Shanghai Noon review : A cocktail of adventure excitement & fun
Originally published on Dooyoo.co.uk
I won’t give any of the plot away, other than to say that our hero Jackie, plays a lowly Chinese Imperial guard in the Forbidden City of China in the 1800s. After the kidnap of the princess, he finds himself like a fish out of water in the American Wild West and on a mission.
As Jackie Chan slowly lifted his head from a bowing position in his first scene, I was shocked to see how old he is now looking. My own mortality made an unwelcome intrusion and had to be dispatched – Jackie Chan style of course – before I could enjoy the rest of the film.
After a slightly shaky start this is a very funny, action packed buddy movie in which Jackie is teamed up with a perfect comedy partner, Owen Wilson. Wilson was hand picked by the same guy that came up with Chris Tucker for Jackie’s last film Rush Hour.
Owen Wilson almost steals the show. His charismatic character is likely to appeal to men and women alike but for different reasons. He has a look of Robert Redford about him and his voice often reminded me of Bruce Dearne. He plays an inept train robber with a heart and you can’t help liking him.
The film also has other notable characters including a fantastic psycho-sheriff, a totally unstable trigger-happy new gang member who has what we would term as, “a gob full of teeth.” and a suitably nasty bad guy.
Jackie has undoubtedly slowed down with age and there are slightly less staged fight scenes than in his earlier films. There are still enough of his unique mix of slapstick marshal arts and inventive fight sequences to keep fans happy though. Jackie falls back on many of his tried and tested routines but still manages a few new moves and novel implements to hit people with.
My only real disappointment came when the film had ended. His famous end credit out-takes were still there – but not as good as usual. The stunts that went wrong – often spectacularly – were no where near as good as usual. This is almost certainly down to the fact that he’s now working in America, with American budgets and higher safety standards. Also he’s probably too accomplished now after all these years – he’s had the same stunt team for15 years – ah well.
I really enjoyed this film and would consider seeing it again. It is rated 12. Jackie Chann wrote the script himself and did a fine job. Lots of laughs, excitement and entertainment.
Written by Andy(ArT)Trigg on April 14th, 2008 with
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