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SHANGHAI NOON Send This Review to a Friend
Certain pictures appeal to the child in grownups, and the new comedy action flick, "Shanghai Noon," fits the bill, as silly as it is. Jackie Chan, master of the martial arts genre of cinema, has a new venue. This time Chan, playing Chon Wang, becomes known as the Shanghai Kid as he migrates from the late 19th century East to America's rootin' tootin' old west in a mission to try to bring back the Chinese princess who has been spirited out of the Forbidden City. Before long he has teamed with Owen Wilson as outlaw Roy O'Bannon, and the twosome are taking on the real bad guys with Chan's usual martial arts skills in a host of tight situations that threaten to doom them.
The film, directed by Tom Dey, never loses its tongue-in-cheek attitude, and it is loaded with unflinching political incorrectness as Wang becomes involved with Indians (this isn't the sort of film in which you'd say Native Americans), depicted as they used to be in outdated westerns. But it is all in the spirit of satire, which is an excuse for just about anything, including some peace-pipe smoking that makes Wang extra happy and a bit bewildered when waking up with a beautiful squaw next to him.
The adventures become more ludicrous by the minute but Chan maintains his serious expression, except when he occasionally lightens up. Wilson contrasts exuberantly with Chan's demeanor as he joins in the hell-raising with a happy-go-lucky air as well as an agenda of his own. Oh, yes, there's gold involved as well as Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu), mispronounced as Pee Pee, which gives you an idea of the humor level in "Shanghai Noon."
The film wears down at various points, but there's enough comic juice in the script by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar and the direction by Dey to provide a diversion for those who revel in old-fashioned action pictures, as well as the opportunity to see what makes Jackie Chan such a success. A Touchstone Pictures/Spyglass Entertainment release.
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