Jackie Chan rides
tall in the saddle -- when he isn't busy
running up walls, bounding over bad guys
and generally kicking up a fuss -- in
''Shanghai Noon,'' a high-concept
action-comedy that may score an even
bigger box office bonanza than 1998's
''Rush Hour,'' the Asian superstar's
first American-produced hit.
Owen Wilson (''Armageddon,'' ''Bottle
Rocket'') adds to the fun with an
immensely appealing breakthrough
performance, and first-time feature
helmer Tom Dey does a canny job of
bringing out the best in each of his
odd-couple leads. Set for a May 26 North
American release as counter-programming
to ''Mission: Impossible 2,'' this
enjoyable East-meets-Western likely will
succeed on its own terms as a sure-fire,
long-legged crowd-pleaser. The picture
should also lasso strong international
box office and ancillary business.
Opening scenes unfold in the manner of a
slow wind-up for a fast pitch. In China's
Forbidden City, circa 1881, princess Pei
Pei (Lucy Liu) opts to avoid an arranged
marriage by running off to the Wild West
with her American tutor (Jason Connery).
A meek imperial guard, Chon Wang (Chan),
is unable, or unwilling, to hinder her
departure, apparently because he has a
crush on the royal beauty.
Unfortunately, the tutor isn't all that
he seems, and the princess winds up held
for ransom in Carson City, Nev.
Meanwhile, back at the palace, Chon begs
for permission to accompany three other
imperial guards charged with delivering a
fortune in gold to princess Pei Pei's
captors. His request is approved only
because Chon's uncle is the royal
interpreter (Henry O) who's going along
for the ride.
Flash forward to the Nevada desert, where
Roy O'Bannon (Wilson), a small-time
outlaw who fancies himself a living
legend, leads his gang in a train
robbery. Yes, you guessed it: Chon, the
royal interpreter and the other three
imperial guards just happen to be
traveling aboard the train.
During the hold-up, Wallace (Walton
Goggins), the newest member of the bandit
gang, defies Roy's ironclad rules against
unnecessary roughness and fatally shoots
Chon's uncle. During an ensuing scuffle
-- Chan's first opportunity in pic to
demonstrate his fleet-footed martial
artistry -- Chon and Roy are
inadvertently bounced from the train,
cueing the inevitable evolution of bitter
enemies into fast friends.
>From the moment Wilson first opens
his mouth, sounding more like a
mild-and-hazy surfer dude than a dead
serious Wild West outlaw, the makers of
''Shanghai Noon'' indicate that period
verisimilitude isn't going to be a major
priority. In the unlikely event that the
audience doesn't immediately snap to the
joke, Dey drives the point home during
the first full-scale fight scene, a
barroom brawl set to the beat of ZZ Top's
''La Grange.''
Writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar
resort to historical accuracy only when
it serves their purpose: In Carson City,
the princess is hidden in plain sight
among the multitude of Chinese laborers
working on railroad construction. Lo Fong
(Roger Yuan), the villainous ex-imperial
guard responsible for her abduction,
threatens to kill scores of those workers
if she tries to escape.
''Shanghai Noon'' may look like a
conventional Western -- Dan Mindel's
impressive widescreen camerawork would
pass muster in any serious sagebrush saga
-- but pic most certainly isn't an
old-fashioned cowboys-and-Indians story.
For one thing, the cowboys are somewhat
smaller than life: Chon can barely manage
to mount or dismount his horse, and Roy
turns to outlawry only because he thinks
being a bank robber is a cool way to
attract girls.
As for the Indians, the Sioux
tribespeople on view here are rendered as
bemused sophisticates, not blood-thirsty
savages. After he presents his daughter
to Chon as a reward for valorous
behavior, the chief (Russell Badger)
expresses misgivings about the
''marriage.'' ''Don't worry,'' a friend
says, ''it could be worse. He could be a
white guy.''
When they're jailed for their part in the
aforementioned barroom brawl, Ray and
Chon agree to put their differences aside
and plan to rescue princess Pei Pei. To
be sure, Ray's motives are less than
altruistic -- he offers his assistance
primarily to get his hands on at least
part of the ransom.
