Customer Reviews

Shanghai Noon [VHS]

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Shanghai Noon is by far the best Jackie Chan movie made in the US. It is much more enjoyable than the over-rated Rush Hour. For me a large part of that is because I find Owen Wilson to be much more entertaining and amiable than the grating human cartoon, Chris Tucker. But even more than Tucker, the fight scenes are much closer to his Hong Kong films. Close but still not quite there. The action has all of Jackie's trademark acrobatics and fast editing. It seems to be slowed down a bit from Rumble In The Bronx, Supercop or any of his other HK films though.

There is a great deal of chemistry between Jackie and Owen and a lot of that has to do with Jackie's Mr Nice Guy persona. You can't help but feel he's everybody's friend. The relationship of the two characters reminded me a lot of the Robert DeNiro/Charles Grodin relationship in Midnight Run. Owen Wilson is the footloose rouge trying to get the stiff uptight Chan to relax and take life as it comes. This is a fun buddy film that I would highly recommend.

I had heard of "Shanghai Noon" when it had first come out, but didn't have much interest in it. But a few weeks ago I decided to try it out once and found it thoroughly entertaining!

Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu) decides to leave the Forbidden City of China to go off to America. But when she arrives in Carson City with her English teacher, she realizes she has been in fact kidnapped, master minded by a traitor, Lo Fong (Roger Yuan). It's up to the Chinese Imperial Guards to save her. One Imperial Guard, Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) is separated from his fellow mates and is stuck in the West without a clue where Carson City is! He ties up with Indians for a while, marrying the beautiful Indian princess, Falling Leaves (Brandon Merrill) then gradually teams up with 'not quite your average outlaw' Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson). With the Marshall Nathan Van Cleef (Xander Berkeley) on their tale, will they ever save the princess?

PLOT: The plot of the story is average if not very original. But the acting, action, and humor makes "Shanghai Noon" to be a five-star great movie!

ACTING: Though most people may not believe it, this is my first Jackie Chan movie to watch. Throughout the whole movie he has this sort of wise yet innocent manner about it since he has no clue how to act in the west. Lucy Liu does not come out that much in the movie yet she has her moments. She's so regal that she's great for the part of the princess in captive. Brandon Merrill, a real-life rodeo champion, is very cool as another princess with lots of guts, getting Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson out of trouble. But I must say, Owen Wilson of Roy O'Bannon steals the whole film. He's just so into his part that you can't believe he's only acting!

ACTION: As all Jackie Chan movies are, "Shanghai Noon" is action packed. Because it's a movie how 'East meets West', it has both kung fu and gun fighting. Chan gets to use antlers, a horshoe whip, his pony-tail, and other ingenious weapons while the character of Roy gets to use his 'skills?' as a gunfighter. Lots of great scenes but my favorites are: the bar fight scene, the two Roy O'Bannon versus the Marshall 'stand-offs', and Jackie Chan versus Lo Fong.

HUMOR: The whole movie is filled with lots of one-liners you just naturally memorize and subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) humor. Most of the humor is given off to perfection by Owen Wilson though Jackie Chan has his moments. Here are a few of my favorite lines:

Roy O'Bannon: My name's Roy O'Bannon.
Chon Wang: Chon Wang.
Roy O'Bannon: "John Wayne"? That's a terrible cowboy name! That's not going to work. And neither is the ponytail.

Roy O'Bannon: We're men, not pinatas!

Roy O'Bannon: On the count of three. 1... 2... 2 1/2... 2 and 7/8... 3!

Roy O'Bannon: I may not know karate, but I know crazy.

And basically the whole movie is simply hilarious. There's some bloopers at the end of th movie that is just funny! I especially love the one when Jackie Chan is 'fixing' Owen Wilson's shoulder! The music is very cool also, not at all the normal 'western type' of music you would listen to in a typical western movie, but of course, "Shanghai Noon" is NOT a typical western movie. I highly recommend it for anyone how wants a good laugh and some great action/adventure.

PG-13 RATING: The movie is rated PG-13 because of language and some scenes. Best for older teenagers and adults.

Shanghai Noon is definitely one of my favorites from Jackie Chan. Although I love most of his movies, this one had a different style that made me laugh even louder. The wild west is just something he hadn't incorporated in this movies yet...and finally he did! I'll say it again and again, "I STILL can't believe he does his own stunts! " He is absolutely amazing! Especially in the scene when Jackie and the bandits are on the train and fighting and jumping from cart to cart. It's exciting just watching Jackie take that leap (because you know it's real...it's not any special effects...not the blue screen dubbed background). My favorite scene was when Jackie was being chased by the native tribal dudes. The flying axes really get your attention! Your heart races as you watch Jackie execute each move with flawless conviction. I also enjoy and appreciate how this movie (among other Jackie Chan/Chow Yun Fat/Jet Li flicks) is slowly bringing Chinese culture into the American mainstream. Just the use of mandarin in an American theater is a step up for the Asians. Lucy Liu and Owen Wilson also did a fine job. You'll really enjoy the out-takes at the end of the film. (One of Jackie's trademarks)

I am generally hooked on Jackie Chan's Hong Kong style kung fu movies (Drunken Master and the like), but I did find this movie very refreshing and entertaining. I'm not into western type of movies, but this one had enough of a twist to make me like it. I do enjoy East-West multi-cultural mix. Also, the movie does bring out Jackie's silly side. Few times I almost cried from laughter.

We love Jackie Chan, but after a while the formula gets a little tired in spite of Chan's great sense of humor and stunts. Frankly, we weren't expecting more than a little Saturday diversion when we all mosied out to Shanghai Noon.

What a great show! It was hilarious from start to finish. Plus Jackie did a great job poking a little bit of fun at our American lack of cultural or geographical sense.

