chon is brutally murdered and the seal is stolen. The sad news reaches son Chon Wang (pronounced John Wayne) through a letter from his sister Lin in Carson City, Nevada, where-incredibly-he is the town's pony-tailed sheriff.
Before Wang travels to London to avenge his father's death, he stops in New York City to obtain his share of gold from partner Roy O'Bannon. A self-made adventure novelist, O'Bannon has lost the bulk of their fortune on a poor business venture, and now subsists by waiting tables and romancing women. When the town's mayor
discovers Roy dilly-dallying with his nubile daughters, Roy decides to ditch the Big Apple and help Wang mete out his revenge in England.
Roy's enthusiasm for the project escalates when he meets Wang's attractive sister Lin, a self-sufficient karate phenom, whose character gives a knowing nod to the forceful women of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." A street kid named Charlie Chaplin and Detective Arthur Doyle join the trio in their action-packed exploits. Numerous additional historic and cultural references pepper the script, with winking asides about how the automobile will never catch on, Lin high-kicking Jack the Ripper, and even a scene that has the guys running into Stonehenge.
Of course, this thin plot is merely an excuse for Chan's trademark fight sequences and Owen Wilson's deadpan wisecracks, which tumble non-stop until this laughfest's Harold Lloyd-ish conclusion atop Big Ben.
Tell Me More About It: Done a somersault lately…how about a handstand? If either gives you a headache, then the gymnastic feats of the 48 year-old Chan will leave you breathless. Only the truly inexperienced moviegoer will expect anything deep from this latest entry into Chan's impressive filmography. Fans pay to see Chan's lightning speed reflexes and daring moves; only a fool would be disappointed that the plot is illogical and Chan's acting is sub par. Go see "The Hours" if you long for stellar acting and metaphysical themes. It seems to me that Jackie Chan-doing all of his own stunts as he pushes 50-is reason enough to warrant the ticket price of this lightweight flick. Like the limber Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly, who used anything they could find to invigorate their dance routines, Chan manages to thwart the bad guys with a similar cleverness and aplomb. Vegetables, ladders, ropes become creative weapons. A sequence with a display of umbrellas has Chan hooking his adversaries with its handle, spearing enemies with its pointed end and blocking endless punches with the body of the umbrella¾all to the lyrical strains of "Singin' in the Rain." What a hoot! It will be fascinating indeed to view these choreographed gems in slow motion in the DVD version.
Pairing the athletic Chan with Owen Wilson's laid back slacker persona in both "Shanghai" films has been a casting coup and outdoes the manic match up of Tucker and Chan in the "Rush Hour" series. The chemistry between Wilson and Chan is reminiscent of Hollywood's Golden Years with the shenanigans of the wisecracking Bob Hope and the warbling Bing Crosby in their road pictures. Those films likewise suffered from goofy plots but the camaraderie between those two friends overshadowed that flaw and marked the beginning of a cinematic buddy film tradition that has spanned fifty years.
"Shanghai Knights" pretends to be nothing more than an energetic featherweight action comedy. It is given a dollop of glitz, via the polished touch of veteran cinematographer Adrian Biddle ("The World Is Not Enough"), the sure hand of "Clay Pigeons" director David Dobkin, and the catchy theme song written by Randy Edelman. Surely the bulk of its $50 million budget didn't go into writing this movie's feeble script. From the looks of the now-expected outtakes at the movie's conclusion, perhaps a chunk of that cash went towards insuring the daring Chan.
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