It's 1887 and odd-couple heroes Chon Wang (Chan) and Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) are in London to retrieve the Imperial Seal of China, stolen by an English lord (Aidan Gillen) who killed Wang's father in his quest for the British throne. Wang's lithe and lovely sister (Fann Wong) joins the battle with high-kicking force, appealing to Roy's roguish charm and surfer-dude anachronisms. While Chan continues his transition to safer stunts and good-natured homage to Buster Keaton, Gene Kelly, and other Hollywood legends, Wilson indulges the party vibe to good effect, maintaining the anything-goes approach that allows silly encounters with Jack the Ripper, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and a Dickensian urchin named Charlie Chaplin. (Chaplin wasn't born until 1889, but if the filmmakers didn't care, why should you?) --Jeff Shannon

The film next jumps to Carson City, Nevada, where Lin's brother Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) is town sheriff. He relinquishes his badge to travel to New York City to meet his old sidekick (from SHANGHAI NOON), Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson), a lothario waiter on the run from impoverishment and the irate father of two nubile and willing young ladies. Roy and Wang go on to 1880s London to rendezvouz with Lin and recover the seal. The Carson City and Big Apple sequences are unnecessary except to (re)introduce the audience to our two heroes, and provide a few gags and martial arts skirmishes. Once in London, the core of the storyline unfolds.

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS is mindless trash. (Come to think of it, so is this review.) However, it works because of the perfect chemistry between Chan and Wilson. The (relatively) straight-laced Wang is the perfect foil for Roy's lunatic shenanigans. (This is what makes Chan and Wilson a great comedy team in the tradition of Abbott and Costello.) And the exuberant energy of their skits is indicative of the fun they're obviously having with their roles. In addition, Jackie supplies the amazing martial arts choreography. In this film, Fann Wong as Li demonstrates that she can go kick for kick with Chan. And where has Ms. Wong been? She's exquisitely and delicately beautiful.

In a supporting role, Aaron Johnson as the larcenous guttersnipe Charlie is a pure joy. I wish he'd had much more screen time.

SHANGHAI KNIGHTS isn't a great film, or even one worth a second viewing. But it's the fun antidote for the low spirits perhaps brought on by more sobering fare.

One last thought. SHANGHAI KNIGHTS was filmed in London, Calgary, and a studio in the Czech Republic. The credits give little overt evidence that Hollywood was involved in the film's technical creation. Is Tinseltown becoming superfluous in the nuts and bolts of filmmaking?


Shanghai Knit Wits.............   January 19, 2004
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

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Some of the things that made Shanghai Noon so good were the odd pairing and the unusual setting. The pairing novelty is gone, but they tried hard to find another unusual setting. An ex-bandit / western hero (self-proclaimed) and an ex-imperial guard / western sheriff in Victorian London certainly had some potential. Add the beautiful sister of Chon and you should have had a winner.
But it didn't quite gel.
The daft duo seem on pretty good form with their stilted banter and run of blunders. But the jokes about people's names were tired at the end of Shanghai Noon. They are drained of life now. There are a lot of jokes about the English. Fair enough up to a point. There are only four types of Englishman, as far as American cinema goers are concerned; fools, villains, cowards and James Bond (and so often, JB is not actually English).
The villainous Lord and the daft Inspector of Scotland Yard are more than stereotypes, they are positively quadraphonic. And they are so badly acted and not very funny.
There are plenty of historical inaccuracies - but who cares. I certainly liked the explanation as to why Jack The Ripper stopped his attacks - because Lin sorted him out! I like the naivety that moved Stonehenge so close to London.
But the "fight" scenes lacked the wow factor - being neither fight enough or slapstick enough. As Jackie Chan gets older he seems to be able to win less and less fights by Kung Fu. Most of his opponents now lose because they fall down somehoe or get hit by furniture or structural parts due to his Buster Keaton type shenanigans. That's OK, but I imagine some of the die hard martial arts fans get a bit fed up with the "fights" in this film.
The out-takes at the end are good fun.
This is a good bit of light entertainment but fails to reach the heights of the original.


Four to Five stars   January 19, 2004
 1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Sequel to that genius piece of Chan-comedy Shanghai Noon (with Owen Wilson playing a very worthy sidekick), Shanghai Knights sees the pair stow away on a ship to England, to avenge Chon's father. Unsurprisingly it is a very comic affair, even if it is slighty cheesy. The simple good vs. evil plot is used (again) and there are very few twists, but even so an altogether enjoyable viewing experience. To use a cliche "If you liked the Shanghai Noon, you'll love this!".