Shanghai Knights DVD: Review By stevegibbs

Former imperial guard Chon Wang is now sherriff in Carson City, Nevada. His charming but shifty partner, Roy O'Bannon seems to have given up the law enforcement business in favor of a wilder lifestyle in New York City. But the two are drawn back together when Wang's father is killed back in China, and the Emperor's official seal is stolen. Wang's sister has followed the thief and murderer to England and our two heroes head for London to help her.

On the downside, Knights doesn't add a great deal to the original concept set up in Shanghai Noon. It is simply an excuse for new surroundings in which Wang and O'Bannon do their thing. And to be honest, I began to find Owen Wilson's surf dude diatribes a little irritating this time around. In Noon he was a fresh and funny character, but there just isn't enough depth there to last into a second movie.

Okay, on to the positive comments. Director David Dobkin allows Jackie Chan to strut his acrobatic stuff much more than in any previous American Chan film. While it can't rival many of his Hong Kong features, it at least gives audiences a taste of why he is such a huge international action star. Two scenes in particular showcase Jackie's great combination of athleticism, choreography and comedic timing - fights involving a hotel revolving door, and in a crowded London market.

Writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar also make the most of the 19th century London setting. They throw in references to all the popular icons that commonly come to mind, including Sherlock Holmes, Jack the Ripper and even the early years of Charlie Chaplin. So what if their historical references are wildly inaccurate; this is just meant to be fun - and it is.

Commentary by director David Dobkin

Commentary by writers Alfred Gough & Miles Millar

Deleted scenes

Watching these, you can see why they were cut from the finished movie. Mildly entertaining, but none of these dozen or so scenes really add anything, other than a longer running time.

"Fight Manual" with Jackie Chan and director David Dobkin

This is simply a brief interview focused on the action sequences, punctuated with scenes from the movie.

Action Overload feature

A short montage of the main action sequences. If you watched the movie, then you've already seen everything here.

Presented in 2.35:1 Widescreen. Shanghai Knights looks pretty good. The historical settings are all fairly believable and the effects shots don't draw attention to themselves, working well within the context of the story.

Presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital. I must confess I was a little disappointed this time at the blandness of the score, compared to Shanghai Noon. The sound quality is decent thoughout, although more use could have been made of the surround capabilities during the action scenes.

Shanghai Knights suffers the fate of most sequels in that it doesn't rise to the level of the original. But it gets close. The same sense of fun and adventure are there, and the fact that Chan could cut loose a little goes a long way in making the movie memorable. However, if they decide to bring Roy O'Bannon back for a third time, the writers really need to give him more depth; allowing him to at least impersonate someone other than the surf dude.

This is a fun popcorn romp. If that's what you're looking for, then you came to the right place!