Skip to content
Paul Greenwood reviews
- Cert:
- Running time: 114 minutes
- Year: 2003
- Released: 4th April 2003
- Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1
- Rating: 8/10
Director:
- David Dobkin
Cast:
- Chon Wang: Jackie Chan
Roy O’Bannon: Owen Wilson
Wu Chow: Donnie Yen
Lord Nelson Rathbone: Aidan Gillen
Chon Lin: Fann Wong
Artie Doyle: Tom Fisher
Queen Victoria: Gemma Jones
Charlie Chaplin: Aaron Johnson
Chon Wang’s Father: Kim Chan
Unlike Jet Li, Jackie Chan has made some entertaining, if hardlyoutstanding, American films.
The Rush Hourfilms were breezy fun andShanghai Noon had a lot of charm. A sequel to that film was inevitable andit’s arrived in the shape of Shanghai Knights.
A kung-fu comedy western, Noon introduced us to our heroes, cowardlywise-ass Roy O’Bannon and high kicking Chon Wang. The formula is the sameas before, with only the setting having changed. Where Noon relied on theeast-west culture clash for its main thrust, Knights transposes the actionto Victorian England and uses British and American differences as itsspringboard.
The plot catalyst is the murder, in China, of Wang’s father, and the theftof the Imperial Seal. Learning of his father’s death, Wang re-teams withRoy and the pair head to London to find the killer and re-claim the scroll.Once there, they get involved in a plot to assassinate the royal family,while meeting the likes of Jack the Ripper and Arthur Conan Doyle. WithWang’s sister in tow, they wisecrack their way round London while kickingseven bells out of assorted goons.
The period detail is very good, with Prague standing in for 19th centuryLondon, plus the odd CGI augmented cityscape, some nice and some obvious.While the action sequences are superb, equally important is the comicbyplay between the two stars. Wilson brightens up every film in which heappears with his goofy schtik, and he’s on his most endearing form here. Heeven manages to make an actor out of Chan, as witnessed by some hisexasperated expressions when faced with Roy’s antics. It’s nice to seeJackie back on form after the dismal Tuxedo, and he uses his gifts as aphysical comedian to astounding effect.
Some of the biggest treats here are the tributes to silent stars, fromBuster Keaton and the Keystone Cops to Harold Lloyd. There are also a fewmoments where, in a similar fashion toA Knight’s Tale,anachronistic musicis played with the action, such as during a wonderful market fight scenechoreographed to “Singin’ In The Rain”.
On the downside, Donnie Yen is almost as wasted here as he was in Blade II,with only a climactic battle showing us what he can bring to the party (seeIron Monkey for a glimpse of what he can really do, and drool inanticipation of his upcoming scraps with Jet Li in Hero). And yes, thereare a few too many moments when it looks like they’re remaking IndianaJones, and yes, the plot is nonsense, but this is easily Jackie Chan’s bestAmerican film (or maybe that depends on how you feel about The CannonballRun) and positively demands a third instalment.
Review copyright © Paul Greenwood, 2003.E-mail Paul Greenwood
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.