Shanghai Knights Review
by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)February 5th, 2003
SHANGHAI KNIGHTS
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In the Forbidden City, an evil Englishman murders the Keeper of the Imperial Seal despite the efforts of his feisty daughter Lin (Fann Wong). She contacts brother Wang (Jackie Chan, "The Tuxedo"), now sheriff of Carson City, who in turn heads to New York to get his "Shanghai Noon" gold from Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson, "The Royal Tenenbaums") in order to follow the killer, as his sister did, to London. Roy's not an easy guy to shake, though, so the odd couple are once again teamed for a common goal as "Shanghai Knights."
"Shanghai Noon" was a delightful showcase for Chan's choreographed stunts and Wilson's anachronistic surfer-dude humor, but this followup is DOA. Owen can still milk a laugh, but Jackie's slowing down and director David Dobkin ("Clay Pigeons") cannot overcome cheesy production values and an overstuffed script (Alfred Gough & Miles Millar "Shanghai Noon.")
Instead of one fish out of water, Gough & Millar move their heroes to turn of the century London, so that the brash Americans can inspire Arthur Conan Doyle (Thomas Fisher, "Enigma") to create Sherlock Holmes, offhandedly take out Jack the Ripper and discover the young Charlie Chaplin all in the hunt for Lord Rathbone (Aidan Gillen, Showtime's "Queer as Folk"), tenth in line to the throne. In addition to helping form British notables, they hit all the tourist spots, tussling with Beefeaters, pillow-fighting with prostitutes in Whitechapel and evading bad guys at Madame Tussaud's before literally hanging off the face of Big Ben. The screenwriters pay homage to the movies of Harold Lloyd, Abbott and Costello and the Three Stooges with their revolving walls and peephole paintings, but they neglect simple story logic and take far too many detours along the way.
Wilson, with his wide blue-eyed innocence amidst the most guilty of circumstances, has great comic delivery and a knack for reaction shots. He also has chemistry with the extremely charismatic Jackie Chan. Chan does his stuff with a revolving hotel door, English bumbershoots (to 'Singin' in the Rain') and library ladders, but they lack the lightening quick execution that has been Chan's strength. Fann Wong doesn't have much character development as Roy's love interest, but she is fleet of foot, picking up Jackie's slack. Aidan Gillen plays the villain well, a royal with the look of Johnny Rotten.
Production design (Allan Cameron, "The Mummy Returns") and costume (Anna Sheppard, "Schindler's List") are straight out of Acme props, with snow that looks like Ivory Flakes and a Whitechapel bordello more in line with New Orleans than a London ghetto.
"Shanghai Knights" clearly sets up its next episode for a Hollywood setting, but if it continues down this path we may be in for a "Shanghai Surprise."
C
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