The Medallion Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)August 22nd, 2003
Medallion, The
Network Premiere
My companion said it best, and I didn't want to admit it at the time but in the cold light of day, I have to say that Jackie Chan has really, truly jumped the shark. AND he had to use wires to do it. Longtime readers know I love and admire Jackie, and ever since Rumble in the Bronx have decided that his baby would be Ok by me. I really liked Shanghai Noon and Rush Hour, and I liked Rush Hour 2 and Shanghai Knights was OK, but damn did I hate The Tuxedo. The Medallion is definitely better than The Tuxedo (if only for swapping Jennifer Love Hewitt for Lee Evans and Claire Forlani), but it is no Shanghai Knights or Rush Hour 2. And that's, well, not saying all that much either.
I am so sad to report this! It actually rated lower than The Tuxedo because there was even less Jackie action than ever before - I think the last time Jackie Chan was in a movie where he didn't get to do much was Cannonball Run II.
Jackie is still the human skeleton key, but we have seen him scale fences and leap through neck-high windows. What we miss is the funny fight choreography, the innocent and ill-prepared man caught in extraordinary circumstances and unexpectedly kicking butt. Now Chan is a legend and he's playing a well-trained cop and he's only fighting one man at a time. There's less camp and joy, and therefore there is less climax and amazement.
Granted, he's older than he was (49 now), but with the addition of the inappropriate Hollywood buddy system (only truly successful in Shanghai Noon), Jackie's mojo is no-mo. On top of that is the annoying weightless wirework popularized by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. In CTHD, they were mages floating through the bamboo in a myth-like setting. Here they are wetsuit clad Interpol forces sneaking onto a Hong Kong dock. They have less weight than a Don Bluth cartoon. And that screams "wire work!" Jackie doesn't need a wire to jump over a rack of bicycles, what gives?
To add insult to injury, most of the bloopers are of Claire Forlani cracking up attractively instead of near misses with the death-defying stunts that previously delighted us. Her eye-rolling-inducing introduction doesn't help. And, to twist the knife further, a boinnggg! Brrraaaappp! Wah wah wah wah cartoon soundtrack. 'OK, everyone, here is where you laugh. Got it? No, no, a minute ago, when he slipped on the banana peel." It's painful. It's like a couple of teenagers with a really excellent camera wrote a Jackie Chan movie, cast their friend who looks like Jackie but has a bum knee, and named the bad guy Snakehead.
Other piddly details: Lee Evans is left to flounder through his big chance to show off his exceptional physical comedy without doing much of it at all, just be high strung and contrary. They spend a good 2/3 of the movie in Ireland, but nary an Irishman to be found. Is that on purpose? After seeing this, I am not entirely sure why people deride Die Hard II so much. Watch that one again and you will appreciate it so much more in light of this summer's Should-Have-Been actioners.
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These reviews (c) 2003 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks. You can check out previous reviews at:
http://www.cinerina.com and http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com - the Online Film Critics Society http://www.hsbr.net/reviews/karina/listing.hsbr - Hollywood Stock Exchange Brokerage Resource
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