SHANGHAI NOON

This is going to be short and sweet. Shanghai Noon is by far the best American Jackie Chan movie. All the action you’d expect plus a ton of laughs provided mostly by Owen Wilson, in a star-making performance. There’s real on-screen chemistry between these guys that’s great to watch. They’re both well defined characters who play off each other very well. In truth, Jackie Chan works well in teams and you’d be hard pressed to think of a single instance where he does not have chemistry with his co-stars. But even by those standards, he and Wilson really shine.

The plot deals with a kidnapping of a Chinese princess (Lucy Liu) and the rescue mission mounted by Chan’s character, John Wane, a not-too-respected member of the imperial guard. Once out West, John is forced into a partnership with a loquacious outlaw (Wilson) who’s own reputation isn’t much better than John’s. It sounds kind of like Rush Hour, but Shanghai Noon is a much better film. Not because it has more action, but because the story actually has something to say about old world values in the new world and the relationship at the center of the film is satisfying and funny. If you want to see great Kung Fu, there are probably better action sequences in other Chan films. And I wasn’t too happy with the tacked-on coda, but overall… Shanghai Noon delivers.