The Medallion

Plot synopsis:
Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) is a Hong Kong police inspector co-operating with Interpol in the capture of a crime lord named AJ "Snakehead" Staul (Julian Sands). Snakehead procures an ancient book from a Chinese bookstore keeper, which tells the story of a boy being chosen every thousand years to bind the two-halves of a legendary medallion. In Hong Kong, Eddie and Interpol agent Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) lead a raid to capture Snakehead and his men, who are about to kidnap the boy, named Jai (Alex Bao). Eddie and the agents fight off Snakehead's men, infiltrating the temple containing Jai. Jai is saved but Snakehead eludes them. Two weeks later Snakehead captures Jai aboard a cargo boat in Hong Kong. Eddie and a team of Hong Kong police engage and defeat several of Snakehead's men, but Snakehead escapes with Jai to Dublin, Ireland.
In Ireland, Eddie is assigned to help Interpol with the investigation, much to Watson's chagrin. Eddie is also reunited with his girlfriend, a British Interpol agent named Nicole James (Claire Forlani). By chance Eddie later encounters and apprehends one of Snakehead's top men, who confesses Jai is being held in the harbour. Eddie, Watson, and Nicole move to rescue Jai, defeating several Snakehead agents in the process. Eddie and Jai end up trapped inside a container, which is knocked into the water by one of Snakehead's men before they can be released. Eddie keeps Jai alive by finding an inflatable tent, and securely putting Jai inside but Eddie dies from drowning. After being rescued, Jai uses his medallion on Eddie's body.
In the morgue, Watson is grieving over Eddie's body and is prepared to say his last words, when Eddie suddenly appears beside him. Eddie realises Jai used the medallion to resurrect him, and his former body vanishes into nothingness. Jai splits the medallion into its two-halves, giving one of them to Eddie. Snakehead's men appear in the hospital to recapture Jai and during the fight, Eddie discovers the medallion has also granted him superhuman strength and immortality.
Nicole looks after Jai but he is captured again by Snakehead. At his castle hideout, Snakehead forces Jai to activate the medallion so he can gain its power, but with only one half of it, Snakehead only gains superhuman strength and remains mortal. To steal the other half, Snakehead and his men attack Watson's family. Watson's Chinese wife is revealed to be a police operative like him, much to Watson's surprise as he kept his job secret from his family. Together they fight off the attack from Snakehead's men.
Eddie, Watson, and Nicole learn the location of Snakehead's castle lair and go to finish him once and for all. The operation runs smoothly at first, but Snakehead kills Nicole and becomes immortal. He and Eddie engage in a vicious fight, until Eddie uses the medallion to take away the life it gave, which leads to the two dragons from the medallion appearing and taking Snakehead, which traps him in the medallion. Jai allows Eddie to use the medallion to resurrect Nicole, who also gains super-strength and immortality. The two then run at superhuman speed into the distance as Jai enters another dimension through a portal, frightening Watson.

Tags: comedy, murder, cult, violence, good versus evil, action, humor, revenge

Review:
The movie centers a police agent (Jackie Chan) who will face down an evil baddie called Snakehead (Julian Sands) for the possession a medallion with an extraordinary power and he wants to use its magic for his own nefarious plans .
Chan and other agents (Claire Forlani and Lee Evans) will have to face off nasties who are waiting to rule over the world and obtain eternal youth , but the medallion is carried by a boy and he hands over one halve to Jackie Chan .
The action by Jackie Chan is proceeded by means of special effects , FX , and wires to difference other films in which he makes his owns stunts .
Meanwhile, Hong Kong police detective Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) and Interpol agents Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) and Nicole James (Claire Forlani) have been pursuing Snakehead because of his criminal activities, and stumble into the grander scheme.While The Medallion is certainly not a film without flaws, it is satisfying on the whole if you approach it as a comic book/cartoon-styled Jackie Chan actioner.
Director Gordon Chan packs a lot of information into the film and barely pauses for a breath--if you blink, you're likely to miss some bit of crucial action, a plot point, or a joke.In short, it's a complex stew of different genres, with a mixture of adult themes and childlike lightheartedness, wrapped in a dense mythology of fantasy and served at a non-stop, breakneck pace.
Jackie Chan fans seeking a return to films that are solely kung fu-oriented will likely be disappointed, but if you have broader tastes, The Medallion might hit the spot.
