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Shanghai Noon Customer Reviews (13 - 15 of 47 Reviews)

Undeniably Enjoyable...
After watching this one a few nights ago, I was simply shocked as to how much I enjoyed this one. Shanghai Noon is a movie that is just so much fun to watch that it's just a real joy to sit through.I've never been a huge fan of Jackie Chan but I always thought that if he were actually given a good script for once, I may enjoy him in a movie. Unfortunately, what they gave us first was the dismal Rush Hour, just a contrived buddy/cop story with the unfunny Chris Tucker doing his thing. It was because of that film I was reluctant to watch this one. I'm glad I did.Chan plays Chow Wein, an imperial guard from Old China who travels to the Old West to locate the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu). Once there, he crosses paths with bumbling bandit Roy (Owen Wilson). As typical with these films, the two do not get along at first, but eventually, through a series of misadventures, the unlikely riding team become a duo and join forces to rescue the kidnapped princess.The majority of Shanghai Noon plays very typically, there's not too many surprises throughout, but that makes things even more impressive because despite the familiarity, this is still a very good movie. Jackie Chan does his fair share of great fight scenes in this movie, some are among the most impressive that he's ever done-the bit with the Indians at the start and the confrontation involving the horseshoe are among the best. His character is likable and partnered up with Owen Wilson, the two make for a great team. Wilson almsot steals the show from Chan in this film, he's got a dry sense of humor and is frequently very funny. Wilson is likely to turn into a big star in the future if this movie is any testament to his abilities.Shanghai Noon is a very good, fun movie, nothing more, but certainly nothing less. Even those non Jackie Chan fans will find lots to enjoy here, this is an all too rare type of movie these days, one that just doesn't take itself all that seriously, but one that's a surefire crowd pleaser.

overrated
When the first word came out about "Shanghai Noon", I was not that excited. I am a Jackie Chan fan (I was blown away by "Rumble in the Bronx"), and I've seen many of his movies. Even "Rush Hour", which was not exactly hailed positive by the critics, and I found it to be fantastic.

The general story for "Shanghai Noon" follows a princess who escapes from her home and arrives in the west. She is held captive by the usual, contiually rehashed bad guy who is mercyless, icy evil. Four soldiers go after her, one of them being the infamous Jackie Chan who has a crush on the princess. Every thing was so silly and ridiclious and I was cracking up. I was hoping that the weird combination of western/Martial Arts would be silly, but not to such an extent that it would it would never be serious. At times it trys to be, but it fails miserably. My laughing ceased just as soon as the robbers attempted to steal from the train, and "Shanghai Noon" become dreadfully boring.

I'm not a big fan of Owen Wilson. He was never serious. This movie did not change my perspective of him. Thoughout the entire film, Jackie Chan's undeniable charm was constantly countered and dispelled by Owen Wilson's matter-of-fact, tounge in cheek humor that was just not funny. I know many people that find him appealing, but I certainly don't. Here are several lines that are uttered by Wilson.

"He's gonna blow my brains out!"

"That's an awful cowboy name!"

"1, 2, 2 and 1/2, 2 and 7/8,"

If you're not laughing right now, then the movie will most likely fail to entertain you.

Being part martial arts, one would expect some decent fight scenes. Jackie Chan's over-the top-humor is evident in the fight sequences, but for the most part, the battles were weak. The camera angles are pretty sloppy. Either they failed to show enough, or they showed too much, and the fighing ended up being boring. Not many of the sequences were very creative, either. The only ones that were particulary memorable was an indian fight, and a trick Jackie does with a rope and a horse shoe are pretty unique. It makes me remember "Rumble in the Bronx", in which features not only several genuniny funny moments, but nail-biting action as well. In "Shanghai Noon", Jackie Chan does not use his full martial arts ability. The thing about "Rumble in the Bronx" is that the mood is somewhat gritty. "Rumble in the Bronx" has its fair share of sillieness, but it certainly isn't stupid. "Shanghai Noon" is impossible to take seriously; its about as dramatic as "Baywatch". Therefore, none of battles were nail-biting. "Shanghai Noon" is just to silly to take seriously.

To its benefit, it has some enjoyable moments, particulary the bar scene. Jackie is very charming, and Lucy Alexis Liu, of "Ally Mcbeal" fame, looks beautiful. A majority of the costumes were great. Also, the photography is geogeous.

While "Shanghai Noon" is certainly not a great movie, its not a awful movie, either. It has its moments, but Jackie Chan fans with be dissapointed.

Fun, but not up to Chan's usual standards
The dancers Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire used to insist that their dance sequences be shot with a minimum of cuts and in such a way that their full body was held in the frame. That is the way Jackie Chan should be shot as well. What's the point of doing your own stunts if the use of close-ups, rapid cuts and slow-motion is going to make you look like every other action hero in a Hollywood movie? I suppose the director, Tom Dey, can't be given all the blame for that since Jackie Chan's own production company was responsible for this film. (Could it be that Jackie has reached a point where he feels that he needs some help from the camera?)

Aside from that, this film is a lot of fun. Chan and Owen Wilson have good chemistry. Wilson plays his earnest, laid-back outlaw like a California surfer transplanted to the Old West, but it works! If only the action had been better...

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