The Movie Guys: Jackie Chan clocks foes in ‘Shanghai Noon’

Friday, May 26, 2000 | 9:09 a.m.

The Movie Guys, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun. They can also be seen on the 11 a.m. Friday newscast on KVVU Channel 5. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/ movies and themovieguys.com.

Grades: Jeff B, Dave B-.

Starring: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu, Roger Yuan.

Screenplay: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar.

Director: Tom Dey.

Rated: PG-13 for violence, language and adult themes.

Running time: 110 minutes.

Playing at: UA Green Valley Cinemas, UA Showcase 8, UA Rainbow Promenade 10, Century Orleans, Century Cinedome 12 Henderson, Rancho Santa Fe 16, Regal Cinemas Boulder Station, Regal Cinemas Colonnade 14, Regal Cinemas Texas Station 18, Regal Cinemas Village Square 18.

Synopsis: East meets West in a battle for honor, royalty and a trunk full of gold when acrobatic Imperial Guard Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) comes to America to rescue a beautiful kidnaped Chinese princess (Lucy Liu). With the help of a partner he doesn't trust (Owen Wilson), a wife he doesn't want, a horse he cannot ride and martial arts moves that no one can believe, Wang finds himself facing the meanest gunslingers in the West.

Dave: Fists are a-flyin' and guns are a-blazin' as Asian superstar Chan jumps into the saddle of this action-comedy set in the Old West. As in nearly every Chan feature, fans of the martial arts veteran come to expect an amazing display of fast-paced energy, choreographed fight sequences and comic relief. His latest flick, "Shanghai Noon," lives up to every standard.

The film is the follow up to his first American-produced hit, 1998's "Rush Hour," and Chan sticks to the same successful buddy formula that sparked instant chemistry between he and his former comedic co-star Chris Tucker by teaming up with the elusive Wilson ("Armageddon"). Beginning in China, where the lovely Princess Pei Pei ("Ally McBeal's" Liu) is kidnapped, the Emperor dispatches a group of noble Imperial Guards to deliver the ransom in gold across the Pacific Ocean to America's Old West.

Jeff: The successful formula for Chan's American films is to place him in the most outrageous settings, where cultures clash, tempers fly and all the while, Jackie keeps his honor and respect.

Buddy formula, again? Sure, but "Shanghai Noon" is much more, relying on classic Western themes of civilization vs. nature and the fish-out-of-water principle. Wang is a slave, but he brings to America centuries of Chinese culture and education, training he will need to tame the Old West. Wang runs into trouble at every turn in his journey to Carson City to find Princess Pei Pei, but he never shrinks from his sworn duty.

Every classic Western cliche is dusted off and used with great sentiment, including train robberies, jumping on horses from rooftops, Indian attacks, crooked poker games and a classic barroom brawl that you will never forget.

Dave: While heading to Carson City by train, a gang of would-be train robbers, led by self-glorified outlaw Roy O'Bannon (Wilson), jump aboard looking to make a quick score. Instead, things go horribly wrong when one of the thugs kills Wang's interpreting uncle and then leaves O'Bannon to die in the middle of the desert, buried up to his head.

One hilarious circumstance follows another, and our two charming heroes join forces for obvious reasons: Wang wants to save the princess from the evil clutches of the Chinese traitor Lo Fong (Roger Yuan) while O'Bannon is looking to retrieve the chest of gold. However, hot on their trail and wrongfully wanted for theft is the infamous Sheriff Van Cleef (in homage to actor Lee Van Cleef, who portrayed Angel Eyes in the popular "Spaghetti Westerns"), amusingly played by character actor Xander Berkeley ("Amistad," "Air Force One").

Jeff: Wang isn't your conventional Western hero. He is wrongfully accused of being an outlaw and is dubbed "The Shanghai Kid," and wanted posters with a $1,000 reward offered for his capture are posted all over the territory. Everybody wants a piece of the kid. Wang uses the most uncommon and unusual items in his personal arsenal. While a cowboy uses a six-shooter, Wang uses a horseshoe attached to the end of a rope, his hair (wrapped in a long strand to his waist), fallen branches, church bells and even a couple of pine trees, all weapons forged out of ingenuity and necessity.

Fans have come to expect Chan performing his own stunts and in this picturesque Hollywood Western the stunts have an added meaning of realism and nostalgia as he escapes capture and death at every turn. "Shanghai Noon" is a tribute to the classic serials of yesteryears.

Dave: As Jeff pointed out, the film provides numerous scenarios associated with every definitive Western tale. Chan's physical improvisation and Wilson's gift for ad-lib (he did, after all, co-write "Rushmore" and "Bottle Rocket") are enough of a reason to overlook any historical inaccuracies and the pretentious soundtrack that includes ZZ Top, Kid Rock and Aerosmith. (Can't we have one summer without these old-school rockers contributing a song for a movie?)

Making a promising directing debut is Tom Dey, showcasing not only his talented stars but his commercial tricks with the camera; cinematographer Dan Mindel (who lent his cinematic eye to the slick visuals of "Enemy of the State") does the classic genre justice. "Shanghai Noon" may be facing an impossible mission this Memorial Day weekend by facing heavy competition, but the film is an absolute good time for this hot summer season.