Shanghai Knights
(2003)
action comedy
directed
by : David Dobkin
featuring
: Jackie Chan - Owen Wilson - Aaron Johnson - Tom Fisher - Aidan Gillen
running
time : 1 hour 54 minutes
East and West team up to take on bad guys
in the British Empire in this sequel to the action comedy hit Shanghai
Noon. Chon Wang (Jackie Chan), once an Imperial Guard in China, is now
the Sheriff of Carson City, NV, while his onetime cohort, former train
robber Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), scrapes together a living writing dime
novels based on his adventures and waiting tables in New York City. However,
when Wang learns that his father was killed by bandits who broke into the
Emperor's palace and stole the Imperial Seal, he's determined to bring
the criminals to justice. Wang's sister Lin (Fann Wong) has learned that
the killers have escaped to London, so Wang travels to England to meet
her, with O'Bannon in tow. As Wang and Lin -- whose martial arts skills
rival those of her brother -- look for the culprits, they discover that
Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen), who is looking to shorten his path of succession
to the British throne, is in cahoots with Wu Chan (Donnie Yen), the bastard
son of the Chinese Emperor's father, who needs the Imperial Seal as part
of his plan to win control of the nation. As Wang and Lin try to get to
the bottom of Chan's schemes, O'Bannon finds himself infatuated with his
pal's sister. While set in Victorian London, Shanghai Knights was actually
filmed on locations in the former Czech Republic, which more closely resembled
turn-of-the-century England.
Buddy-driven franchises usually
get clumsier with each installment, but Chan movies just get fleeter of
foot -- and it's not because he's defying age any better than usual. First
with Chris Tucker in Rush Hour 2, now with Wilson in Shanghai Knights,
Chan scores at least as well -- if not better -- on his second waltz with
each partner. And never have his moves seemed more like dance, especially
during this film's instant-classic homage to Singin' In The Rain, in which
the kung fu gymnast dispatches villains with a deployed umbrella and a
Gene Kelly repertoire of glides and spins. Not every set piece equals this
imaginative high, and in fact, an otherwise clever revolving-door scene
is notable for relying on quick, disorienting edits, which simulate the
frenetic pace Chan could once generate on his own. But this amounts to
quibbling, because Shanghai Knights gives viewers everything they expect
for the price of admission, including another generous helping of Wilson's
sham cowboy legend Roy O'Bannon and his gift for eccentric chatter. Both
Shanghai movies succeed on the strength of this fluffy sensibility, which
nails the tone Wild Wild West (1999) could never find. Sure, it's awfully
cutesy when the script places the duo in the middle of every major historical
event of pre-20th century London, from the thwarting of Jack the Ripper
to the inception of Sherlock Holmes. But that's why Shanghai Knights is
fine popcorn entertainment -- it convinces viewers not to get too distracted
by such unimportant shortcomings.