It was better than Rush Hour 2 (but then again I think the whole Shanghai series is better than the RH series) but it didn't quite live up to the 1st one. I think they tried to pack too much stuff into it, the cultural references for 1880s England, references to previous films, etc. It was a very "busy" film including the fights. Speaking of which there were a couple of interesting ones but overall it was getting to be a little more slapstick than Jackie Chan. The people in the theater were laughing a good amount of the time, I'm not really into the humor they used though so I only found it partially enjoyable in that respect. If you like JC or Owen it's worth seeing in the theater, personally I would wait for a matinee Otherwise you won't miss much by waiting for the DVD.

I kind of have the same opinion of it. Just got back from a preview as well. I liked the movie, but then I'm a big Jackie Chan fan. The umbrella fight scene alone was worth the price of admission for me. However, all the points you made are very true. They get carried away with all the cultural references and some of the humor really doesn't work that well.

A good Jackie Chan type movie, but nothing really groundbreaking. I do prefer Owen Wilson to the irritating Chris Tucker anyday for Jackie's sidekick though.

I thought it was a LOT better than Shanghai Noon actually. It reminded me of the Mummy in many ways with the comedy outrageous action bits in London.

Lots of fighting, comedy is solid, TONS of events happen, perhaps too much crammed in, I agree, but it never got tiresome, it just kept the movie going at a fast pace.

The way the story unfolded and the director's style of using Star Wars type wipes/fades/transitions really made it play out like a fun comic book and is another reason why it played to me more like an action adventure (with a little comedy) rather than an action comedy.

A solid movie in my opinion, and it'll do great.

misc comments:

Personally, I thought Shanghai Knights was one of the best JC movies I have ever seen, and I have seen/own virtually all of them. For me, I would definitely put it in the top five.

The choregraphy IMO was/is the best JC-style choreagraphy ever done for one of his American flicks. JC must have finally convinced the production people to finally let him do his thing.

I found myself laughing virtually all the way through. I agree it was a bit "busy". However, it was fun picking out all the cultural references, etc....some of them were rather subtle. Me and my friend were the only ones in the theatre that laughed at a couple of them.

Speaking of references, it is incredible the amount of "homage" type shots/footage. As an example, the "Singing In The Rain" sequence was absolutely brilliant. I can't wait until the DVD comes out so I can really look for them.

For me, Knights was well worth the admission. I will probably end up seeing it a couple more times as I drag friends along. This, to me, is what JC's American movies should be. It is actually a good overall movie, with great comedy, great action, and fun characters.

How about the Jackie vs Donnie Yen fights? Were they good and intense or excessively comedic and "light"? More details about them, please! I haven't seen many reviews speak much on the fights.

I just woke up so my memory is a little fuzzy but let's see if I can recall them...

- There was JC w/ the "keystone" cops in a revolving door. Certianly a lighthearted/comedic fight but somewhat original (atleast I've never seen anyone use a revolving door before).

- JC w/ the London street gang. One of the longest fights IIRC and contained the aforementioned "Singin in the Rain" sequence (which I admit was pretty good ). More obvious wire work than I've seen him use before though but it did have more of the old style JC feel (the street fights from Project A or Dragon Lord those types of movies).

- A few misc/short sequences sprinkled here and there including one where Owen keeps getting his head dunked in and out of the water (you have to look for it in the background though). Another w/ JC turning around the "protect the vases" thing he usually does on someone else.

- A pretty good fight w/ JC and DY under a spinning machine gun (so lots of ground work). It didn't really stike me as very impressive /original at the time but it's towards the end of the movie and by that time I was remembering why I don't like going to movie theaters any more It was more intense than comedic though.

- A fight w/ JC and "the boss" in which of course JC almost gets his ass kicked but wins in the end (any surprise there ). The sword work in this fight was pretty good but I think it suffered from being too "busy" as I mentioned before. The background set was a little distracting and I could be wrong/misremembering but I think they were using quick cuts to make "the boss" seem like a more impressive fighter than he actually was.

