Shanghai Noon (2000)

Director: Tom Dey

Producer: Roger Birnbaum (producer), Gary Barber (producer), Jonathan Glickman (producer), Jackie Chan (executive producer), Willie Chan (executive producer) , Solon So (executive producer), Ned Dowd (co-producer), Jules Daly (co-producer)

Writer: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar

Action Director: Yuen Biao, Jackie Chan

Cast: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu, Brandon Merrill, Roger Yuan, Xander Berkeley, Rong Guang Yu, Cui Ya Hi, Eric Chi Cheng Chen, Walton Goggins, P. Adrien Dorval, Rafael Baez, Stacy Grant, Kate Luyben, Jason Connery, Henry O, Russell Badger

Running Time: 110 min.

Plot: Jackie Chan plays a Chinese man who travels to the Wild West to rescue a kidnapped princess. After teaming up with a train robber, the unlikely duo takes on a Chinese traitor and his corrupt boss.

DAN-O'S REVIEW: Hey there boys and girls... It's been 3 years since my last review, so if it blows, which it probably does, I don't wanna hear about it. Since I can't possibly offer anything new to these reviews, I'll just submit this crap.

Fact 1) Hollywood doesn't know what to do with Jackie, were all agreed, yes? It's like having this amazing, amusing, wondrous tool that fits in your pocket and has 1,001 uses, yet some asshole can't figure it out (because he never looked at the box or read the instructions), so he uses as a paperweight. Fact is, we are NEVER EVER gonna see Jackie get Hollywood to fully take advantage of his talents... I'm convinced of that now, so GET USED TO IT. Hollywood loves to water everything down, and unfortunately that includes Jackie. I know that Jackie mentioned in his biography that Spielberg wanted to use him in a movie... but, uh, do you get the feeling someone said "Steinberg" wanted want to work with him and he misunderstood.

Fact 2) We know Jackie is better than this stupid movie. However, this WAS his pet project. Ok, so some Hollywood hack rewrote the script and came up with a big steaming pile... whatever. This movie was to make him more accessible to Americans.... which is getting redundant because that's what he's been doing since 1996.

Fact 3) Owen Wilson.... he's... well... fuck him, he sucks.

Fact 4) These aren't fact's, they're actually opinions, but who really gives a crap.

Fact 5) This one's true... I stole a 10 foot tall poster for this movie from a bus stop. It was behind a plastic window that was cracked open on the bottom, so I reached under and *bloop* yanked it out from underneath, rolled it up and put it under my arm. Not 'cause I like the movie really, but because of Jackie.... and that I'm a rotten little thief.

Fact 6) The director, Tim Dey(?), is as exciting and talented as a used-tampon. I saw all the DVD interviews and behind the scenes features... this guy was limp noodle. He had no insight about the film, no real vision or inspiration... it looked like the poor slob had never seen a real Jackie Chan movie. Just because some guy knows how to point a camera at "stuff" doesn't necessarily mean he should be a director (Hello Mr. Ratner!!!).

Fact 7) I liked it when I saw it, but I don't think I could watch it again without falling asleep. This is the Jackie Chan movie for people who "don't like 'those' kinds of movies". Dont'cha hate people like that? I'd enjoy kicking some of those people in the privates.

Fact 7 Part Deux) Why does everyone and their mama think Lucy Liu is hot? She's ok looking, but everyone seems to think she's hot stuff. She's anorexic! How sexy is THAT!! Oh, and Lucy, we all know you don't REALLY speak Chinese. Just thought I'd let you know that, in case you happen to be browsing this site.

Fact 19) (skipped some boring facts) 3 things - Jackie needs a better agent, Dimension Films ought to be burned to the ground (Disney too), and I forgot the last one.

DAN-O'S RATING: 8/10 (if you've never seen a real Jackie Chan film); 4/10 (if you have)

Maybe I shouldn't say "shit". Aside from the fact that the wild west, as portrayed here, is something along the lines of a Walt Disney cartoon, there's nothing fundamentally wrong with this movie. Jackie had to play second fiddle to the immeasurably untalented Chris Tucker in Rush Hour and that was one of the biggest reasons why it sucked. Here he's the star of the show and he seems to have had a good time, but you've still got all these fools watching it so they can laugh at Owen Wilson farting in the bathtub instead of seeing it for the action. There's no big, money-grabbing stunt this time 'round (fuck you, Hollywood) but there's at least twice as much fighting as there was in the snore-inducing Rush Hour. It keeps your attention, but it doesn't reach out and grab you and smash your head against the screen like some of J.C.'s earlier stuff does. Yeah, I know the guy is in his 40s but I still think he has one or two really big action-packed spectaculars left in him. Chances are we'll never see them, though, as the American studios are more interested in presenting Jackie to a bigger audience (SUV-driving yuppies with a pack of screaming brats who have already seen the latest dipshit animated musical seventeen times).

And what the hell is with Chon Wang getting over the sudden murder of his uncle in about three minutes and then never mentioning it again?

Sigh.

Don't get me wrong. This movie really isn't too bad at all. But there are plenty of flicks out there, J.C. and otherwise, that pack a hell of a lot more punch. And they don't have beaten-to-death cliches like the rebellious princess in them, either.