The masterpiece though was casting Owen Wilson as the "good-bad-guy", a cowboy with a sense of Zen about him. Owen was a perfect match opposite Chan. This film achieved character chemistry all the Wild Wild West should have had but didn't.

Favorite scene-- of course it had to be the "drinking games" while in the bath house.

This film marked a bit of new creative new-genre thinking for the Jackie Chan films.

It's on my wish list for Christmas-- if you don't want one, pick it up for us!

I have to admit that I was skeptical about this film when it first came out. I am not really a big Jackie Chan fan, and the commercials looked especially silly with him in his imperial guard gear. The scenes with the Native Americans also looked a little suspect.

After actually seeing the movie though, I have to say that this was my definite favorite out of the six or seven movies which I saw in the theater this summer. It was very very well written and very funny. I heard quite a few people in the theater saying that they thought it was an even better movie than Rush Hour, and I personally agree. I'd also like to say that my suspicions regarding its cheezy costumes and possible bias against Native Americans were unfounded.

Excellent job all around.

- Chris

SHANGHAI NOON is so unabashedly good natured one can't help but find it an entertaining and diverting entertainment. Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson have a strong chemistry, and some of their deadpan deliveries are right on target. The usually lethal Lucy Liu is much more subdued in this one, although she does get a few kicks in here and there. Character actor Xander Berkeley is very good too as the no good sheriff, Nathaniel Van Cleef (Notice the play on western actor Lee van Cleef's name). The anachronistic referrals to pop culture such as John Wayne and Wyatt Earp being terrible cowboy names; Wilson calling Chan Dr. No in one sequence; and the reference to the likelihood of Chinese food catching on in the West are all fun sequences. The rock and/or pop music, one song sounded a lot like "La Grange" is a little distracting, but fits the movie's goofy aura. The fight sequences are what one would expect from a Jackie Chan movie and the sequence where Chan is taken in by the Indians is priceless.
All in all, a funny and entertaining movie.

"Holy crap, vultures are eating my head!" So said Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) as he's buried up to his neck in the middle of the desert, just before Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) leaves Roy two chopsticks in his mouth to dig himself out. SHANGHAI NOON, though not great, is a terrifically fun and funny film. Chon comes to the states to rescue a kidnapped princess and encounters O'Bannon, a funny, laconic wanna be desperado who's more interested in the fringe benefits of being a desperado than the actual work of becoming one. But when Jackie finds the princess (the scrumptious, freckle faced Lucy Liu) he finds maybe she doesn't want to go back. An inventive, hilarious movie chock full of Chan's patented fighting and stunts (though a couple were obvious cheats, either by a computer or a stunt double, a rarity for Chan but hey, he is pushing fifty years old) and the extras on the DVD are pretty nifty, including a "so you want to be a desperado" and a "so you want to be a Chinese imperial guard" interactive games. Jackie's best movie? Not quite. But the chemistry between Chan and the deadpan hilarious Wilson is much better than the Chan and Tucker of Rush Hour. Watch for the gut splittingly funny bath tub drinking game. Better than Rush Hour and Who Am I? but not as good as Jackie's better Hong Kong films. Still worth repeated viewings though.

'Shanghai Noon' is a joy; a cliched, stereotypical, yet fun-loving
western that is as much a homage to Hollywood comedy oaters (such as
'Cat Ballou', 'Maverick', and 'Support Your Local Gunfighter') as it
is a Jackie Chan vehicle. Chan, showing less of the acrobatic martial
arts skills and hair-raising stunts than usual (perhaps as a
concession that he is approaching 50!), relies more on his charm and
sweetness, and it pays off! If you've never seen a Chan film before,
THIS is a great film to start with, as you'll see the sincerity and
wry humor that have endeared him to much of the world for the last 20
years.

Plotwise, the story is simple; a Chinese Imperial Princess
(Lucy Liu, one of the BUSIEST actresses in film!) is kidnapped by an
American tutor, and held hostage among Chinese laborers in the Old
West. Three Chinese Imperial guards are dispatched to deliver a ransom
of gold, and an inept fourth guard (Chan, who has a crush on the
Princess) is added, as a kind of servant to the others.

Enroute by
train to deliver the ransom, a holdup occurs, which introduces Owen
Wilson, as an equally inept, but thoroughly likable bandit...then the
fun begins, with doublecrosses, cliche-spouting Indians, bar room
brawls, drunken horses, shootouts, and about every other Western
cliche you've ever seen, good-naturedly tossed in! The chemistry
between Chan and Wilson is terrific (MUCH better than Chan and Chris
Tucker, in 'Rush Hour'), and some of the inside jokes (look out for
the 'John Wayne' quips!) are priceless!...

The DVD edition is truly
amazing, with commentaries by Chan and director Tom Dey, a fabulous
'Making Of' documentary, even an interactive game where you get to
'direct' Chan in a sequence!

If you're looking for a DVD that
combines action, humor, and a taste of the classic Western comedies,
this film should be at the top of your list! You WON'T be
disappointed!

The amazing thing about "Shanghai Noon" is that nothing in this film should work, from the pairing of Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson (although both are highly entertaining performers), to the modern rock songs that seem to pop up every 10 minutes or so. These thing do work, though, and they help to make this an excellent comedy western. Jackie Chan's martial arts exhibitions are mesmerizing as always, and Owen Wilson is great as the goofy counterpoint to Chan's earnest character. The plot is somewhat thin, but clever enough, and all in all, the film mines a lot of entertaining moments from the tired fish-out-of-water and "buddy movie" genres. Surprisingly good chemistry between the leads, a solid supporting cast,and clever writing make this a highly entertaining film.