Shanghai Knights (2003)

"Shanghai Knights" – Protects Us from the Overly
Serious
by Homer Yen
(c) 2003

If you've seen the just-released list of Oscar nominated films for 2002, you'll find films about despondent women, heroic fantasies, and a Holocaust survivor. You'll even find a rare nod for a musical and recognition for a historical epic. But the point is this. Much of December and January are filled with the type of serious fare intended to attract the Academy's eye. Or, trashy offerings are dumped upon us as a last-ditch effort by studios to make a few dollars before their films wind up in Blockbuster Video.

Therefore, it's about this time of season when moviegoers are ready for a pleasant offering that just allows us to sit back, eat popcorn, and enjoy the show. In that vein, "Shanghai Knights" delivers. It's a spaghetti western, martial arts display, and circus act all rolled into one.

The sequel to "Shanghai Noon," this film reunites Chon Wang (Jackie Chan), a martial arts expert with an easy-going attitude and Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), an expert at nothing with an easy-come-easy-go attitude. We first see Chon as the new sheriff out in the Old West when he receives a package from his sister (Singapore TV star Fann Wong). His father has been murdered and the killer has fled to England. Needing money, he visits Roy in New York City to acquire fare overseas. But despite previous riches, Roy has fallen on hard times. Needing purpose in his life, he decides to accompany Chon. Unfortunately, wherever Roy goes, trouble follows. And this leads to a funny and fabulous choreographed scuffle, pitting Chon against a trio of club-wielding police officers in and around a revolving door. If you don't smile at this, you don't know what fun is.

The plot involving vengeance, honor and sword carrying thugs is a familiar one. Yet there are a few cute elements such as the inclusion of notable figures such as Jack the Ripper and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But what makes this film worthy is Jackie Chan's boundless energy and his wholehearted desire to please the crowd. On a recent Jay Leno Show, he explained that during filming, he suffers more than his fair share of scrapes, contusions and the occasional concussion. You know that this is true when you watch the outtakes at the end of the film as he forgets the occasional block or unexpectedly falls. However, he says that when he sees the crowd laugh, it's all worth it to him. It's hard not to appreciate that kind of devotion. And Chan's brand of martial arts is more comical than lethal so that all ages can enjoy what he does onscreen.

The film's goodwill wavers somewhat in the final few scenes when Chon goes head-to-head against Wu Chan (Donnie Yen) and Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen), the two central villains in the film. Donnie Yen possesses the crippling fighting style that may be a bit too rough for the kind of fun atmosphere that the film has thus far established. This crafty martial arts expert who has appeared in such rough and tumble films like "Blade 2" and "Iron Monkey" seems like the kind of bad guy you'd expect from a Jet Li film. Meanwhile, Rathbone's scheme to mow down his enemies with a machine gun seems a bit too ruthless. Nonetheless, "Shanghai Knights" is affably entertaining.

Grade: B

S:        1 out of 3
L:        0 out of 3
V:        1 out of 3

==========
X-RAMR-ID: 34085
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 841977
X-RT-TitleID: 1120269
X-RT-AuthorID: 1370
X-RT-RatingText: B