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I have a sneaking suspicion that the American Film Institute, which makes lists like Campbell’s makes soup, will soon come out with "The Top 100 Buddy Movies of All Time."
I can’t predict number one, but I think it’s safe to say that movies like The Sting and Thelma and Louise will be on that list. With the same certainty, I can assure you that Shanghai Knights, the sequel to Shanghai Noon (2000), will not make an appearance. However, the unlikely but funny pairing of Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan lends the movie a certain scruffy charm.
Shanghai Knights reunites 19th-century imperial guard Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) and train robber Roy O’Bannon (Owen Wilson). The two find London calling when Wang’s sister, Lin (Fann Wong), goes to England looking for the Chinese rebels who murdered her and Chon’s father. Chon and Roy follow, and are soon attempting to foil a plot to murder the royal family. In addition to avenging his father’s death, Chon must keep both eyes on Roy, who has a thing for Lin.
I don’t know who had the idea of pairing Chan and Wilson for the first movie, Shanghai Noon, but the two work very well together. Wilson, who I think could be the bastard child of Bruce Dern and Jack Nicholson, has a very unique sensibility, although it’s a bit of a stretch to buy his space-cowboy shtick in a 19th-century context.
And I wouldn’t put this in the league with the Rush Hour franchise, which features Chan and comedian Chris Tucker as cops forced to become partners.
The problem is, most recent Chan movies have been loosely-put-together affairs to showcase the pyrotechnics of their star, who is pushing 50. As I felt while watching The Tuxedo, Chan needs a stronger director. The man can act, but he needs better material.
In Shanghai Knights, the culprits are a paper-thin plot and two-dimensional villains. The bad guys aren’t even that menacing. Even in a comedy, a Jackie Chan movie only works if it seems as if he is in some danger. I never feel that. The most disappointing aspect is the stunts. They seem to be put together as an afterthought. There are very few of the breathtaking moments that one expects in a Chan film.
I’m not a snob. I think there’s room in pop culture for non-demanding movies that don’t tax the brain. Chan is a consummate entertainer whose smile is as quick as his feet. He aims to please, but I don’t know how many people will be pleased with Shanghai Knights.
Shanghai Knights
PG-13
Opening tomorrow at area theaters
Two reels out of four
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
PG
Available Tuesday Made for a mere $5 million, My Big Fat Greek Wedding has grossed more than $228 million and it’s still playing at some theaters. But you don’t see a movie because it made a lot of money; you see it to have fun. And, despite its stereotypical ethnic characters and very broad comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding is an unbelievably fun time. Nia Vardalos (who wrote the screenplay) plays Toula Portokolas, a Greek-American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek high-school teacher, Ian Miller (John Corbett). Although her family initially resists the match, Ian eventually wins them over, and the two lovebirds are eternally united in a big, fat Greek wedding.
