AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS

"I except your wager"

Phileas Fogg

After stealing a priceless jade Buddha from the Bank of England, Lau Xing (Chan) poses as inventor Phileas Fogg's (Coogan) new valet Passepartout to escape the police. During Mr Fog's monthly visit to the ministry of science, his master is challenged by Lord Kelvin to prove his outrageous theory that a man could travel around the world in 80 days on the promise that if he failed that would never invent anything ever again. Lau Xing sees this as his chance to return the Buddha back to China, so Phileas Fog and he set off on the greatest adventure ever undertaken by man.

The adventures of Phileas Fogg and Passepartout have graced the silver screen on numerous occasions but this one stars martial arts legend Jackie Chan. Does that make it instantly good?

Well yes and no. Jackie Chan is one of the most charismatic action stars working in cinema today and Around the World in 80 Days does change this in the slightest. His role as Passepartout has been changed to fit this unique style and unbelievable abilities but that is the major flaw of the movie. The classic Jules Verne novel has everything you need to bring together a big screen adventure and you can argue that the time is right for another adaptation but this amount of changes just to incorporate Jackie Chan shouldn't have really been made.

For a whole new audience who have never read the book, seen the cartoon series (Around the World with Willie Fog) or watched the 1956 classic with David Niven, this is still an entertaining journey. Phileas Fogg is bought to life by British comedian Steve Coogan. A cult figure in the UK, the actor/writer/comedian is still a lesser known name in the rest of the world but this could be the movie to change that. He plays Fogg as a typical eccentric English man who is extremely clever but has not common sense. This is the kind of role that Coogan can excel at but you could argue that for a man with outstanding comedic ability, the character is more of the straight man than the comic relief.

Jackie Chan gets to play the hero again in his own energetic style. Again his fight sequences are brilliantly choreographed and action packed but you do have a niggling feeling that you have seen them all before. The problem is that the character of Passepartout is very similar to his Chon Wang from the Shanghai Noon movies and so are the settings and situations the character gets himself into. Jackie is still as watchable as ever but you might start to feel that his Hollywood movies are starting to get a little too familiar.

The rest of the movie is filled with suitably outrageous characters. Jim Broadbent gives an almost pantomime like performance as Phileas's nemesis Lord Kelvin but this does suit the role. The same can be said for Ewan Bremner as Inspector Fix but he is slightly too over the top in some sequences and does become slightly annoying. Cécile De France brings some beauty to the proceedings and nothing much else as she plays another strong willed woman rebelling against the restraints of 19th century society, as seems to be the norm in all movies about the period.

The film does loads of cameos to watch out for. From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Owen and Luke Wilson, the cameos radiate out of the screen as pivotal moments in the movie. These really add to the movie making it all the more watchable.

While the film does have its flaws, the major changes of the story and the annoying and extremely poor computer graphics that show Fogg's route across the world, Around the World in 80 Days has many enjoyable moments to make up for these short comings. It isn't as good as the David Niven classic but it is still a watchable piece of light-hearted entertainment that will make you want to have a travelling adventure yourself.

Audio commentary from director Frank Coraci
Deleted scenes
Stunts with Jackie Chan!
'Behind The Scenes' featurette

Shanghai Noon

Shanghai Knights

---

The Usher Home | Hush, Hush... | The Big Story | The Usher Speaks

Stuck @ Home | Coming Soon | Links | Contact the Usher

2004