In “Shanghai Knights,” Jackie Chan and crew followed the first rule of pop culture–repeat success.
The long-awaited, highly anticipated sequel is nearly identical to its predecessor, 2000’s culture clashing work of mediocrity, “Shanghai Noon.” Making minor plot changes and more creative fight sequences, the film is extremely close to what “Rush Hour 2” was to its precursor.
Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are back as Chon Wang and Roy O’Bannon, respectively, to fight the forces of evil with prop-assisted martial arts and awkwardly timed ironic cultural musings.
Since the China-meets-Old West jokes ran dry toward the first film’s end, we conveniently travel with the boys to Victorian England, to which the murderers of Wang’s father–yes, Wang is “avenging”— happen to have escaped. This change in setting provides the vehicle for most of the film’s comedy, since both are now fish out of water.
Some other small additions to the plot give the flick a bit more humor and overall character. For instance, a third sidekick, a Scotland Yard Inspector was incorporated into the crime fighting team, as well as a young pickpocket turned O’Bannon apprentice. The new characters keep the comedy flowing.
Also, Fann Wong makes her stunning presence known to America in her English language film debut as Wang’s younger sister. She has a larger role than Lucy Lui did in “Noon,” serving as a romantic interest for O’Bannon and a helper to Wang in some of the action sequences.
With Wong, “Shanghai Knights” only is repeating success again. She debuts in an almost identical style to Zhang Ziyi’s “Crouching Tiger: Hidden Dragon” performance, yet again detracting from the film’s creativity.
“Knights” outshines “Noon” in Chan’s imagination and rediscovered talent for the action sequence. He hasn’t choreographed stunts like this since the original “Rush Hour,” which brought him plenty of mainstream fame.
The film contains a sequence Chan “dreamed of doing for many years,” according to a press release. The fight takes place in a hotel lobby and makes its way into the revolving glass door. The fight had to be meticulously choreographed and shot to avoid filming any reflections off the glass and door handles.
Other notable action scenes occur on a free-floating barge, inside landmarks such as the British Convention and Madame Toussaud’s, and using an umbrella to homage “Singing in the Rain.” The final clash inside Big Ben is a spectacular sword fight that mixes elements of Asian samurai moves and English fencing techniques.
Jackie Chan is saving the girl and beating up the bad guys again; he’s just doing it fancier this time. And, as is the case with most Chan movies, the outtakes are worth sitting through the movie.