he Road from Hong Kong
Jackie Chan's latest star vehicle The Medallion is mildly entertaining for the Chan fan. At 49, Chan's martial arts action is strikingly solid and his easygoing humor still offers a respite from today's asinine comedies. But there is less of both, and The Medallion often plays like a one-way video game.
Chan stars as Eddie Yang in a mythical tale with three acts. First up is long-haired cop Eddie in Hong Kong, the domain of director Gordon Chan. Eddie is paired with agent Watson (Lee Evans) and they chase after a legendary criminal named Snakehead (Julian Sands, wasted in a cartoonish role). The opening sequence evokes Big Trouble in Little China with the exaggerated goofiness that's typical of the Hong Kong pictures that Kurt Russell's movie was intended to spoof.
Though some might notice the dubbing, The Medallion's set-up—a boy and his magic medallion are snatched by Snakehead—generally works.
The middle of The Medallion moves inexplicably to Ireland and shifts to a boilerplate Rush Hour-type plot (not to mention Eddie's unexplained hair clipping). Except for Eddie's unlikely romantic pairing with an Irish agent, played by the charismatic Claire Forlani, a depiction that is refreshingly un-self-conscious about race, it's cops and robbers.
Here, though, the movie's most exciting action comes into play. That's because Eddie is trying to get the kid back—so the fights actually matter. The kicks are usually unmolested by jerky cameras or by a loud, improper musical score. Director Chan leaves actor Chan alone.
The same cannot be said for the script, most noticeably during the final part of The Medallion. Co-writer Alfred Cheung's original idea, according to the picture's press notes, was to use the Chinese mythology of the Highbinder warriors to suit Jackie Chan's comic style. The mythical element is introduced too late to be effective, making the movie's climax unconvincing.
Eddie has been killed and he has acquired supernatural powers permitting him to jump, leap, strike and remain immortal (without relying too heavily on computers).
The timing is off and The Medallion, suddenly sincere, begins to resemble Eddie Murphy's infamous The Golden Child. The boy-god winds up displaying powers that render the mythology meaningless (and the story unnecessary). The third segment, though, does make for the movie's funniest scene, in which Watson literally pokes fun at Eddie's ghost.
Still, the mythical theme—die, get the medallion, have a blast, or something like that—is neither properly established nor explored. In any case, flesh and blood heroes suddenly laughing and flying as ghosts is probably not appropriate for younger children, but that shouldn't stop the Chan fan from having what fun there is to be had.
Chan stars as Eddie Yang in a mythical tale with three acts. First up is long-haired cop Eddie in Hong Kong, the domain of director Gordon Chan. Eddie is paired with agent Watson (Lee Evans) and they chase after a legendary criminal named Snakehead (Julian Sands, wasted in a cartoonish role). The opening sequence evokes Big Trouble in Little China with the exaggerated goofiness that's typical of the Hong Kong pictures that Kurt Russell's movie was intended to spoof.
Though some might notice the dubbing, The Medallion's set-up—a boy and his magic medallion are snatched by Snakehead—generally works.
The middle of The Medallion moves inexplicably to Ireland and shifts to a boilerplate Rush Hour-type plot (not to mention Eddie's unexplained hair clipping). Except for Eddie's unlikely romantic pairing with an Irish agent, played by the charismatic Claire Forlani, a depiction that is refreshingly un-self-conscious about race, it's cops and robbers.
Here, though, the movie's most exciting action comes into play. That's because Eddie is trying to get the kid back—so the fights actually matter. The kicks are usually unmolested by jerky cameras or by a loud, improper musical score. Director Chan leaves actor Chan alone.
The same cannot be said for the script, most noticeably during the final part of The Medallion. Co-writer Alfred Cheung's original idea, according to the picture's press notes, was to use the Chinese mythology of the Highbinder warriors to suit Jackie Chan's comic style. The mythical element is introduced too late to be effective, making the movie's climax unconvincing.
Eddie has been killed and he has acquired supernatural powers permitting him to jump, leap, strike and remain immortal (without relying too heavily on computers).
The timing is off and The Medallion, suddenly sincere, begins to resemble Eddie Murphy's infamous The Golden Child. The boy-god winds up displaying powers that render the mythology meaningless (and the story unnecessary). The third segment, though, does make for the movie's funniest scene, in which Watson literally pokes fun at Eddie's ghost.
Still, the mythical theme—die, get the medallion, have a blast, or something like that—is neither properly established nor explored. In any case, flesh and blood heroes suddenly laughing and flying as ghosts is probably not appropriate for younger children, but that shouldn't stop the Chan fan from having what fun there is to be had.
