Shanghai Knights
Starring: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Fann Wong, Donnie Yen Ji-dan
Director: David Dobkin
The film: You have to hand it to Jackie Chan. The basics of his act haven't really changed in 20 years, but he keeps finding ways to make it seem fresh and vibrant. Shanghai Knights is a case in point. Chan teamed up with Owen Wilson for the successful 2001 comedy Shanghai Noon - playing a Chinese guard thrown into the Wild West - and you wouldn't think the pair could take things any further as they milked that first effort for all it was worth. But they do - Shanghai Knights is a more polished and funnier effort by far.
So what has changed? Well, on face value, nothing much. Chan reprises his role as Chon Wang; Wilson returns as Roy O'Bannon, and the plot again involves a clash of east and west - this time taking them to England where the British throne is under threat. Not that the plot is of any real concern though. With Chan, it's all about the action, with the extra bonus here being the comic interplay he enjoys with Wilson. This is where the film has improved on the original. Although they worked together well in Shanghai Noon, here they bounce off each other superbly - Wilson ever the con man, and Chan the blinky-eyed but noble innocent. Thrown into the mix is a bit of love interest for O'Bannon in the shape of Wang's sister Lin (Singaporean Fann Wong). Wong does her best too with a role that doesn't really ask her do more than act feisty and look stunning.
There are some sparkling action sequences, including a tribute to Singing In The Rain that has Chan using an umbrella to dispense with bad guys left, right and centre. Gene Kelly with a lethal sidekick to the head. It is Chan at his inventive best. Wilson plays up his irreverent prattle; there's few actors around who make it look quite so easy.