It has taken Jackie Chan about 27 years, a good 60 movies or so, and a few near death experiences for him to decide that he can start making movies that don't regularly involve certain death, thanks to CGI.
In fact, I'll just say it: 'The Medallion' is a terrible action movie.Jackie plays Eddie Yang, a Hong Kong detective chasing a villain named Snakehead (those villains and their crazy names).
Now I'm not a fan of CGI action, but I assumed that with Jackie Chan starring and Sammo Hung directing the action - two action masters - could still pull of some entertaining action scenes.
In 3 words, awful, awful, awful.I began watching Jackie Chan movies because it was SO cool that anyone could move like that.
As I sat in shell-shocked silence at the end of the movie (having tried desperately yet unsuccessfully several times throughout to go to sleep), all I could wonder is, what was Jackie Chan thinking?
"The Medallion" has a pretty good first half: there are enough scenes to prove that Jackie Chan's still got it, from a fight aboard a ship (where he ties a guy's arm to his leg using his own shoelaces and a piece of clothing!) to a fun freewheeling foot chase, and other minor stunts.
From a pure martial arts perspective, Claire Forlani's close-quarters fights near the end are the best that the second half of this film has to offer (more proof that Sammo Hung can make anyone look like a genuine martial artist!).
I'm going to look at two perspectives of film, the pros and cons.PROS - There were two action scenes where Jackie doesn't do any wire martial arts nor requires cgi involvement during the first half of the movie.
I suspect there were a number of other scenes cut that did explain things better, but that were left out by Sony in perhaps embarrassing realization their American editors did a terrible job.But even with a story that would make no sense, this would still be tough going, not just with the mishandled action scenes but also because of the movie's incredibly bad sense of humor.
Anyway, Jackie Chan is backed up by Claire Forlani, who does an "Angels" class job with her character, and the side splitting comedy of Lee Evans as the bumbling Interpol inspector Watson.
I was really anticipated about this film, but I found out that this movie, like most of Jackie Chan's movies from Hong Kong that came here to the U.S. and the rest of the world get cut and shortened.
Like little bits and pieces which makes the movie feel short and you think to your self that, "I paid this much to watch this short of an action movie?"I feel the fighting got cut short too.
It also seems we see the other co-actors, Lee Evans and Claire Forlani pretty evenly seen throughout the movie with Jackie Chan.
If you are a Jackie Chan fan like me go see the movie and see what you think.6/10.
Whatever made Jackie decide he wanted to do this movie I don't know, and frankly - I don't think I want to know!The story, or what's left of it, is like a copy of "The Golden Child" from Eddie Murphys black years (pun intended).
Thats how bad this movie is.The supposedly funny sidekick appearing with Chan, Lee Evans, is a total disaster.
It may well be seen as an under-achiever in the action, plot, direction, sound, romance and even the comedy aspects..HOWEVER it is a quirky, often funny and curiously likeable little flick....infinitely MORE than the sum of its parts admittedly.Seems to be fashionable to knock Chan's martial artistry these days.
Despite going on 50, Jackie Chan is still up to his antics in this action and special effects filled fantasy.What could have been a fantastic film ends up a complete mess what appears due to studio interference.
Lee Evans and Jackie Chan make this great feel good comedy a good one to watch, with great stunts as you would expect from Mr Chan and they always leave you thinking how does he do that!!
This light- hearted comedy gives Lee Evans some brilliant scenes to show his funny visual excellence!Claire Forlani makes a great support actress.
Don't miss the usual out takes we all know and love with Jackie Chan movies running through the credits.
The music was composed by someone called something like Adrian Lee, it was on par with the movie, that's means it was bad.Sorry Jacky, next time better I hope.
Lately every Jackie Chan movie i've seen has been a disappointment, I really didn't expect much from this movie and i was right.Eddie is a Hong Kong cop helping Interpol grab a criminal called Snakehead, who seems to be after an ancient medallion and its a keeper, a young boy, who has been chosen to give life, power and immortality to whomever he heals with it.
When Eddie dies whilst saving the boy, the boy gives life back to Eddie, which leads him to discover new things about himself.The movie is senseless, the comedy sidekick (Lee Evans) Watson is a total bore and the only thing good about this movie were the few stunts and scenes by Jackie himself, I'm still wondering how he managed to fit through that gate, but I guess that's just Jackie.
