Shanghaï Kid II

Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson get together again in "Shanghai Knights," the sequel to "Shanghai Noon." It's difficult to say which I like better, although the two seem a little more at home in "Noon." "Knights" is a movie not to be taken seriously. The soundtrack attests to that, being mostly British invasion rock from the 1960's. And there is a lot of historical fudging, not the least of which is Owen Wilson's dialogue and attitude. He just seems so miscast as a cowboy. What keeps this movie from going wrong is Jackie Chan's amazing moves. Here he shows where he shines as an action-comedy star. And the martial arts styles of Fann Wong and Donnie Yen are no slouch either! So, never mind the anachronisms, just prepare to admire Jackie Chan.

The implied promise of a sequel is that it will give you what you got from the first movie, but that promise is often broken. Shanghai Knights is an exception, giving the audience that same mix of goofy dialogue and slapstick martial arts that made the first movie so much fun. This time the duo heads to England, allowing them to make a bunch of incredibly silly jokes about England and Sherlock Holmes and Charlie Chaplin. The movie is essentially one long wink, and if you like that sort of humor your likely to find much of it amusing. At times I thought they pushed the anachronistic dialogue a little too far, as when Owen asks the gorgeous Fann Wong if she works out, but overall it works pretty well. Chan supplies a number of very entertaining fight sequences along with his usual goofy charm and the end result feels like a more actiony version of a Hope/Crosby road movie.

Fresh out after his box-office bomb The Tuxedo, Jackie Chan is back, again playing the role of Chon Wang. In this sequel to Shanghai Noon, Wang and Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) are in different parts of the country: Chon in Nevada, Roy in New York. However, after Chon's father is killed by Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen), he must go to London to find Rathbone to avenge the death of the father. Along the way, Chon's sister Lin (Fann Wong) comes in. Guess who is smitten by her?

Another reason why Chon has to kill Rathbone is that he has a sacred Seal of the Emperor. That's just thrown in to make the plot make more sense. Mucho fight scenes and hilarity ensues.

Chan does better in buddy action comedies like this, instead of straight action. He's noted for using props around him in his fight scenes; this movie is no exception. Chan just takes any old prop he sees and does, what looks like, improv. It's hard to imagine all of these scenes choreographed perfectly; they seem so slipshod (in a good way). All of the fight scenes have Chan's usual charm and wit, you can't help but smile whenever he does seemingly impossible stunts.

Many of the characters were one-dimensional. Rathbone doesn't really have any depth, except that everyone likes him. However, in movies like this, you don't really need twists and turns. Lin's beautiful, but what is her background? Someone working for Rathbone has no depth whatsoever and just pops in. And, of course, there's the little pickpocket (Aaron Johnson) whose name is quite funny. He just comes and goes.

The opening credits were almost exactly like the ones for Shanghai Noon, with sweeps over Chinese letters. Something I enjoyed was how they incorporated famous figures, though a little bit goes a long way. About halfway through, it takes one of those obligatory buddy turns, where they end up hating each other. However, this time, the roles are reversed from Shanghai Noon and it lasts for about two minutes, which leaves you wondering why it was even put in. They took the cliché light-heartedly. At times, it did get heavy-handed (especially at the beginning), but managed to pull through.

The sets were very authentic. Unlike the first, where they could just use cheap facades, they had to create a whole new world, and they did so. You could really believe that the clan was in England. I also liked the transitions in between scenes. They were all `swishes', but as the movie progressed and got more `complex', so did the transitions, from going out on both sides to diagonal. It may seem rather juvenile to put it in, and even more so to mention it, but I thought they were quite cool.

I do wish, however, that they had spent more time in the West. If they had had more about the horse from the first one (also, whatever happened to Chon's wife, Falling Leaves?), it would have been better. However, it almost immediately left the West for the East. Like The Tuxedo, Chan allows himself to be pushed around and beaten.

Chan is great, as usual. He's a great diversion from the real life. He can make us believe that what is done can be done. Technically, he can, because he does his own stunts. Wilson is in top comedic form here, as usual, also. He's quickly becoming an item in Hollywood, and his name's getting out there. Then again, he did do I Spy.

I laughed a lot during Shanghai Knights. Many came from the fight scenes, and others were from Wilson's one-liners. I love how the writers can merge action and comedy seamlessly. I hope for a Shanghai Five, where they go to Hawaii, or some sequel, since this franchise is going somewhere.

My rating: 7.5/10

Rated PG-13 for action violence and sexual content.

This sequel is actually better and funnier than the original. It also has cooler fight scenes too. It is actually a pretty good movie. I laughed really hard in the theater. The story is about a former chinese warrior Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) who after his father gets killed by a ruthless heir of the thrown, seek vengeance on him with the help of his old partner Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) and his sister from China who told him about the death of his father. This one has actually more action and is more funny than the original by a long shot. I personally think that Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights are way better than the Rush Hour movies. I would say this is probably one of Jackie Chan's best movies, and his best comedy for sure. I would recommend this to fans of both Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan and Action/Comedy fans as well. Grade: B-.

This movie is actually funny and entertaining. I wasn't expecting much because the past several Jackie Chan films, Rush Hour sequels and the Tuxedo, have sucked. But, the duo of Chan and Wilson really worked. The whole Sherlock Holms gag with the author and the Charlie Chan kid were very funny. IT was also very funny when they are in the hotel in New York City and we find out Roy really works there and isn't rich. This has plenty of Chan stunts with ladders, amazing kicks, and swords. Plus, it was nearly 2 hours, but it didn't feel long. Most "comedies" now days if over 90 minutes really start to feel dull, but that wasn't the case with this film.

PS: Watching this makes pillow fights look really fun!

FINAL VERDICT: This is worth renting if you are looking for some laughs and entertaining night.