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CHAN'S
LATEST FILM IS DEFINITELY KICKIN'...
Written
by Thomas
Chau
Cast:
Jackie Chan (Chon Wang), Owen Wilson (Roy O'Bannon),
Lucy Liu (Princess Pei Pei), Roger Yuan (Lo Fong), Xander
Berkeley (Van Cleef)
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Premise:
A Chinese Imperial guard is sent to the old American
west after a beautiful Chinese princess is kidnapped
and taken to Nevada. Chon Wang finds himself teaming
up with an outlaw to help in his mission. |
Overall
Rating:
Rated PG-13
for mild violence.
An
action star, a babe, and jaw-dropping stunts. MI2
all over again? Nope. This time, it is surprisingly
a Jackie Chan film. Although most of the country's attention
is focused on Gladiator and MI2 right
now, Chan's latest surprise should not be over looked.
Shanghai
Noon
takes place in 19th century Nevada. Chan plays Chon
Wang, a Chinese Imperial Guard sent on a mission to
rescue the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei, who is taken
to America by her captor, Lo Fong. Once Wang arrives
in America, he finds himself partnering up with Roy
O'Bannon, an outlaw in the old American west.
From
the success of Rush Hour, it became clear that
Jackie cannot survive being in a film by himself. Since
then, several of his classic Hong Kong films have flopped
at the box-office. In order to get Chan's reputation
back as an international action star, Touchstone &
Spyglass came up with a recipe for success: Pair him
up with another goofy character.
Although
the chemistry between Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan is
nothing compared to that of Chris Tucker and Chan in
Rush Hour, it brings back memories of the days
when every hero simply had to have a sidekick.
The interesting thing about Wilson's character is that
he is the complete opposite of what Chan is. He can
be thought of as sort of the lazy, clumsy cowboy outlaw
who would prefer spending time with the ladies over
risking his butt to accomplish a mission.
The
movie is by now means a divergence from Jackie Chan's
repertoire; there are kicks, jumps, and flips every
step of the film. But it has something the other action
films don't have this summer and that is its sheer wit
and dry humor that only a foreigner can make funny.
Take out Chan and put an American actor in his shoes
and you'd be sitting through the film half-smiling maybe
once or twice during the course of two hours. Put in
Chan and his lack of English-speaking abilities and
you have comedy that complements the action and excitement
well. Shanghai
Noon
may be overshadowed by the larger budget pictures. But
it sure as hell deserves to be up there with them.
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(C)
2000 Touchstone/Spyglass Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.
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