NUMSKULL'S RATING: 5/10

YATE'S REVIEW: Shanghai Noon is one of my favorite latter day Jackie Chan movies. Sure it's not a stunt or martial arts films, but it is still a great film. Director Tom Dey does a good job with the scope of the film and throws in a lot of good references to classic westerns. The fights and stunts that Jackie does do in the film are well done and funny. The best thing about the film, though, was Owen Wilson. He totally steals the film as Roy O' Bannon, the laid back Californian-type cowboy. Owen Wilson is great in the role, making every line, even ones that werent meant to be, funny. This is by far Jackie Chan's best American flick and is much much better than that flaming pile Rush Hour.

YATE'S RATING: 10/10

DRAGONBALL'S REVIEW: Wow, what can I say? This movie is without a doubt the best American movie I've ever seen (because it's the best Jackie Chan movie America has made so far) and really makes "Rush Hour" seem... sub par. Great storyline (even if it's a little recycled from Rush Hour), great characters and great fun! Highlights for me: the train action scene, Jackie finding Owen Wilson buried up to his neck in the desert and giving him chopsticks to dig himself out with, the drinking game- "UNO MAS!"-, the final fight and of course, the outtakes. The ones for this movie are hillarious! The only thing I could criticise a little are some of the fights. Though they made use of Chan's imaginative prop fighting and kung fu, the camera is often too shaky for you to know exactly what's going on. "Shanghai Noon" came out on August 10, 2000, here in Australia, and I had the bonus of buying the first ticket of the first screening in my city of Adelaide. Ever been to Sydney? Adelaide is about 3/4 the size. And I was the first of however many million people we have(this may sound stupid to you, but for obsessives like me, it's a great thing). I hope it does well at the box office.

DRAGONBALL'S RATING: 9/10

JAMES H'S REVIEW: Once upon a time there was movie called "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". That movie did wonders for not only westerns, but also for buddy movies. Even today, more than 30 years after its initial release, it is still a great movie. But anyway, in 1999 a movie called "Wild Wild West" tried to recreate what "Butch and Sundance" had. It failed. It failed miserably. In fact, "Wild Wild West" is without a doubt one of the five worst movies I have ever seen.

But I digress. "Shanghai Noon", the new Jackie Chan movie, does manage to recreate much of the chemistry that Redford and Newman had. Jackie and the very funny Owen Wilson (looking a hell of a lot like Redford) are great together. So much so a sequel is already in the works.

Anyway, the story has Jackie going to America to rescue a Chinese princess (Lucy Lui) and some things go wrong, there are some set backs and Jackie manages to partner up with outlaw Owen Wilson.

Obviously, this film will draw comparisons to "Rush Hour". And rightly so, it's essentially the same plot except it's about 100 years earlier, and annoying Chris Tucker is replaced with genuinely talented Wilson.

At age 46, Jackie Chan still has it. He still has the ability to dazzle audiences with his fight choreography and stunts. Unlike his other American films, "Shanghai Noon" has fights that are more like Hong Kong films. Director Tom Dey generally does a good job with the fight, except for maybe one or two instances where it is difficult to make out what is going on (due to poor cinematography and editing). However, this is not for the whole film. The rest of the film is beautifully shot and looks great.

"Shanghai Noon" is one hell of a great summer action/fun movie. Think "Maverick" meets "Rush Hour" with better fights. And on a final note, I ask this question: can anyone teach me how to play that drinking game?

JAMES H'S RATING: 8/10

T-STYLE'S REVIEW: I liked this. Inspector Lee should of been Chon Wang, Chris Tucker should of been Owen Wilson, Rush Hour should of been Shanghai Noon. Rush was a Chris Tucker movie, Shanghai was a Jackie movie. Ok, I'm done comparing. I don't care much about the story so I'm just gonna comment straight onto the action scenes. As always nowadays, Jackie does his usual prop fighting, but it's so damn creative, so I liked it. The rope and horse shoe scene was good, but due to the camera angle sometimes I dont't know what the hell is going on. The stunt on the train with the logs, it was a good concept but again due to the camera angle showing his face.....whats the point of this stunt then?? Someone must of been playing with the zooming button on the camera. These little things doesn't make any of the fight scenes look bad though, Jackie still got it.

Owen Wilson, whos this you might ask? Go see and find out. He's pretty damn funny. I'm ashamed that I laughed at Chris Tuckers jokes back then, even the racial slures were funny to me. Even though there were racial slures in SH, Owen didn't use them as his jokes. Owen Wilson is what made me say "Its better than I expected" and "Funnier than I expected". I wouldn't say he saved the film but he played a great role in it. This was a good movie, watch for fight scenes, Owens humor, trees and horse-shoe, peeing in jail cell, and that fine ass indian girl. Everyone in the cast played their role well, its a good movie, go see it. If you've seen Rush Hour you'll probably end up hating it after you see Shanghai Noon.

T-STYLE'S RATING: 8/10

S!DM'S REVIEW: He's done it. He's finally done it. Shanghai Noon should do it for Jackie Chan. He and Owen Wilson light up the big screen in a funny Western spoof, one that has its fair share of fight scenes, funny one-liners, and booze. What to make of the fight scenes, though, I just can't say. It is apparent that much of Chan's agility has withered with time, but he makes good use of what he has on more than one occassion. Let's see; there's a battle in a forest with blood-thirsty, evil Indians (I know, I know), a hugely entertaining bar room brawl, and a "grande" finale to cap it all off. Owen Wilson can't fight (or shoot), but he and Jackie play off of each other like professionals, much unlike the mismatched team in Rush Hour (Shanghai Noon is grandly better). Word plays abound, and even I spotted a few tributes. This one should go down in the books.

S!DM'S RATING: 8/10 hard-drinking horses