"Shanghai Noon" - Chan Can Chop but Story Has No Punch by Homer Yen (c) 2000
Non-alcoholic beer. Sugar-free cookies. Fat-free ice cream. These look good, but they just don't quite satisfy. Now you can add "Shanghai Noon" to this list. Set in the year 1881, this adventure-comedy about cowboys, Indians, and a Chinese Imperial Guard looks great. The impressive cinematography shows the pomp of Imperial Guards (who sport very festive looking garb) practicing martial arts in unison, the majesty of the vast Western expanse, and the beauty of snow-capped mountains. However, once you move beyond the first 30 minutes and start looking for a story, you'll find that the plot becomes less coherent than President Clinton's explanation about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.
The story begins in the fabled Forbidden City where hundreds of Imperial Guards are drilling in the main courtyard. Among them is Chon Wang (Chan), a loyal protector bound by honor and oath. Included among those that he has sworn to protect is the demure Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu). Faced with the unpleasant prospect of taking part in an arranged marriage, she decides to escape to America. Chon tries to stop her, but when the Princess coldly stares at him and demands that he desists, his reverence for her makes him completely powerless. His moment of weakness, however, proves to be disastrous. Once the Princess reaches America, she is kidnapped. To right his mistake, he volunteers to go to America to rescue her.
Chon certainly possesses the fighting skills necessary to fend off rowdy cowboys, dimwitted bandits, and even a hostile group of Indians. These encounters allow Chan to display his trademark comical fighting style. When he's not delivering a punch or a roundhouse kick, he's jumping through trees or scurrying through windows. And when he's up against a superior number of foes, he quickly improvises and uses unconventional objects as weapons. The most unique sequence involves a battle with a gun-wielding posse in which our hero skillfully uses a horseshoe and a piece of rope to dispatch his opponents. Chan is not a vicious fighter who is intent on maiming his opponent. Rather, he just seems content on knocking them down. Thus, despite some bone-crunching sound effects, the fight scenes are completely bloodless.
Eventually, Chon team's up with the smug yet amiable outlaw, Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson). Chon hopes that Roy's familiarity with the territory may be of an asset. Meanwhile, Roy feels that locating the Princess might yield some lucrative benefits. Teaming these two together, however, slows the movie down considerably. While Chan and Wilson seem comfortable in their roles, they didn't really have any chemistry. Chan could have done this as a solo project. Wilson's inclusion seemed to only accomplish adding another bad guy to the mix, an ornery and reward-hungry gunslinger (Xander Berkeley).
"Shanghai Noon" is fun to watch when it focuses on Chon's mission to save the Princess. But as the story progresses, there are a number of other subplots that are introduced but are never fully resolved. This becomes quite distracting. For example, Wen is supposed to avenge the death of someone, a plot that seems totally forgotten. Princess Pei Pei learns something about the common person, but this notion is never furthered. These are all noble ideas, but they dissipate like noble gases. Even stranger, there is no clear reason for having a villain. The audience is left completely in the dark as to his motivation and grand scheme.
Regardless of how silly the film is, it is always a treat to watch the buoyant Jackie Chan. Part fighting machine and part clown, he can simultaneously make you awe in wonder with his deft martial arts moves and make you laugh like a little kid because deep inside, Chan is a doting child who has never quite grown up. There is no other performer like him, so any of his films are usually worth the price of matinee.
Grade: C+ S: 1 L: 1 V: 1
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