BLT - Movie/Media Forum

Check out Chan’s set diary at the official site for the film at Shanghai Knights

Reported by Kuan-Lin "Connie" Wang

Grade: B+

Shanghai Knights Graphic

You know going into any movie that stars Jackie Chan that the film is not exactly plot driven, but driven by the martial arts acuity that Chan embodies. This is the case with Shanghai Knights. This sequel to the ever popular Shanghai Noon teams Chan up again with Owen Wilson, the vanilla-flavored sidekick added to any ethnic-oriented buddy movie (see I Spy and the upcoming The Big Bounce) – not that I’m complaining. Chan and Wilson make up a great pair – let Wilson do the talking and Chan do the fighting and I’m happy as a clam.

In Knights, we find Chon Wang a sheriff in Carson City. Absent from the first film is Lucy Liu’s character, Princess Pei Pei, but an explanation is quickly given in the opening scenes. Chon’s sister, Lin is back in China with her father, the holder of the Imperial Seal. When Chon’s estranged father is murdered, Lin makes her way to England to track down the killer. Chon goes in search of Roy O’Bannon (Wilson) in New York and the two wangle their way to London in search of the killer. In the process they uncover a conspiracy to eliminate much of the British monarchy. Helped along by a local street urchin (played by Aaron Johnson) and Art, a Scotland Yard detective, the group leave their indelible mark on merry ol’ England as they search for the assassins.

Shanghai Knights Graphic New to the American movie scene is singer-actress Fann Wong, who plays Chon Lin while the gracious and wonderfully adept Donnie Yen takes on the role of Wu Yip, one of the villains in the film. Wong reminds me a lot of Zhang Ziyi – in build, looks and her cat-like agility. The other villain is played by Aiden Gillen, who plays the creepy Lord Rathbone. If Alan Cumming and Ed Burns were to have a baby, it would look like Gillen.

The film takes great liberties with history, but that is part of the fun. The script uses what we know now to poke humour at those living in the past and the knowledge they had then. The original premise of the film was that the two go to England to track Jack the Ripper, but now that plotline plays only in a minor, but funny scene.

There is a great scene in the film that pays homage to Gene Kelly in Singin’ In the Rain. Instead of tap dancing through the rain with his umbrella, Chan takes on street urchins and fights them gracefully with several umbrellas. It’s one of my favorite scenes in the film.

Chan and Yen take each other on in a climatic fight sequence. I’ve noticed in many films starring Yen that his characters have mastered the technique of avoiding punches and objects flying toward him. Yen is like “Betty Spaghetti,” bending in all different directions to avoid getting struck. Simply amazing. He’s like Neo in The Matrix, but in real time and no computer enhancement necessary.

The trademark outtakes are included at the end of the film, but it looks like the gang has perfected their time working together. There are only a few outtakes and only one or two are remarkable.

Check out Chan’s set diary at the official site for the film at Shanghai Knight. Looking at the diary and its grammatically correct entries makes me wonder who really wrote the diaries. Within the diaries are links to various candid video clips from the set that are worth taking a trip to the site. The film will be in theatres nationwide on February 7, 2003.

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