DAVID DOBKIN
Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB.
USA/Hong Kong, 2003. Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Birnbaum / Barber Productions, Jackie Chan Films Limited, All Knight Productions. Screenplay by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, based on their characters. Cinematography by Adrian Biddle. Produced by Gary Barber,Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman. Music by Randy Edelman. Production Design by Allan Cameron. Costume Design by Anna B. Sheppard. Film Editing by Malcolm Campbell.
By now you should know the formula: Jackie kicks ass, Owen gives the sass. There’s another exotic Asian jewel to recover, another pretty girl to save, and lots more ridiculous fighting to get into. In this sequel to the highly successful original, Chan once again plays the Chinese Imperial Guard-turned Wild West Sheriff who travels to New York to find his buddy Roy (Wilson) and enlist his help. Chan’s father has been murdered for China’s Imperial Seal and his murderer is in London, prompting the two of them travel to the Victorian and interrupt the Queen’s (Gemma Jones) jubilee celebrations with their shenanigans. The cute references to actual people gets a little annoying this time around, but the sense of fun is heightened from the last one and the fight scenes that Chan continues to perform so exceptionally well are just that much more imaginative. You won’t love it, but you won’t hate yourself for watching it, either. Besides, what better way is there to entertain yourself than to listen to Wilson’s sexy, whiny drawl and perfect delivery of even the most mundane lines?
