Plot: What’s it about?
When it comes to the action-packed, adventure-filled kung-fu type movie, no one really does it better than Jackie Chan. Chan has earned quite a name for himself, most notably because he performs his own stunts. Having broken most every bone in his body, it’s taken no toll on his acting career, as he keeps churning out the movies. Now I’ve not seen a lot of his movies, in fact only a few. But after seeing some like “Rumble in the Bronx” and “Supercop”, I had come to the natural assumption that they were all alike. And in a way they are. But a few years ago, he teamed with comedic actor, Chris Tucker, for the movie “Rush Hour”. The result was a surprise box-office hit. So, could it work again? Teaming up with someone even more “out there” than Tucker, Owen Wilson, the result was sure to be…uh, odd? Wilson has been in his share of movies, most recently “The Minus Man” and “Armageddon”, but is most widely-known for his work as a writer, penning the critically-acclaimed hit, Rushmore and Bottle Rocket. So, is Owen Wilson the Yin to Jackie Chan’s Yang? And just what is Shanghai Noon all about?
Taking place in the very tail end days of the “old west”, Shanghai Noon opens in the East. The Far East! Princess Pei PEI (Lucy Liu) has been kidnapped by a fast-talking con artist, but what she (and no one else) know is that she is ransom for over $100,000 in gold. A trio of Imperial guards are sent to bring her back alive, and Chon Wang (pronounced eerily like “John Wayne”) goes along for the ride. Once in America, the train is hijacked by a group of misfit cowboys who don’t really seem to know what they’re doing. The group’s leader is Roy (Owen Wilson), who seems to know the way of the West, but is actually a sub-par shot with his pistol. The two part ways until Chon happens upon Roy buried up to his neck in sand (obviously left for dead). Given a pair of chopsticks to dig himself out with, the two run into each other again in a local saloon. Being a Jackie Chan movie, a brawl ensues, and the two end up in jail. But what of the princess? Chon is a slave, and cannot seem to get it in his head that the princess seems to want to stay in America. The three loyal guards have strict orders to bring her back to the Imperial City, but run into trouble. I can’t really say any more without giving away much more of the plot, but odds are if you’ve seen one or more of Chan’s movies, you know what to expect.
Shanghai Noon is a very entertaining movie. It seems to have a blend of the right cast and the appropriate mixture of action/comedy/drama to keep you occupied for nearly two hours. I personally love the casting of Owen Wilson, who looks and sounds more like a California surfer than a gunslinger. Of course, that’s what is so funny about him being in the movie. Wilson’s dry sense of humor is so matter-of-fact that you can’t help but to laugh at or with him. Unlike a lot of his other movies, Jackie Chan’s dialogue is not dubbed (or not that I could tell) and they again seem to combine the right amount of his English with his native tongue. While Shanghai Noon may not make it on any critic’s Top 10 lists, it’s fun to watch and it’s surprisingly more entertaining that I would have thought. Disney has also added a reasonable number of features to this disc as well, so it’s definitely worth a look.
Video: How does it look?
Disney has got it. Oh yes they do. They have finally started adding the benefit of 16:9 enhancement to almost all of their new titles to DVD. I mention the word “benefit” because any movie that is anamorphically enhanced will look, at a minimum, at least 33% better that if it’s not anamorphic. The movie, presented in it’s original 2.35:1 aspect ratio simply looks great. A majority of the movie takes place outside in the desert and the barren land looks great against the big sky of the “old west”. Colors are muted just a bit, but I feel that it’s more of a directorial decision than a fault of the transfer. Black levels are right on target and I noticed not one bit of artifacting at all. I did notice one thing that caught my eye, though. In one of the ending fight scenes, there seems to be some “noise” around one of the characters leg (as he is flipped on the ground). Now this is not a fault of the transfer, either, but it appears as if it were some CGI “artifact” that got looked over. Anyway, it’s only for one frame, but on the whole…I’d have to say this is one fine-looking transfer.
Audio: How does it sound?
Shanghai Noon is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack that sounds great. Most newer action movies do, but this one has a lot of action that travels to the rear channels that give it a very “active” feel. As you can imagine, with movies that take place in the “Old West”, bullets whiz by and ricochet thereby causing every speaker to activate. The result is a very clean-sounding, very dynamic balance of action and surround effects. Fight scenes, of which there are plenty, sound very good. From the tables breaking to the guns firing, you’ll want to have your receiver on for this one. While not reference quality, the dialogue is clean and free of any distortion. A great-sounding track that will sound great while watching it.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Disney recently announced that they have a new attitude with their new DVD releases. All I can say is “Yes” (right after I say “It’s about time”). They have shown us that they can do great special edition releases like “A Bug’s Life”, but they charge an arm and a leg for them. So titles like Shanghai Noon and Keeping the Faith are among some of the first to get some special features that rightfully belong on the disc. Among the supplemental material is a feature-length commentary with Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson and Director Tom Dey. Chan also produced this movie, so he serves two roles as actor and producer. The commentary is nearly as entertaining as the movie itself. While Chan’s English isn’t all that great, I just laugh hearing Owen Wilson talk sometimes. In addition to the commentary track, there are a total of seven deleted scenes, including a train wreck sequence that was amazing. Still, it’s clear why these weren’t included in the movie…though I felt that the train wreck would have made for a good scene. Also included are some featurettes, “Shanghai Surprise”, “Action Overload” and a behind the scenes featurette of the film’s production concentrating on the special effects and the stunts of Jackie Chan. A music video by Uncle Kracker is the icing on the cake. Overall, a nice little disc here. The supplements surprised me, and it’s a good sign to know that Disney will finally be doing what we’ve hoped they would have done from the start. But hey…better late than never.