But he finds himself warming toward Chon,
especially after Chon's Native American
''wife'' (Brandon Merrill) breaks them
out of jail. Ray teaches the imperial
guard how to handle six-shooters -- and
how not to handle his liquor.
In return, Chon saves Ray from a
premature demise at the hands of a
corrupt sheriff (Xander Berkeley) whose
name -- Van Cleef -- is a sly tribute to
the late Spaghetti Western star Lee Van
Cleef. (It's worth noting, by the way,
that Lee Van Cleef numbered among the bad
guys who went gunning for Gary Cooper in
''High Noon.'' Coincidence? Probably
not.)
As usual, Chan is nothing less than
poetry in motion, evidencing graceful
exuberance in his physical comedy and
cunning inventiveness in his fight
scenes. At various points in ''Shanghai
Noon,'' he uses horseshoes, tree limbs,
moose antlers and even a sheriff's badge
as props in combat.
Appreciably more at ease with English
here than he seemed in ''Rush Hour,''
Chan radiates enough megawatt charisma to
power a midsize city, and gives the
impression of someone who's generously
sharing the fun while he's having the
time of his life.
Wilson is a perfect foil, reacting with
equal measures of amusement and amazement
each time Chan opens up a can of whup-ass
on an outmatched opponent. Wilson makes
it abundantly clear that Ray, not Chon,
is the real fish out of water. For all
his bold talk about becoming a babe
magnet by earning notoriety as a bandit,
Ray is singularly ill-qualified to be an
outlaw -- he's basically too laid back
and easygoing, which Wilson underscores
by bringing a nice touch of stoner
insouciance to many of his line readings.
When Ray and Chon become wanted men, Chon
is the one who gets a bigger price on his
head, much to Ray's frustration: ''A
$1,000 reward for a sidekick? That's not
fair.'' Ray remains convinced that Chon
Wang is a terrible name for a cowboy. No
kidding.
Lucy Liu doesn't have much to do as
princess Pei Pei, but she rises to the
occasion when it's her turn to give a
good swift kick to a bad guy. Merrill has
even less to do as Chon's bride. In fact,
her character simply disappears for long
stretches, reappearing only when the two
leads need to escape a jail cell or a
public execution.
Other supporting players, including Yuan
and Berkeley, fare slightly better in
less sketchy roles.
Once he gets the premise established and
the plot humming, director Dey -- a
veteran of TV commercials -- does a
bang-up job of keeping things fast,
furious and, quite often, very, very
funny. It helps a lot that he's able to
afford a top-flight production team to
give the pic an attractive polish.
But it helps even more that his two leads
generate the kind of potent chemistry
money can't buy. Little wonder that a
''Shanghai Noon II'' already is in the
planning stages.
Chon Wang ........... Jackie Chan
Roy O'Bannon ........ Owen Wilson
Princess Pei Pei .... Lucy Liu
Indian Wife ......... Brandon Merrill
Lo Fong ............. Roger Yuan
Van Cleef ........... Xander Berkeley
Imperial Guards ..... Rong Guang Yu, Cui
Ya Hi, Eric Chi Cheng Chen
Wallace ............. Walton Goggins
Blue ................ P. Adrien Dorval
Vasquez ............. Rafael Baez
Hooker in Distress .. Stacy Grant
Fifi ................ Kate Luyben
Andrews ............. Jason Connery
Royal Interpreter ... Henry O
Sioux Chief ......... Russell Badger
A Buena Vista release of a Touchstone
Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment
presentation of a Birnbaum/Barber
production in association with Jackie
Chan Films. Produced by Roger Birnbaum,
Gary Barber, Jonathan Glickman. Executive
producers, Jackie Chan, Willie Chan,
Solon So. Co-producers, Ned Dowd, Jules
Daly.
Directed by Tom Dey. Screenplay, Alfred
Gough, Miles Millar. Camera (Technicolor,
widescreen), Dan Mindel; editor, Richard
Chew; production designer, Peter J.
Hampton; art director, Brandt Gordon; set
decorator, Bryony Foster; music, Randy
Edelman; music supervisor, Kathy Nelson;
sound (Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS), David
Lee; assistant director, Bruce Moriarty;
casting, Matthew Barry, Nancy
Green-Keyes. Reviewed at AMC Studio 30,
Houston, May 16, 2000.
Reuters/Variety
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