"Shanghai Knights" is the reason for the myth about sequels. They more often than not just suck. Sure, it's got its moments, but so did "Caddyshack II," "American Pie 2" and any sequel involving a serial killer or somebody who died in the original. For every sequel that manages to top or equal the original, such as "Terminator 2" or "The Godfather Part II," we get even more lackluster crap such as "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" and "Police Academy 2" through 763.
So why does it feel so wrong that "Shanghai Knights" is so damned bad?
The original, "Shanghai Noon," was itself milking the success of "Rush Hour." But "Shanghai Noon" was actually a bit better than "Rush Hour," mainly because of the charm of Owen Wilson.
The gifted Wilson managed to pull "Noon" out of the gutter with his great comic timing and weird charm. He was the perfect foil to Jackie Chan and the movie owed a majority of its success to their teaming.
So let's do it again. The kids will line up around the block and shell out their allowance. Bada bing!
"Shanghai Knights" is everything the original was not. With the exception of Wilson, who salvages what little he is given, the film is just not particularly funny. It depends a lot on Chan, the class-clown of martial arts, as the main source of comedy. This is a big mistake. As Chan makes his typical over-exaggerated faces, all Wilson has to do is sit back and make wise-ass comments. The comments are funny. The rest is not.
Fight scenes give the appearance the fight coordinator cannot decide if he's filming Buster Keaton or Bruce Lee.
The opening and closing action sequences, somewhat intense with a punctuated sense of violence, take themselves seriously. Sandwiched between them are a series of comic-based, Three Stooges-esque battles complete with stupid "boink" noises, bad player-piano music and exaggerated impact blows.
Sure, these scenes are impressive, but they are familiar territory to anyone who has seen other Chan flicks. He fights with a ladder in the same fashion as "First Strike," uses a canopy as a catapult a la "Crime Story" and even steals the dropping-off-a-building-into-a-giant-flag trick from "Rush Hour."
As a result, Chan comes off like a one-trick pony. He looks like he's getting a bit tired in his old age. Cropped shots and obvious wires are not the star's usual forté, but it appears he simply can't cut it anymore, at least not as well.
Still, "Shanghai Knights" has its moments. The opening scene manages to draw viewers in with some impressive martial arts from hottie Fann Wong, who plays Chan's sister and Wilson's love interest.
The climactic swordfight with the film's way cheesy British twit villain (Aidan Gillen) is also impressive. Even the comedic fight scenes, though hokey, are exciting, especially to non-Chan fans. It's always fun to see Chan take on 50 guys, regardless of its unoriginality.
Still, this movie is so incredibly stupid it can't really be saved. As our heroes find themselves in a convenient fish-out-of-water scenario in turn-of-the-20th century England, far too many coincidental meetings take place. Helped by a young street urchin named (gag) Charlie Chaplin, they are knighted with the aid of a dopey detective named Artie Conan Doyle.
This kind of cheese spoon-feeds the audience, talking down to them through some insultingly bad writing and making for a very disappointing sequel to an entertaining piece of escapism.
If you liked this, you might also like: The original, which is better.
Suggested viewing: Get mighty intoxicated before watching and you might miss all the rip-offs and plot holes.
Overall: 2 stars
Acting: 2.5 stars
Cinematography: 2 stars
Directing: 2.5 stars
Musical score: 2 stars (A techno version of The Who's "Magic Bus?" Come on, people.)
Script: 1.5 stars
