Shanghai Noon

Jackie Chan (b 1954; work it out) doesn't do high risk stunts any more, and so Hollywood needs to find other ways to showcase his athletic slapstick talents. No doubt there was much brainstorming before they hit on this idea for a rerun of Rush Hour in period drag. This is a comedy Western in which Jackie again comes to the US to rescue yet another girl kidnapped for ransom by yet another Chinese renegade. Since Hollywood doesn't yet trust Jackie to carry a picture, it's still necessary to give him an adversary/foil, someone to help him 'become American'. This time the role goes not to a black stand-up comic, but to white actor Wilson. Surprisingly, the result is rather good: funnier than Rush Hour and better staged and cut than Jackie's recent HK pictures. Much of its strength comes from the central clash between Jackie's indomitable energy and Wilson's knowingly anachronistic cool, while lots of visual and verbal gags keep things whistling. The plot is suitably negligible, but first-time director Dey knows from his years making commercials how to block and pace scenes.