La Filature

Okay bear with me on this one, this is one of those films that I enjoyed yet I fully understand an argument against me doing so.

You see Netflix decided to make another buddy duo with Jackie Chan, he's done great work with Chris Tucker, Owen Wilson and even Lee Evans before so it made sense. There is just something about him that screams buddy movie, so here they pair him with Johnny Knoxville which has been met with a very mixed reception. Do they have chemistry? I personally thought so.

It tells a rather generic action movie story (As they tend to do) with lashings of comedy to keep it interesting and in my view both of these leads excel in that department. They both have great natural comedic timing despite not really coming from that background, Chan from martial arts and Knoxville from.......stunts?

An old school buddy movie with over the top sequences, the odd couple dynamic and Chan's trademark comedy stunts/fight scenes I was enthralled but the films flaws are overwhelming.

Many jokes miss their mark, some moments seem awkward, the fights are considerably tamer than we're used to (Chan's age no doubt a factor), and the whole thing has a really PG vibe to it. Truth be told the movie has a lot more flaws than I'm letting on but it's qualities outweigh them and I found it an enjoyable, fun, throwback movie.

I understand the criticism, but I really enjoyed it and would love a sequel.

The Good:

Leads do a great job

Eve Torres is ageing like a fine wine

Some funny moments

Awesome buddy movie dynamic

The Bad:

Littered with flaws in pretty much every area of the film

PG cuteness hurts the film

This film tells the story of a Hong Kong policeman who has to catch an American con man, chasing him from Macau to Russia. Along the way, they encounter trouble with Russian gangs and Mongolian tribes. They have to do everything to survive.

"Skiptrace" is in English but it is clear that it is aimed at the Chinese market. The film itself is adequately entertaining, with a lot of action scenes done in a funny way that makes you chuckle. However, it just looks like every other recent Jackie Chan film, even the action sequences are beginning to feel strangely familiar. It is an adequate choice to kill an evening, but don't expect too much because Hollywood action films have moved on but this hasn't.

Hong Kong police detective Bennie Chan (Jackie Chan) loses his partner Yung in a deadly bombing. He suspects that businessman Victor Wong is criminal Matador responsible for the death. He's been investigating for 9 years to no avail. World-traveling thief Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville) is on the run from the Russian mob after sleeping with the daughter of the boss. In Macau, he gets involved with Yung's daughter Samantha who is infiltrating a casino connected to Victor Wong. He steals her card to access a private floor where he witnesses Esther Yee's murder. He escapes by getting taken by the Russians. The casino accuses him of stealing money and Samantha asks Bennie to track him down.

This is classic Jackie Chan. The action is still there and so is his sense of humor. His fights still have that pep and his fights with Eve Torres are actually funny. It's nothing new except this time's guilo is Knoxville. I expected better chemistry but the two deliver enough comedy. The story doesn't really work and the movie tries very hard to make it into a muddle. The guys end up in the Mongolian desert for no particularly good reason other than it's exotic cool. It's great to see Jackie staying in fighting shape but it's not much better than that.

Is this Jackie Chan at his best? Of course not, but if you like him or the particular style of movies, then you should be able to have fun with this. It's not really science to put a movie like this together, things just happen and the action sequences are decent enough put together (again don't look for excellence).

Even former Jackass and now Chan partner has a role that is fitting. He's no Owen Wilson of course or Chris Tucker for that matter. But he does his schtick and it ... sticks. The jokes may not have the impact some could have and many things are predictable, but that's the way it is. Don't overthink it (any of it), just sit back, relax and take it in

'SKIPTRACE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new Chinese-American action-comedy buddy film, starring Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville. It was directed by Renny Harlin, and written by Jay Longino, BenDavid Grabinski and Wen-Chia Chang. The film tells the story of a Hong Kong detective, that's forced to team up with an American gambler; in order to stop a Chinese crime boss. The movie also costars Bingbing Fan (a popular Chinese actress and pop singer), Eve Torres (a popular WWE wrestler, model and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter) and Eric Tsang. The movie received mostly poor reviews from critics, but it was a blockbuster at the Chinese Box Office. I enjoyed it.

Bennie Chan (Chan) is a Hong Kong detective, that's been pursuing a Chinese crime boss, known as 'Matador', for many years. He became obsessive about the case, when the notorious criminal killed his partner, Yung (Tsang). Bennie believes that a businessman, named Victor Wong (Winston Chao), is the 'Matador', but he doesn't have the evidence he needs to prove it. When Yung's daughter (Fan) gets in trouble with the crime boss, for letting an American gambler, named Connor Watts (Knoxville), steal from her, Bennie must track the gambler down in order to help her. Bennie and Connor then reluctantly team up, and of course bond on their new adventure.

The movie is everything you'd expect from a Jackie Chan buddy movie; it's reminiscent of 'RUSH HOUR' and 'SHANGHAI NOON', but not quite as good. Knoxville is great playing the comic relief, in action buddy flicks like this (he also did it in 2004's 'WALKING TALL', and 2013's 'THE LAST STAND'), and he and Chan have great chemistry together; it would have been interesting to see Sean William Scott in the role too though (who Knoxville replaced). Renny Harlin is of course very qualified to direct this type of movie as well, and he does a good job. It's a fun movie; not great, but fun.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GhHTPB4y30