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Shanghai Knights | Year: 2003 Classification: Action Directed: - David Dobkin Actors/Actresses: - Jackie Chan as Chon Wang - Owen Wilson as Roy O'Bannon - Fann Wong as Lin The Franchise Continues!!! Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson reprise their hit roles from Shanghai Noon for another go around of odd couple-buddy kung fu action-comedy to solid results. THE STORY: After receiving word from his sister Lin (Asian Superstar Fann Wong) that their father was killed and the Imperial Seal their family was sworn to protect was stolen, Chon Wang reunites with Roy O'Bannon and heads to England to avenge his father's murder and recover the Imperial Seal. Along the way our heroes find help in the form of a young street thief and a "Scotland Yard detective with a penchant for deduction" and uncover a deadly plot that will change the course of history of both Britain and China if successful. Supporting stories include Roy's growing infatuation with Lin and Jackie playing "overprotective big brother." THE ANALYSIS: Like in the Rush Hour series, all the charm and chemistry between Chan and his buddy (in this case Wilson) is preserved. The pair work and play off one another well and it shines through. Wilson's hilarious, laid back delivery style again steals the show and even though he is aging Chan STILL delivers the goods action wise with his trademarked innovative, highly choreographed and amazing fight scenes. THE SEQUEL: Like in other "franchises" of late, this particular sequel does borrow and recycle bits from the first installment but does so without making the bits "old" or REALLY feel borrowed. Most notable of the borrowing is the "homage" to history with character name revelations (one REALLY obvious), one not-so-obvious. The other bits of course center around Roy and his usual want for women and the "odd couple" chemistry between Roy and Chon. BEST SCENES: -Rescuing Roy from certain death by water -Sheep scene -New York hotel fight scene -Street battle -Secret room battle -The End of Credit Bloopers THE VERDICT: Overall, fans of the first movie, and Jackie fans in general, will be pleased with this second outing. All the charm you expect from a Chan buddy comedy is still here and the action is as solid as ever. In all you get all the goods you look for in an action-comedy: kick ass fight scenes (the street fight with the umbrella was particularly sweet), solid humor (most of the bits are pretty darn funny) and a pretty nice story of two friends (you can almost feel for Roy when Jackie tells Lin about Roy's "goods."). In all, this movie came up just at the right time for this time of year considering all the problems going around now. It was the perfect two hour diversion from all the current troubles of the world. Hopefully they'll be another sequel, or we'll just have to wait for Rush Hour 3. Highly Recommended Romping Around London. SHANGHAI KNIGHTS isn't as fresh and original as SHANGHAI NOON. However, it still is a lot of fun. Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson make a great onscreen buddy duo and the movie revolves more around their character's chemistry rather than the story they are involved. I especially enjoyed the references to great classical comedians (Keaton, Chaplin, and Lloyd) not to mention the hilarious allusions to more modern films (INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE anyone?). The plot of the movie is full of holes and historical inaccuracies. However, this is a Jackie Chan buddy picture, so the plot naturally takes a backseat. My only disappointment in the film was that it used a lot of crude humor. There are tons of ... induendos and there are a couple of risque scenes (Roy's dream about Chon's sister, e.g.). The running jokes ... became old right after the first time they were made and the continual use and reference to it, dragged the action and comic speed of the film down. Yippee-Yi-O-Ay Cowboy! Jackie Chan's Losing His Creativity A sequel to Shanghai Noon, Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) & Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) are teaming up this time in search of the murderer of Chon's father, who was working in the Chinese Forbidden City as the keeper of the Emperor's seal. After a short reunion in New York, Chon and Roy went off to London, where Chon believed where the killer was hiding himself and the imperial seal. Lin (Fann Wong), Chon's younger sister, was already in London trying to track down the killer. They then uncovered a conspiracy between the Chinese Emperor's elder brother (Donnie Yan) and a member of the British family (Aidan Gillen)....... This is a typical action comedy of Jackie Chan, so there are not much new substances to be expected (Many audiences may find the pillow fighting scene quite funny). The theme of the story is not bad, which puts the majority of the scene settings in 19th century London. The script is, however, poorly written which spoils the whole idea. The directing is also sub-standard comparing with other Jackie Chan¡¯s movies made in America. The action design is very much a mix-and-match of all previous Jackie's old movies made in Hong Kong during the '80s and '90s. I wonder whether it's the poor directing which screws up the movie. The best part of the movie is still the 'deleted scenes' before the end credits - which becomes a standard of Jackie's movies. Fann Wong, a famous actress and singer in Singapore, acts okay. Somehow, I just feel I see a bit of Zhang Ziyi's (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Rush Hour II) shadow in her acting in this film. Fann is of course a more experienced actress than Zhang. I suppose Jackie has all the good intention to introduce more Asian female faces to Hollywood. I was disappointed with Jackie's last movie Tuxedo, and now this one continues to disappoint me. My 5 years and 11 years old kids both love Jackie and his movies. They said Shanghai Noon is better, I agree. I have watched almost every single one of Jackie's movies since the eighties. This one really looks like those he did back then in Hong Kong. Jackie ¨C time for you to focus on Quality, not Quantity!! I am giving this film an overall rating of C. I know it's a bit harsh but Jackie needs that criticism to improve. Buy Shanghai Knights at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Shanghai Knights Search with the Priority Search Engine on Shanghai Knights This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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