Through the ages the buddy formula has morphed from comedies to become more a stable of cop and action films to the point where audiences feel like they have seen it all before as there has been little new brought to the genre since the surprise twist in “To Live and Die In LA” as rising budgets have caused producers and studios to take the safe, yet predictable route in filmmaking.

      That is not to say that predictable can be a bad thing. As a good story with well-matched leads, ala Gibson and Glover in the “Lethal Weapon” series, a huge hit at the box office and many successful sequels can follow.

      With the box office success of “Shanghai Noon” the folks at Disney were eager to reunite martial arts superstar Jackie Chan with rising star Owen Wilson for more adventures in the old west. Naturally the two actors schedules had to be taken into account as Chan had “Rush Hour 2” and “The Tuxedo” slated for completion and Wilson had “Behind Enemy Lines” and “I-Spy” to complete. Eventually the two stars were able to reunite and provide the further tales of Chinese Imperial Guard Chon Wang (Chan) and hustler Roy O’Bannon (Wilson). 

      At the start of the Film, Wang is the sheriff of Carson Nevada, while Roy is living the life of a playboy in New York, coasting on the fame he has garnered by a series of fictional novels about his exploits with the Shanghai Kid in the last film. The fact that the stories are complete nonsense and worst of all, relegate him to sidekick status are a constant irritant to Chon.

      The focus of the story is on Chon and Roy reuniting to travel to London in an effort to retrieve the stolen Emperors seal from those that stole it, as well as avenging the death of Chon’s father by those who stole the seal. Along the way the duo teams up with Chon’s sister Lin (Fann Wong), and take on an assortment of bad guys who are bent on seizing power in both China and England, and changing the course of history. Along the way the trio encounter a myriad of characters who’s names and places in history will delight fans once they are revealed but whose identities I will keep secret in this review.

      The action of the film is solid as Chan’s trademark moves are brilliantly staged setup. His tribute to “Singing in the Rain” was brilliant and generated solid applause from members of the audience who were able to understand the reference. Wilson is funny in his portrayal of Roy as the hustler with a heart of gold that finds himself not only fighting for the greater good, but also falling for Lin and facing dilemma about the direction of his life as well as his past. Adian Gillen gives a good performance as the villain Rathbone, as he oozes an upper class smugness that does not conceal his menace. I was reminded of the fantastic performance of Jason Isaacs in “The Patriot” in his performance as he took what was for all intents and purposes a stock villain and made him stand out. Lin was also a welcome addition to the cast as her slightness and beauty only added to her appeal as she mixed it up with the boys on equal terms and displayed more then a few amazing martial arts moves showing that she is a face to watch for in the future.

      My biggest fault with the film and it is minor was that many of the references and terms Roy utters in the film would not have been used in 1888 as not only where many of them not in the vernacular of the time, but also not phrases or ideas that people of a less enlightened time would use. Still, that and the use of vintage modern-age music in the soundtrack did little to detract from what was an enjoyable film, and Chan and Wilson made and enjoyable team once again. If the ending of the film is any clue then a third outing in the series may be in the cards and that might not be such a bad thing.

     -- Gareth Von Kallenbach ( 2 1/2 out of 4 pops )

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