Claire Forliani was great in this and so was Jackie Chan, Lee Evans was doing his usual stuff so if you like that there is plenty of it here.Unfortunately the script and story could almost be considered the definition of the word bland.
Those who criticize this movie for having short action scenes, special effects, wires and so on should realize, that Jackie is not that young guy anymore and it's harder and harder for him to do the same difficult stunts he did when he was 30.
The movie contains some very good acting (the only character I really disliked almost from the beginning of the movie was Lee Evans, he seemed to me like a bad parody on Mr. Bean), some corny dialogues and funny moments, big amount of fantasy and mysticism, great stunts (especially the one where he chases one villain across the city, running over walls, jumping across fences etc.- some wires were used but that doesn't make it less amusing) and some fantastic fight scenes.
In Honk Kong, the detective Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) together with many Interpol agents leaded by the Irish agent Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) try unsuccessfully to arrest the bandit Snakehead (Julian Sands), who kidnaps a powerful boy with his magic medallion.
special effects and jackie chan doesnt work, even though some stunts in this movie was alright but the whole movie itself wasnt good at all.
That's great for Jackie Chan and all, because he is a likeable guy, but there is absolutely nothing redeeming about this movie.Jackie Chan movies are known for their slapstick-like humor and awesome martial art effects, but The Medallion is severely lacking in both departments.
They emphasize way too much on crappy computer effects that they forgot to concentrate on the main draw of a Jackie Chan film - his whimsical, impressive, and unique fighting style.
I enjoyed this movie cause of the nonstop humor by chan and evans and the fight scenes were great.
If u want to go see a good action/comedy movie then go see this 90 minute fun filled jackie chan movie.
This is a very typical Jackie Chan movie in terms of action, fun and story.
Eddie Yang (played by Jackie Chan), a police officer from Hong Kong, finds himself face to face against the villainous Snakehead (played by Julian Sands) in a race to obtain the medallion.There is a good amount of action and fighting, as you would expect from your standard Jackie Chan movie.
And they were joined by some impressive actors and actresses, which includes Lee Evans, John Rhys-Davies, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong and a cameo by Sammo Hung."The Medallion" is a fun and entertaining action movie, just don't set your self up for something grand.
erm i didn't find it really satisfying, it wasn't a jackie chan movie, i think if he had more control over the film it would be a lot better.
There was lots of people coming back from the dead and in one part of the film, Jackie Chan,(Eddie Yang),"San wa",'05, found himself in a time space situation.
Most of the jokes were poorly translated when they overdubbed the film for European/American audiences, and I was often found squinting and asking, "Did Jackie write that script?" Typical Chan humor and stunts, so if you're a fan of the man, it's well-worth a watch.
The results are often lackluster - you just can't beat the clock, but some actors manage to continue giving decent performances, even if it is a shallow version of their finest work."The Medallion" marks Jackie Chan's 89th movie, and a lot of aging has occurred to the man since his first role in 1962.
At 49 years old, Chan tries to mask his shortcomings in the film by using a lot of "wuxia" special effects, that is, gravity-defying camera work made famous in films like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix." Try as he might, though, this just isn't the same Chan.The story concerns Hong Kong detective Eddie Yang (Chan) who is working with Interpol to track down a mysterious crime boss known as Snakehead (Julian Sands).
While in Dublin, he meets his old Interpol flame Nicole James (Claire Forlani), who playfully harbors a grudge against him for leaving her, and also teams up with Arthur Watson (Lee Evans), a fellow officer with whom he had trouble working with back in Hong Kong.While rescuing the boy from the thugs, Yang ends up being imbued with invincibility and must use this new power to fight off the forces of evil.
But then Jackie Chan movies have never been know for being morally ambiguous - the good guys are good and the bad guys are bad, and that's that.In the hands of a decent comic book writer like Kevin Smith or Garth Ennis, this premise might have been expanded out into a unique story.
There are some films of Jackie Chan that I like, Rush Hour especially.
I have no idea who to blame it on, probably everyone since this has the feel of a movie that had too many cooks.The director, Gordon Chan, I know by reputation only, his other films are suppose to be at good.Don't get me wrong, its not bad, its not anything its just sort of there.