This doesn't even mention the other fights w/ JC's character's sister. Some of those were pretty good too and more intense/serious than comedic.

One more thing to add is that I thought the outtakes at the end were some of the best I've seen in awhile (esp Owen's "maybe I should lick you next time" ). They were starting to go downhill w/ Accidental Spy, where they made JC seem like a cranky old man, but these are pretty good


BTW for more info on the fights check out this thread http://pub5.ezboard.com/fhongkongdvd...cID=4664.topic

i hate rush hour and shanghai knights even though i didnt see it but i remmber there was another movie with shanghi in it that movie didnt deserve a sequal jackie chan sucks!!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE do not post thread craps, especially for movies you haven't even seen!

How can you on movies you have never seen?

well, Jackie certainly is no Beavis :P

MATT

can't wait to see KNIGHTS when it opens....

Whazzup, Corny?

Did you get a grant from the Federal Government or something?


Personally, I can't wait to see it.

Thanks, Nemein! Looks like Donnie Yen is once again underused, but at least it sounds like there's a lot of action in the film. I cannot wait to see it!

Forget to take your Ritalin today, Corn? Entering a thread just to is frowned upon here, dude.

Dammit... I got to wait till DVD release!

Is FANN WONG not the hottest new talent you have ever seen? This girl is better looking that ZHANG ZIYI, and can kick more ass too, and a totally better lead female protagonist than Lucy Liu was in Shanghai Noon! If you don't see this movie for Jackie or Owen or the awesome Donnie Yen, then please go see it for Fann Wong - you will fall in love at first sight, trust me! She was the best part of the movie for me (although I thought the whole film was good). If she doesn't become a MAJOR star after this movie, I will be very surprised.

This film and the first one are really fun movies. Definately better than the Rush Hour movies. Actually I hope they do another movie in this series, maybe set in China this time? They could call it The Shanghai Kids, with Fann Wong and Owen Wilson's new children. What do you think?

DOH! Spoiler...crap! That's what I think! (i skipped the actual main review in this thread, just wanting to see if people are as hyped about this flick as I am.... dang it!)

MATT

although I'm sure I'll live

FYI: Radio Talk Show host Ron Owen (KGO 810AM - San Francisco) interviewed Jackie Chan last year (stop over in SF on his way to Hong Kong from Hollywood) and from what I remember from the interview, ... Jackie indicated that the Studios were so pleased with "Shanghai Knights" that a third Shanghai movie plot was already on the development stages! Jackie said the title would deal with the morning, possibly be "Shanghai Dawn", to round out the Shanghai Trilogy concept** (Noon & Knights).

**It will be based on the Boxoffice success of "Shanghai Knights" of course!

Thanks for all the preview/review comments above - Definitely looking forward to seeing "Shanghai Knights".
Phil

My wife and I just got back from a free sneak preview of the new Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson comedy adventure "Shanghai Knights." Our local base theaters (we have two in our area now) are showing it this weekend.

My face is still sore from laughing for almost two straight hours. Overall, Shanghai Knights has much more sustained action and humor than its predecessor, "Noon" (which we own on DVD and love to watch.)

As the film opens, Chon is still a western sheriff with an outstanding arrest record, while Roy has moved to New York to seek his fortune as the hero in a pulp action book called "Roy O'Bannon verses the Mummy." The two reunite when Chon's father is murdered in China, and Chon's sister pursues the killers to London. She asks for her brother's assistance, and when the two heroes from America arrive in Jolly Old England, they uncover a plot that could affect both the Emperor of China and the royal family of England. Along the way, they encounter a few historical figures, including a street urchin destined to become a silent film comedian, and a Scotland Yard inspector who'd rather be writing than deducing!

Kudos to the producers and writers for taking Chon and Roy in a completely different direction with "Knights." The fights are more elaborately and entertainingly staged, especially a street fight involving an umbrella and some fancy dance steps that intentionally recall Gene Kelly. There's a rotating wall gag that recalls about a million Abbott and Costello movies. There are two "final" fights, the first involving a runaway gatling gun. At the end of that fight, the audience we saw it with was cheering and applauding. The other involves a spectacular sword fight among the inner workings of Big Ben. Again, just incredible, the best stuff I've seen from Jackie in a while.

