An old west buddy picture film starring
Jackie Chan and
Owen Wilson, set in 1881 Nevada. Chan is Chon Wang is your average member of the
Imperial Guard, but when Princess Pei Pei is kidnapped to
Nevada and held for ransom, Chon follows the three bravest guardsmen to exchange gold and get her back. Along the way he meets up with Roy O'Bannon (Wilson), an outlaw who seems to like the
idea of being an outlaw more than the actual outlaw. The two eventually team up (hey, this is a buddy film) to save the princess from a corrupt
sheriff and a traitor to the
Emperor.
I saw the trailer to this film, and thought, "Well, it's either going to suck really bad, or kick ass." Well, it's Door #2, Monte. I thought this film was a lot funnier than most of the recent Chan outings, in part because he's teamed up with Wilson, whose deadpan style compliments Jackie's physical comedy perfectly.
There was tons of action, too, but not as much hand-to-hand as expected in the Chan flick. Oh sure, there was Jackie, flipping and rolling and kicking and spinning, but he was also whipping people with horseshoes tied to ropes and sometimes his own hair braids. Add to that a train robbery, some gunfights, and some angry Crow Indians, and you've got yourself a summer movie.
Shanghai Noon (2000) - Rated PG-13 - Directed by Tom Day
Jackie Chan - Chon Wang
Owen Wilson - Roy O'Bannon
Lucy Liu - Princess Pei Pei
Brandon Merrill - Native American woman
Roger Yuan - Lo Fong
Xander Berkeley - Van Cleef