Shanghai Noon

Set in the 1890s, a Chinese princess is kidnapped and taken to the West. Several imperial guards are sent over to get her back, including one who sort of has the “hots” for her. You guessed it, Jackie Chan. Once in the States, the Eastern guard hooks up with a Western outlaw, and both men battle the bad guys for the princess’ freedom.

Hit-and-miss for most of its way, I expected more from this film which delivered several funny one-liners, a couple of cool action scenes, but ultimately dragged on for too long. Looking back, there isn’t any particular scene which stood as spectacular or anything, despite the authenticity of the Western setting, the typically original Chan fight sequences, and the over-the-top ending. Did Owen Wilson deliver as the “comic relief”? Definitely. If he wasn’t there, I think I would definitely have been bored during some scenes. Was he as funny as Chris Tucker? Definitely not. This difference might be attributed to Tucker’s experienced ad-lib abilities, but all in all, I would say that Wilson was very good for the role. But let’s talk about the reason people really go to see Jackie Chan movies…the action scenes! This one certainly does deliver several of them, but once again, I didn’t find any particular one to be outstanding. I thank God that they didn’t use all that phony wiring stuff like Jet Li did in ROMEO MUST DIE (3/10), but still, flicking a rope around with a horseshoe as a weapon, doesn’t exactly warm my butter.

The story is also kinda weak, but then again, that is to be expected from a movie like this. I don’t know, maybe I just don’t appreciate silly action/comedies as much as the general audience, who overall, seemed to enjoy the picture, but this one just didn’t deliver enough solid action or comedy, in my humble opinion. Having said that, there was one particular “Chinese drinking game” scenario which totally cracked me up, and had me wanting to drink right afterwards (For those scoring at home…I did!). But all in all, the jokes were generally up-and-down, funny enough to warrant a viewing, but most likely to be better appreciated on video. Another thing which I generally never notice in films is the editing, which seemed a little “off” in this one, with abrupt cuts here and there. And last but certainly not least, the typical Chan movie outtakes in the end weren’t even as good as I was hoping they would be. Most of the time, they are filled with action mistakes and goofs, but this one seemed to concentrate more on Chan et al flubbing their lines. Okay. Overall, I can’t really say this movie delivered the goods as much I was hoping it would, but it definitely isn’t a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination either. So if you’re looking for a fun, mindless, so-so kind of comedic action movie…forget the pathetic attempt by the WILD WILD WEST (3/10) crew last summer, and try this saddle on for size.

PS: For the ladies, and some of the guys, wait’ll you see Jackie Chan without his shirt on…my, oh my…Brad Pitt, look out! Six-pack heaven!

(c) 2021 Berge Garabedian