Directed by David Dobkin / Written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
Starring Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan and Fann Wong
107 mins / Spyglass Entertainment / Rated PG-13

Keaton-esque

In Shanghai Knights, Chon Wang and Roy O'Bannon find themselves hunting the bad guys once again. This time it's an English Lord with a plan ascend to the throne through a devious plot involving a Chinese emblem, a machine gun and some fireworks. The intricacies of such a plot device don't really matter. What matters it that there's plenty of laughs and lots of kung-fu.

Owen Wilson's laid back slacker charm is in full effect once again. He's completely out of his element, using surfer slang and modern language, but that's exactly what makes it funny. He's a western fish out of the water. And in Shanghai Knights he's even more out-of-waterish, as he travels to England where he must deal with "spotted dick," bad teeth and cold dispositions.

Jackie Chan hasn't had the best film track record for the last four years or so, so it's nice to see him back in his element with a partner with whom he has chemistry (The Tuxedo? Ugh.) Chan's fight scenes are innovative and are very reminiscent of the wonderful scenes he had in the first Rush Hour. He maniacally strikes and jumps using whatever objects he can find to his advantage.

The Scooby Gang is all here.

The first half hour is slow as the film sets up the buddies in this latest situation. Really, the film should have partnered them together from the beginning - you seek out the movie to watch the interplay between Wilson and Chan and it's frustrating to wait for it. Once the whole gang (including Wang's sister Lin) join together however, the whole film kicks into funny high gear. The three leads have a great chemistry and it's fun to watch them when they all get together.

Shanghai Knights makes cleaver use of modern music and doesn't rely on a simple score. With any other movie this could be distracting, but in this film it works to heighten the comedy. It's so much fun to hear a familiar 70's era tune belting out in the background of Victorian-era brothel.

The film is nothing more than a showcase for Chan's acrobatics and Wilson's comedic talents. The plot is simplistic and predictable, but none of that matters. What's most important is that the film is a kung-fu-rific comedic romp. How's that for a quotable phrase?

Movie Grade: B+

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