"Shanghai Knights"
Chon Wang (Jackie Chan), since his last adventures in "Shanghai Noon," has
become the respected sheriff of Carson City, Nevada. But, when he learns that
his honorable father was murdered and his sister is on the trail of the killers,
he heads to New York City, grabs his former partner Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson)
and sets off to London in a quest for revenge in "Shanghai Knights."
Once in a while, a sequel proves to be superior to the work that spawned it.
Note, for example, "Final Destination 2." Unfortunately, "Shanghai Knights" is
not a better film than "Shanghai Noon," which, at least, had the fresh pairing
of its stars, Chan and Wilson. It wasn't a match for Chan's Hong Kong action
comedies, like "Drunken Master" and "Supercop," but it gave the inventive move
meister another foot in the door of the American movie business. The best that
can be said for "Shanghai Knights" is that it is more of the same, with the
chance to play in different locales like New York and London.
"Shanghai Knights" starts out in typical fashion with Chon's estranged father
(Kim S. Chan) brutally knifed to death by English Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillan)
who steals the imperial seal of China. Chon's sister, Lin (Fann Wong), fought
like a tiger to save her father but to no avail. She sets after Rathbone for
London and sends word to her brother of her plight. Chon heads to New York City
to get his share of the gold from his previous adventures with Roy, but his old
sidekick had squandered it all on wine, women and song - especially women. The
pair is forced to stow away aboard ship in order to get to London where Lin has
tracked the killer. Many fights and chases ensue until the big finale where Con,
Roy and Lin must save the royal family from the evil intent of Lord Rathbone.
"Shanghai Knights" is going to have a ready-made audience that will likely
garner the box office receipts akin to its predecessor. It has all the requisite
action with Jackie Chan doing his patented moves as he fights the bad guys with
ladders, book, vases, swords and whatever else comes to hand. Chan can still
move with grace but he is getting a bit creaky for such action. He is hands
above his CGI performance in last year's "The Tuxedo," though, and is still a
pleasure to watch the master at work.
The clunky structure of the story - plot, fight, comedy, plot, fight, comedy,
etc. - make things mildly amusing but the Hollywood influence detracts.
Screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar use the buddy/king fu formula from
the first film and reheat it without adding any new ingredients - except
location. This time it is East meets Western meets Jolly Old England at the turn
of the 20th century but with modern music - "England Swings," "Singing' in the
Rain," "Time of the Season," "Magic Bus," "Winchester Cathedral" and "One (is
the Loneliest Number)" are just some of the contempo songs used - and hipster
lingo that only distance the viewer from the "story." If I want to here lines
like, "Who loves ya, baby?" I'll channel surf to an old "Kojak" TV show. Here,
it is just a distraction.
Chan, of course, is always a pleasure to watch and he is here, too. Owen Wilson,
with his funky face and humorous air, has fun as Roy O'Bannon, but it is not a
stretch. Fann Wong, as Chon Lin, is pretty and physically capable in the fight
scenes. Aidan Gillen, as bad guy Rathbone, doesn't distinguish himself as
anything special. Thomas Fisher, as Scotland Yard inspector Artie Doyle, is
amusing and underutilized. Young Aaron Johnson plays street urchin Charlie, who
shows up at the appropriate moment to steal something from someone.
While "Shanghai Knights" is, ostensibly, a period comedy, there is far too much
contemporary reference. The scripters do try to pay homage to comedy greats such
as Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd - especially to Lloyd's famous slapstick
comedy on a giant clock. In the end, though, I just wanted the movie to be over
so I could go home and watch reruns on TV. "Shanghai Noon" was fun and "Shanghai
Knights" is more of the same -just not as much fun. I give it a C.
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X-RT-RatingText: C
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