Jackie is excellent, as usual, although I thought that some of Owen's shtick was a little awkward and just a little too silly. Overall, though, I was grinning from ear to ear with most of the dialog.

The young lady playing Chon's sister, Fann Wong, is a discovery, and fights just about as good as Jackie. Donnie Yen adds an appropriate amount of menace as the Asian side of the dual threat to the Emperor and the Royal Throne. Aidian Gillen, the English lord who's either 10th or 20th in line for the throne, depending on who you ask, is very hissable as the other villian.

"Knights" has a lot more hits than misses, and one of the absolutely flat-out funniest scenes begins as a repeat of the "Roy's unconcious and is surrounded by beautiful women" sequence from the first movie. The other has to do with a pillow fight that is just plain goofy/silly, but much in keeping with the "make 'em laugh" motto of this flick (similar in intent to the drinking game/bathtub scene of the first film.)

There was a lot of 60's pop and rock music in the soundtrack, but guess what -- I think it added to the charm and spirit of the movie, rather than distracted from it.

The end of the film is left wide open for a sequel -- as a matter of fact, Roy practically suggests an idea of what could become "Shanghai Dawn," a title I've read would be the follow-up if "Knights" does well (as I think it should, and will!)

I'd go see this again in a heartbeat. It's silly, funny, exciting and totally entertaining -- and a terrific follow-up to "Shanghai Noon."

Well Fann Wong is quite a big star in Singapore:

http://www.mediacorptv.com/celeb_bio...wong_index.htm

Better than Zhang ZiYi? Hmm... we'll see. She definitely speaks better english.

I'm one of the few not to care for it much I guess. Movie was just too busy to suit me. Felt like it was trying to be too many things at once and thought that most of the fight sequences were pretty weak. It did have some nice "scenery" now and then and the weird-ass pillow fight sequence had me laughing, but overall it was just too uneven for me to recommend it to anyone really.

My friend put his finger on it perfectly when he said the script seemed like it was put together by having one writer write one page, and then another writer take the story from ther for a page, and so on and so on from there to the end of the movie. I liked the first one, but this one just didn't deliver for me.

My 8 year old boy really wants to see the movie.

Is it ok for 8 year old boy?

Or should I wait until it comes out on DVD.

I guess it depends on how strict you are. We actually had an 8 year old with us, I covered his eyes for one seen & there were I think a couple of a$$ess, & one s-h-i-t dropped at the end, but other than that no other curses.

He loved the movie & kept saying Jackie is the coolest.

I liked the movie a lot, I'd say tied for Noon as his best American filmed movie.

But I think more than any movie to date, it REALLY shows Chan's age. The fight scenes are cut so much, they only show Jacky fighting for maybe a few seconds & then it will cut to some other part of the movie & then back to Jackie, for those long time fans, they KNOW part of the amazing thing's Jackie is know for are his long one shot fight scenes. And his fight with Donny Yen was a big let down & sad how much faster Yen is than Jackie.

Another good outing by Chan and Wilson. The plot moves along at a breakneck pace, and the comedy is sprinkled liberally all throughout the film. Chan still manages to impress in the staging on the "fight" scenes with clever use of the props and locale. Wilson is the likable charmer with the quick quip for every situation.

If you enjoyed the first one, you'll like this one as well.

I give it 3 stars or a grade of B.

My friend and I saw this one last night. We both agreed that it was just so completely random but we both thought it was better than the first one.

I absolutely loved Shanghai Noon but I personally do not think Knights lives up to it. It seemed to me that they tried to make everything a joke in this one. What I liked about Noon was the great balance of action, humor, and drama. A little too much role reversal in this also. Some of the jokes and scenes from Noon were replayed again with the characters switched.

I do agree with everyone else about Fann Wong, she was great and not too bad on the eyes either!

Shanghai Don...Jackie and Owen vs the Sicilian mafia