2008 Woodie Awards
Character chemistry works like a charm again in sequel
Ryan Rinchiuso/ Staff Writer
Issue date: 2/13/03 Section: The Verge
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"Shanghai Knights" takes place a few years after "Shanghai Noon" and sees Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) as the sheriff of Carson City, Nev., and Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) living in New York as the hero of a trashy dime novel series. The two are reunited after Wang learns from his sister that their father was murdered and the Great Seal of China was stolen. Wang, who vows to avenge his father, travels with Roy to London, to track the killers down. While in London, the two encounter many famous people, fall in love and save the day.
"Shanghai Noon," when released three years ago, was not a big hit and was killed by "Mission: Impossible 2". When released on tape, however, many people found the fish-out-of-water story of Jackie Chan in the Wild West and the great chemistry between Chan and Wilson to be appealing. This movie did so well on video and in foreign markets the makers believed it merited a sequel. Although "Shanghai Noon" mixed many genres together, it did not feel forced. The idea of seeing Chan tackling the old west seemed like a good idea and the film worked.
The ideas behind "Shanghai Knights" feel much more forced, as if the makers did not have any ideas and just stole many successful formulas from other films and mixed them together. Since it is a sequel, the locations have to be new, grander and bigger, the action more intense and the story had to include many new characters. The film is a buddy movie and the two leads are now friends, so new characters had to be introduced to be their antagonists, which include a troublesome child (the kiss of death in most movies) and a London police officer.
Although the story was not original and felt forced, the movie is still a very enjoyable two hours. Wilson and Chan, when in the right movie have so much charisma in them it is impossible not to like them. Thankfully this is the perfect role for both of them and they shine separately in their scenes and even more when they are together. Wilson, with his slow, aw-shucks delivery, and Chan, with his bad English and fun fight scenes, are better partners for each other than anyone they have been teamed up with in other movies.
Chan, in "Shanghai Knights," also gets to use his frantic style of fighting better here than in any of his other American films. The scene where he gets to honor one of his heroes, Gene Kelly, with an umbrella and "Singing in the Rain" playing in the background was a remarkable scene that proves to everyone how graceful he is and that he could anchor a musical successfully.
While not as good as "Shanghai Noon," it is much better than most sequels and keeps about 95 percent of the magic together for this movie. The plot and story are of no importance and take a back seat to the two stars. The chemistry makes the film, and I for one would not mind seeing a third film with these two paired together, but hopefully the writers for this movie would bring something new to the film.
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