BEFORE: A rare third-year enjoyable film last night, so let's see if the sequel holds up.
THE PLOT: When a Chinese rebel murders Chon's estranged father and escapes to England, Chon and Roy make their way to London with revenge on their minds.
AFTER: I should have pointed out the anomaly of "Moulin Rouge" style proportions last night, using modern songs from ZZ Top, Kid Rock, and Aerosmith in a film set in the 1880's. But, honestly, I was too busy having fun to care. This one works in songs from the 1960's British Invasion - The Who, The Kings, The Zombies - and I get the joke, since part of the film is set in London...
But the movie is so over-filled with these winking references that it (almost) forgets to weave a plot around them. There are anachronistic shout-outs to "Singin' in the Rain", "Oliver!", "Midnight Cowboy", the Beatles, and the slightly more time-appropriate Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and the Keystone Kops.
And I get that "Shanghai Noon" is a riff off of "High Noon", but what about this title? "High Nights" doesn't mean anything, does it? "Shanghai Times" or "Shanghai Tea" would have been better puns, but what do I know?
As the title goes, so goes the film. It's got the same characters, same basic structure, similar concept, but somehow the jovial spirit is gone, or the comic timing is off, or something. And the fights seem just a little too choreographed, with Jackie Chan using ladders, vases, ropes, or whatever's handy to pummel people who've never seen kung fu before (but somehow know JUST how to attack this guy in a vulnerable fashion...)
Maybe it's the setting, you take these characters out of the Old West, and they lose a bit of their charm in a big city like New York or London. Probably why the proposed third movie, "Shanghai Dawn", never got made. Logically, that should have featured a return to China, and a restoration of the family honor, but it looks like that ship has sailed.
And once again, outtakes before the closing credits confirms that you Hollywood-types really just have no idea what you're doing, do you? It would look a whole lot more professional if you just showed some restraint and left them out - save 'em for the DVD extras.
Also starring Tom Fisher (last seen in "The Illusionist"), Aiden Gillen, Fann Wong, Aaron Johnson (also seen in "The Illusionist"), Donnie Yen (last seen in "Blade II"). Maybe they should have cast some more name actors in the sequel - ya think?
RATING: 6 out of 10 steamer trunks
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