Shanghai Knights (2003)

IN THE DARK/Jonathan Richards

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS

Directed by David Dobkin

Rated PG-13, 107 minutes

The Victorians, God bless 'em, had an expression for a woman of easy and commercially-oriented virtue, which was "no better than she should be." There are movies like that too. "Shanghai Knights" is that kind of picture - dressed up in bold and bawdy colors, good-hearted, attractive if the light is generous. Its appeal is unsubtle, its style practiced, its patter familiar, its sincerity suspect; it's out there for a good time and to make a little money. You won't fall in love, but it passes the time in an agreeable way.

Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson reprise their roles from "Shanghai Noon". Chinese detective Chon Wang (pronounced "John Wayne") and his laid-back sidekick Roy O'Bannon ride again, and this time the ride takes them across the pond to merry old Victorian England, to recover the Chinese Imperial Seal from a dastardly lord, the sinister Rathbone (Aidan Gillen), who has stolen it from the Forbidden City and killed its Keeper, Wang's father, into the bargain. This misfortune gives Jackie a chance to put on his solemn, noble face, which is not his best look. But the puckish imp can't stay gloomy for long, and soon he's grinning that irresistible grin again and leaping around kung-fooing bad guys with his trademark zest. Chan has been making movies since he was six, and that six-year-old still fills most of him, although the packaging is starting to show signs of wear and tear as the body edges toward fifty.

There's an easy chemistry between Chan and Wilson that provides the justification for these movies. Wilson's easy-going Californian good looks serve him up as the blond Dean Martin, a 19th century surfer rake who dallies with the damsels, tells tall stories about his imaginary exploits, and harbors a yellow streak that generally keeps him out of harm's way while Jackie does the heavy fighting. O'Bannon then translates these adventures into dime novels, written under a pseudonym and featuring himself as the action hero and Wang as his faithful Chinese companion, the Shanghai Kid.

The plot of "Shanghai Knights" doesn't bear much summation. Loosely, it involves two evil pretenders to thrones - Wu Yip (Donnie Yen), who aspires to be emperor of China, and Rathbone, whose designs on the crown of England will involve eliminating the nine people ahead of him (shades of the Alec Guinness classic "Kind Hearts and Coronets".) Wang and O'Bannon have to stop this from happening, find the Imperial Seal, and exact revenge for the murder of Wang's departed ancestor. In this pursuit they have the help of Wang's sister Lin (Singaporean pop star Fann Wong), and a couple of Brtishers whose historical identities are coyly hidden in plain sight until the end - a Scotland Yard inspector named Artie Doyle (Tom Fisher), who has come up with a new method of deductive reasoning and would really rather be a writer, and a street urchin named Charlie (Aaron Johnson).

Jackie Chan pictures are about the blending of comedy and martial arts, a style he developed when the death of Bruce Lee opened the Asian action field for a new star. His movies play like the Astaire-Rogers dance vehicles of another era - afterthoughts of plot and romance short-ordered to fill the spaces between the big production numbers. And there are some wonderful production numbers here. Watch for a couple of lively set-piece tributes to Hollywood comedy immortals the Keystone Cops and the great Harold Lloyd. Best of all, and in keeping with the musicals metaphor, is a wonderfully inventive tribute to Gene Kelly's classic "Singin' in the Rain", with Jackie wielding an umbrella as he cavorts over London rooftops dispatching a legion of baddies.

The trouble is, no matter how inventive some of the conceits are, after a while all that chopping and bopping and kicking and whacking starts to sink into an inexorable quicksand of ennui, and there's no way to save it. Maybe a quarter hour karate-chopped off its length to bring it in at a fighting-trim hour and a half would have helped. The mix is further muddied by a sound track with one of the more eclectic mixes of songs ever assembled, ranging from Roger Miller's England Swings to the Zombies' Time of the Season and Winchester Cathedral by the New Vaudeville Band.

If you want weightier fare, there are plenty of the end-of-year Oscar pretenders still holding forth in the neighboring theaters. But for a popcorn-muncher and a few grins, "Shanghai Knights" is easy, light-hearted, and no better than it should be.

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X-RAMR-ID: 34086
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 841978
X-RT-TitleID: 1120269
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