The Popkorn Junkie :: The Medallion

       Action icon Jackie Chan returns to the screen in the film “The Medallion” in the latest of his unique and innovative style of films that have made him a legend in Asia and have garnered him fans the world over.

      Chan stars as Eddie Yang, an inspector with the Hong Kong Police who is working with Interpol in an attempt to apprehend a dangerous criminal known as Snakehead (Julian Sands). Yang disrupts a heist planned by Snakehead but loses his query in the process and is forced to follow him to Ireland after a local boy is kidnapped via forces loyal to Snakehead.

      Once in Ireland, Yang is joined in his efforts to rescue the child and capture Snakehead by an old flame named Nicole (Claire Forlani) and his former colleague from Interpol Arthur Watson (Lee Evans I).

      During the course of the investigation, it is discovered that the child is actually a chosen one whose order believes has the power to grant immortality and resurrect the dead by manipulation of a two sided medallion. Legend says that the chosen one is capable of uniting both halves of the medallion and performing miracles. Naturally, Snakehead wants to become immortal and satisfy his illusions of godhood and is willing to sacrifice the child to obtain it.

      What follows is typical Chan style as he finds himself endowed with magical powers as he attempts to fight the bad guys and save the day. What separates “The Medallion” from past Chan films is an alarming lack of Chan’s style of action that blends choreography and humor to create original and often funny scenes of excitement. Worse yet, it was very evident that many stunts involved wires and computer assisted enhancements, which drastically undermined the film, as Chan is famous for doing his own stunt work.

      One does not expect that great of a story in a Jackie Chan film as he is a master at creating action films that the whole family can enjoy and as such keeps plots to simple terms of good and bad and concentrates more on the artistry of his action scenes and comedy. Sadly there is far to little of that in this film as I struggle to recall any action scene that was worthy of Chan’s greatness. If that was not bad enough, Evans who turns in a fantastic performance as the bumbling yet good-natured Watson performs the bulk of the best comedy. Forlani despite being a talented and attractive actress is not given little to do aside from smile and cast gooey looks at Yang. Evans is given a few good lines as the comic relief but it is not enough to save this film from its shortcomings. Following up the disappointing “The Tuxedo” with good work in “Shanghai Knights”, Chan slips with this film which is easily once of his most disappoint films in recent memory.

-- Gareth ( 2 out of 4 pops )

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Other Junkie's opinions.....

Billy Ray ( 1 out of 4 pops )

Is it just me or does Jackie Chan crank out a movie a week? It seems like he releases a minimum of three films a year, and a majority of those films are pure garbage. I did like "The Tuxedo", but that was one of the few exceptions. "Rumble in the Bronx" was all right when it first came out -- I think that was his first mainstream picture for American audiences -- but films like "Rush Hour 2" and "Shanghai Noon" are almost impossible for me to watch. Add "The Medallion" to that list -- a poor excuse for Jackie Chan to join the whole "The Matrix" and "The One" special effects genre. The thing is -- Jackie Chan doing his own stunts were what made him slightly tolerable -- replacing that with special effects takes away what little enjoyment there was. And Lee Evans? What in the hell has he done since "Mouse Hunt"? And Julian Sands -- a very underrated actor you might remember from "Warlock" and "Arachnaphobia" -- must have been nuts to try and make a comeback with this mess. "The Medallion" is wholly forgettable.

Matt ( 3 out of 4 pops )

This film has what you can pretty much expect out of a Jackie Chan film: cool stunts, funny sight gags and an ultra-thin storyline. If you're a fan of Chan's work, like me, that would be enough to satisfy you. My only complaint is the Lee Evans character, who plays Chan's sidekick and was funny in "There's Something About Mary." Here, he mugs like crazy and gets really annoying at times.