SHANGHAI KNIGHTS
----------------
In the Forbidden City, an evil Englishman murders the Keeper of the Imperial
Seal despite the efforts of his feisty daughter Lin (Fann Wong). She contacts
brother Wang (Jackie Chan, "The Tuxedo"), now sheriff of Carson City, who in
turn heads to New York to get his "Shanghai Noon" gold from Roy O'Bannon (Owen
Wilson, "The Royal Tenenbaums") in order to follow the killer, as his sister
did, to London. Roy's not an easy guy to shake, though, so the odd couple are
once again teamed for a common goal as "Shanghai Knights."
"Shanghai Noon" was a delightful showcase for Chan's choreographed stunts and
Wilson's anachronistic surfer-dude humor, but this followup is DOA. Owen can
still milk a laugh, but Jackie's slowing down and director David Dobkin ("Clay
Pigeons") cannot overcome cheesy production values and an overstuffed script
(Alfred Gough & Miles Millar "Shanghai Noon.")
Instead of one fish out of water, Gough & Millar move their heroes to turn of
the century London, so that the brash Americans can inspire Arthur Conan Doyle
(Thomas Fisher, "Enigma") to create Sherlock Holmes, offhandedly take out Jack
the Ripper and discover the young Charlie Chaplin all in the hunt for Lord
Rathbone (Aidan Gillen, Showtime's "Queer as Folk"), tenth in line to the
throne. In addition to helping form British notables, they hit all the tourist
spots, tussling with Beefeaters, pillow-fighting with prostitutes in Whitechapel
and evading bad guys at Madame Tussaud's before literally hanging off the face
of Big Ben. The screenwriters pay homage to the movies of Harold Lloyd, Abbott
and Costello and the Three Stooges with their revolving walls and peephole
paintings, but they neglect simple story logic and take far too many detours
along the way.
Wilson, with his wide blue-eyed innocence amidst the most guilty of
circumstances, has great comic delivery and a knack for reaction shots. He also
has chemistry with the extremely charismatic Jackie Chan. Chan does his stuff
with a revolving hotel door, English bumbershoots (to 'Singin' in the Rain') and
library ladders, but they lack the lightening quick execution that has been
Chan's strength. Fann Wong doesn't have much character development as Roy's
love interest, but she is fleet of foot, picking up Jackie's slack. Aidan
Gillen plays the villain well, a royal with the look of Johnny Rotten.
Production design (Allan Cameron, "The Mummy Returns") and costume (Anna
Sheppard, "Schindler's List") are straight out of Acme props, with snow that
looks like Ivory Flakes and a Whitechapel bordello more in line with New Orleans
than a London ghetto.
"Shanghai Knights" clearly sets up its next episode for a Hollywood setting, but
if it continues down this path we may be in for a "Shanghai Surprise."
C
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X-RT-RatingText: C
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