SHANGHAI KNIGHTS

Starring:
Jackie Chan
Owen Wilson
Fann Wong
Aidan Gillen
Tom Fisher
Aaron Johnson
Kim Chan
and Donnie Yen

Director:
David Dobkin

Running Time:
114 mins

 

After hearing about the murder of his father and the theft of the Chinese Imperial Seal, Chong Wang (Chan) heads to New York to meet up with his former partner Roy O'Bannon (Wilson). The pair then travels to London to retrieve the Seal and catch Chong Wang's father's killer. Little did they know that the killer is Lord Rathbone (Gillen), who is 10th in line to the throne and Queen Victoria's favourite nephew.

Jackie Chan's best American movie gets a deserved sequel but is it as good as the first? The answer is, in parts, yes.

The buddy chemistry between Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson is what makes this film an enjoyable comic action romp but the script isn't as fresh or as entertaining as the original. In fact without Chan and Wilson, the picture would have been very average indeed but it is their presence that propels the film along and makes it a very enjoyable popcorn movie.

Jackie and Owen are just as good as ever. Both have excellent comic timing with Wilson providing the laughs and Jackie providing the slapstick. They really work well together and you can tell that the pair are good friends both on and off screen. Owen has a very dry way of delivering his gags, which makes them all the more funny. Even in the middle of a life-threatening situation he can still have you laughing out loud. Jackie is back on form in his brilliantly choreographed fight sequences, which get better and even more adventurous as the movie progresses. Becoming more slapstick than all out fights, Jackie's martial arts scenes are some of his best work in years. Yes he uses more props now and he doesn't take as many risks as he used to do but you have to remember he isn't a spring chicken anymore. Still saying that, he can still do more than 90% of the other martial arts stars out there.

The two stars are joined by the beautiful and martial arts skilled Fann Wong. She is an actress with great potential in action movies and as a leading lady. She could well be the new Michelle Yeoh. Aidan Gillen is ok as the stereotypical British bad guy but Donnie Yen, a skilled martial artist in his own right, is wasted as Wu Chow, as I would have liked to have seen more fights between him and Jackie.

The movie is slightly let down by the script, as it isn't as pacy as the original. The first half does drag a little but it takes off at lightening speed when Jackie and Owen discover Rathbone's dastardly plot. Also there is a slight overuse of how better American is on Owen Wilson's part, which does get quite repetitive after a while.

All in all, Shanghai Knights isn't as good as the original but saying that not many sequels are. This is still a great popcorn movie made all the more watchable because of the great chemistry that Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson share.

Audio commentary from director David Dobkin
Audio commentary from the film's screenwriter
Deleted scenes
'Fight Manual' featurette
'Action Overload' featurette
Interactive menu & Scene access


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2003