El poder del talismán

If you like the type of movies like National Treasure and Tomb Raider, but you want a lot more action inserted into the plot, you'll probably really enjoy The Medallion, starring Jackie Chan. It's a fantasy story about a magical ancient medallion that gets sent down through the generations and gives the owner some magic.

Jackie teams up with Claire Forlani, who has some seriously hidden talents. It's really fun to watch her kick and punch like a regular Charlie's Angel. Together, they fight against bad guy Julian Sands (why are we not surprised?) while trying to protect an innocent child, Alex Bao, the rightful owner of the medallion. Along for the ride and for comic relief is Lee Evans, who will probably be the favorite of those who are bored in the audience. If you don't like the fantasy element and just went to see Jackie Chan, you might not like this one. Inane comments and incompetence from Lee might be the only bits that bring a smile to your face.

For die-hard Jackie fans, though, every movie is a treat. This fellow has to risk broken bones, speak in a foreign language, work with children, and manage to not look in the camera. Isn't that entertainment enough?

The movie centers a police agent (Jackie Chan) who will face down an evil baddie called Snakehead (Julian Sands) for the possession a medallion with an extraordinary power and he wants to use its magic for his own nefarious plans . Chan and other agents (Claire Forlani and Lee Evans) will have to face off nasties who are waiting to rule over the world and obtain eternal youth , but the medallion is carried by a boy and he hands over one halve to Jackie Chan . As Chan must determine the secret of the medallion and confront the evil Snakehead who wishes to use its magical powers for his own nefarious schemes .

From start to finish action pace is interminable , the movie is fast moving and that's why it is amusing and isn't boring , neither tiring . The film blends intrigue , humor , pursuits , frenetic action , struggles and results to be very entertaining . In spite of it , this comedy/action picture failed in the box office and was a real flop. The action by Jackie Chan is proceeded by means of special effects , FX , and wires to difference other films in which he makes his owns stunts . The motion picture has a certain likeness to ¨the Tuxedo¨ similar in extreme powers of Jackie such as : thanks to the 'medallion' and 'tuxedo'. While in the first Jennifer Love Hewitt played as ¨buddy movie¨ couple with Jackie Chan , here plays along with Claire Forlani .

The final showdown between the starring and nasty contenders is astounding and overwhelming although there are made by computer generator FX . The motion picture was regularly directed by Gordon Chan (Painted skin , Fist the legend , Thunderbolt) . After seeing credited director Gordon Chan's rough cut, Columbia hired Douglas Aarniokoski to shoot new sequences and re-edited the film extensively . The yarn will appeal to action-packed buffs and Jackie Chan fans.

Rating : Average 5/10

Being a long time fan of Hong Kong cinema and a big Jackie Chan fan, I had high hopes for The Medallion. Shanghai Knights was pretty good. When I saw the trailer for The Medallion, it showed Jackie performing as usual plus the cgi crap. But, I wanted to give it a chance. A lot of film experts and other sources of information gave insight into the movie, and it received a lot of promotion. I thought Jackie would return to his original style in this one considering his age. I'm going to look at two perspectives of film, the pros and cons.

PROS - There were two action scenes where Jackie doesn't do any wire martial arts nor requires cgi involvement during the first half of the movie. Given the fact that Jackie is reaching 50, he can still get down. The female lead was great. Claire Forlani exceeded my expectations of the female character, and her acting wasn't really bad either. She gets to do some martial arts herself (couldn't stand Jennifer Love Hewitt in The Tuxedo egh!!!). Lee Evans provides the comic relief along Jackie's martial arts and stunt work. I liked the way Hong Kong and American filmmakers collaborated to do the film. Look out for veteran Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong in a supporting role as the bad guy.

CONS - The cgi incorporated into the film just didn't do it for me. Filmmakers can't use cgi for everything. I'm tired of seeing people running through trees and jumping over things that's not possible in reality. The plot in the film had to many holes and seemed to be rushed at times. Jackie's acting didn't seem to fair well including the chemistry between him and Claire. It seemed to dull. Julian Sands wasted his time in this film. Hope he takes this as a lesson learned. Bey Logan's writing skills needs a brush up before he can continue on in my opinion. I hope he doesn't utilize the same form in the upcoming movie, Kung Fu Master. The mystical kid in the movie annoyed me too much, and he only said two sentences throughout the whole movie. Repeating the Golden Child theme is just ridiculous.

All in all, the movie was alright. Compared to Jackie's recent American releases, this better than The Tuxedo but less than Shanghai Knights. Jackie doesn't have to take every movie offer he can. Take a break and come back with the Police Story series or something. This is a type of movie that can only be seen once or twice if you want to consider your judgement about the movie.

My final vote 6/10

What a dreadful movie. Even my children were bored. I thought the point of Jackie Chan was that he did his own stunts? Isn't that his main claim to fame? So what is the point of having half the film devoted to boring CGI stuff with people flying around and disappearing in puffs of smoke and so on? And if you are going to hire a REAL genius like Lee Evans for your comic relief, why not use him properly, let him do his own thing, instead of making him adopt a silly I-say-old-boy accent and utter lamentable lines? It's a shame as Jackie Chan comes over very appealingly on screen, he has a genuinely warm and affable screen presence. The romantic element is especially embarrassing. The film looks as though it's been chopped about like chicken livers to end up with an incomprehensible plot of no interest whatsoever.

Every 1000 years a child is born who can wield the power of two halves of a supernatural medallion, which can bestow superhuman strength and immortality, as well as take life away. Snakehead (Julian Sands), your typical crook with world domination ambitions, has discovered the identity of a modern-day chosen child, and pursues him. Meanwhile, Hong Kong police detective Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) and Interpol agents Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) and Nicole James (Claire Forlani) have been pursuing Snakehead because of his criminal activities, and stumble into the grander scheme.

While The Medallion is certainly not a film without flaws, it is satisfying on the whole if you approach it as a comic book/cartoon-styled Jackie Chan actioner. The film combines even more genres than that, actually, and there are times when it seems almost to be a spoof of James Bond-styled thrillers. There are also more straightforward comedy elements--especially when Evans is on screen, the film almost becomes a slapstick farce--there are Matrix-styled fantasy/action aspects, and there is a romance subplot. On top of all of that, The Medallion moves very quickly. Director Gordon Chan packs a lot of information into the film and barely pauses for a breath--if you blink, you're likely to miss some bit of crucial action, a plot point, or a joke.

In short, it's a complex stew of different genres, with a mixture of adult themes and childlike lightheartedness, wrapped in a dense mythology of fantasy and served at a non-stop, breakneck pace. Undoubtedly, those qualities will turn off a great deal of viewers, whether because they hate MTV/attention-deficit-disorder-styled editing, genre hopping or a lack of real-world believability. I don't mind any of those qualities, and in fact I tend to prefer films that forgo realism.

I only had two small complaints about The Medallion. One, it took me a few scenes to get up to speed with the film, both plot-wise and in terms of style. Once I got into the groove, though, I didn't want the film to stop--enough that my second complaint is that the film was too short (and in general, I strongly dislike the fact that most films seem to be forced by studios to end within 90 minutes). I wanted to see more of these characters, especially Evans, who stole most of the scenes he appeared in. Jackie Chan fans seeking a return to films that are solely kung fu-oriented will likely be disappointed, but if you have broader tastes, The Medallion might hit the spot. An 8 out of 10 from me.