There are some genuinely fun action sequences in this, although oddly enough the best sequences are those before Chan gets the special powers at the heart of the movie.
another old re-hashed jackie chan movie,poor dubbing and poor attempts to make a good movie,ever since "the tuxedo" jackie has been slipping,what once was a great movie maker,is now "americanized" into making bad movies.the worst is the lame comedy and sight gags..
The fight scenes are quite poor for any other film in this genre, for a 'Jackie Chan' film they are worse than a bad joke.
The "romance" between Claire Forlani (who's normally pretty engaging -- great in Mystery Men) and Chan was about as bad as it gets in movies, even though there have been many terrible pairings recently.However, Christy Chung deserved a bigger part.
Claire Forlani is a fox and Jackie Chan proved to me that even in his 40s he's better than most action stars half his age.
Watson was horrible, although I liked the fact that his wife was not a librarian either, and I don't see why that was not used more in the film.Let's face it, Jackie is getting older, and he is doing too many movies now.
However, Jackie is fun to watch as usual, although in this film, you can see the wires & the CGI, the fights scenes don't look natural in some places.
I was really let down because I like Jackie Chan so much, but a lot of the action was replaced by a bad CGI shot.I could go on and on about what didn't work in this movie, but I will just leave it at what you see.
I never really liked Jackie Chan: his movies were full of the same fighting scenes, where he used all kinds of props to defeat adversaries - not really my kind of a movie, and moreover, it was boring as hell after a time.
In The Medallion, it gets all better.Okay, let's not overrate the movie: it was a comedy/action/adventure film with a fair story (enough for a background, too little for a real adventure) and directing, as well as great stunts and - fortunately - only a bit of prop-fighting from Jackie (fans don't hate me please, at least it was very-very entertaining this way), and a great deal of supporting roles (cliches, I give you that, but superbly played anyway).
Jackie Chan, yes he's a not a great actor, but in his other movies he's not so bad that you just want to walk out but your brother wants to see the end of the movie.The special effects were so poorly done and so pethedic I couldof done better and I'm not professional.
I'm continually amazed at Jackie Chan's sense of humor and timing in the action scenes.
*****Awesome ****Good ***Average ** Don't see in theatres * Never seeTHE MEDALLION(2003)**** Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, Clare Forlani, and Julian Sands.
This Jackie Chan action comedy is way better than his film "The Tuxedo".
Review: This movie was made during the period when Jackie Chan was trying to conquer the US, so the corny storyline and tamed down action scenes were expected.
I liked the concept of the movie but the execution wasn't that great and I expected better action scenes from Chan.
I'm slowly beginning to realise that you don't know what your going to get when you watch a Jackie Chan movie but your always guaranteed some great action scenes and some decent acting.
Its just a a shame that I can't say the same about his movies which I personally find pretty bad at times.Budget: $41million Worldwide Gross: $34millionI recommend this movie to people who are into their action/comedy/fantasy movies starring Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, Claire Forlani and Julian Sands.
Whoever decided to make a Jackie Chan movie with CGI should be shot.I was pretty tired when I attended a screening of "The Medallion," which may have something to do with why I couldn't properly follow anything in the film.
This is possibly Chan's worst effort, not even a guilty pleasure like last year's "The Tuxedo" (which was a pretty awful movie, but fun in a strange sort of way).
Jackie Chan and his supporting characters look like they are having a good time during this movie.
One of Jackie Chan's worst movie.
horrible fighting scenes, crappy love story, bloody lee evans and the one thing i really can't stand is that Jackie actually used WIRES for his stunts and fighting scenes ( which he never did on his previous film, but i don't know about Tuxedo because i haven't watched it yet ).
it is really not like the Jackie Chan i know in the movies...
Everything about this movie was bad: The acting, the story, the directing, the editing, the action, the fight scenes, the stunts and wire work, the camera-work, the characters, the locale, the dialog, the sound, the special effects...the list could go on until every element of the film has been exhausted.
Jackie Chan's recent career seems to be a series of hits and very bad misses - guess which one this supernatural action film is?
While much of the movie is with the necessary Jackie Chan action, it is loaded with childish fantasy elements and annoying slapstick comedy with extreme overacting, at the expense of Lee Evans.
Maybe little kids will enjoy this flick, but adults may probably well find better Jackie Chan films to watch.
When the fight scenes are obviously cgi (and very poorly) it destroys exactly what made Jackie Chan's previous films good.