Shanghai Noon

Plot synopsis:
In 1881, Chon Wang (pronounced as John Wayne) played by Chan is a Chinese Imperial Guard in the Forbidden City. After Princess Pei-Pei (Liu) for whom Wang has affection, is abducted and taken to the United States, the Emperor of China sends three of his guards along with the Royal Interpreter to retrieve her. Wang is not one of the three, but he tells the Captain of the Imperial Guards that it was his fault the princess was kidnapped and insists on joining them. The Captain first refuses, but when the Royal Interpreter, Wang's uncle, offers to allow Wang to come help with the baggage, the Captain agrees in the hopes that the "foreign devils" would get rid of Wang. In Nevada, Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) is an outlaw who, with his gang, hijacks the train Wang is on. When Wallace, a new member of Roy's gang, kills Wang's uncle, Wang chases the outlaws down. However, the gang is well-armed and Wang's only choice is to unhinge the cars and get away on the engine. In the process, Wallace takes over the gang from Roy, and they leave him buried up to his chin in the desert sand. Meanwhile, Pei-Pei, who was tricked into believing she was freely escaping her arranged marriage in China, finds out she has been kidnapped by an agent of Lo Fong, who ran away from the Forbidden City and was viewed as a traitor by the Chinese.
When Wang finds Roy buried in the sand, he demands to know the direction to Carson City. Roy tells him that the city is on the other side of a mountain. Wang puts two chop sticks in Roy's mouth for him to dig himself out. When Wang comes out the other side of the mountain, he gets involved with a Sioux tribe by saving a boy chased by the Crow tribe and ends up reluctantly marrying the tribe chief's daughter, Falling Leaves. Wang finds a small town in the area, where he encounters Roy in a tavern. He confronts him, and ends up starting a fight with him that turns into a barroom brawl. The two of them get sent to jail, and after Falling Leaves helps them escape, they become friends. Roy trains Wang in the ways of the cowboy.
When they get to Carson City, Roy discovers that both he and Wang, now identified as the "Shanghai Kid" are wanted by Lo Fong's ally Marshal Nathan Van Cleef, and the two of them narrowly escape. They go to a bordello (which Roy describes as his "hideout"), but after a drunken encounter by Wang, the Marshal eventually catches and arrests them. They find out that Lo Fong is behind the kidnapping of the princess. As they are about to be hanged, Wang manages to break himself free and after Falling Leaves shoots Roy loose, they escape the execution site. Wang, upset over Roy previously telling one of the prostitutes at the bordello he was not Wang's friend, rides off alone to find the princess. When he finds her in Lo Fong's labour camp, she tells him that she does not wish to return to China. Fong finds out about Wang and attacks him. However, Roy, who has followed Wang, saves him from Fong and the two reunite.
The next day, the two partners go to the ransom point, the Carson City Mission church. The three imperial guards arrive with the gold, and Lo Fong has the princess in hand. However, a simple exchange becomes complicated when Wang shows up and Roy points a gun towards Fong. Wang tells his fellow guards that he will not allow them to bring the princess back to China. As the Chinese and Lo Fong fight amongst themselves, Van Cleef arrives and engages Roy in a gunfight. After Roy is limited to one remaining bullet, Van Cleef simultaneously fires both of his guns but Roy (unscathed due to all of Van Cleef's shots missing him and going through the priest's robe he wore for a disguise) shoots him in the heart, through his sheriff's star. Wang fights the Imperial Guards whilst Lo Fong chases Pei-Pei through the rafters of the church, but eventually the Guards allow Wang to go to her aid instead. Wang fights Lo Fong to the bell tower, and Pei-Pei is wounded in the fight. Wang ultimately kills Lo Fong by dismantling the bell, causing it to hang him. After the fight, the Imperial Guards agree to let Pei-Pei remain in Nevada to help the enslaved Chinese people.
Wallace and his gang also come up to the church, and demand that Roy and Wang come out and fight. But when the two of them get outside the church to face Wallace, Natives from all around surround the gang. At a Chinese cultural celebration Roy thanks Falling Leaves for saving him and they engage in a passionate kiss. At the same time, Pei-Pei holds a smiling Wang's hand. In the final scene, Roy (who reveals his real name to be Wyatt Earp) and Wang are shown as sheriffs and ride off to catch a new band of train robbers.

Tags: entertaining, violence, fantasy, murder, bleak

Review:
Great fun!Jackie Chan brings his brand of physical comedy to Hollywood with another buddy movie.
Similar to his "Rush Hour" series with Chris Tucker, Chan sets this one in the American old west and chooses Owen Wilson as his partner.I like these better than the Rush Hours.
Tucker and Owen are both excellent playing opposite Chan in both series, but the Shanghai series seems to offer Jackie better venues for his elaborate fight sequences.
A successful Jackie Chan movie seems to contain a comedy-oriented story, a lightly delivered moral message, and lots of action.
It also introduced a much wider English- speaking audience to the charm and talents of Asian star Jackie Chan, who now is well-known everywhere, even if he is getting up in age.This is considered one of Chan's better films and the setting certainly is different than normal for him: the American Old West.
Wilson is as impressive an actor as he is a writer--he shares writing credits on such films as "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums."Chan, on the other hand, is a better martial arts master than Jet Li and a more likable character actor than Chow Yun Fat (whose disastrous film "Bulletproof Monk" made me want to split his head open to prevent him from ever making another American mainstream motion picture ever again).In "Shanghai Noon," Chan plays Chon Wang, a 19th century Chinese martial arts master who ventures out to Nevada in order to rescue the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu), whose name is misused by Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) on at last one occasion.After Chon Wang (mistakenly pronounced "John Wayne") meets up with Roy, the two decide to form an alliance and rescue the princess -- one for honor, the other for loads of money awaiting them upon her safe arrival back home in Imperial China's Forbidden City.Roy is a lousy wannabe cowboy who used to stage clumsy train robberies along with his band of thieves, who betrayed him and left him for dead.
But it succeeds due to a fine cast -- Chan and Wilson are extraordinarily good together; so good, in fact, that Chris Tucker is just a forgotten memory by the time that the film is over.It's a classic spin on the Old West formula; what "The Princess Bride" or "Shrek" did for fairy tales, "Shanghai Noon" does for Westerns.
Well, okay, he proved that in "Rush Hour" (1998), but I like this better.The jokes in "Shanghai Noon" aren't "great," but I laughed a lot at this film.
But it's certainly fun--likely more fun than any film you'll see for quite some time--and for that it will soon be earning a place in my sacred DVD collection.I must say that I wasn't a huge fan of "Shanghai Knights," the sequel to "Shanghai Noon," which involved Chon Wang and Roy O'Bannon venturing to England in order to save Wang's sister.
Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) accompanies the guards on their journey and finds himself entangled with Indians, cowboys and the greedy attentions of train robber Roy O'Brannon (Owen Wilson).This is essentially a mismatched buddy movie transferred to the American West and in that respect it is not exact an original plot, there aren't any great twists to grab you and a lot of the plot drivers are forced or predictable.
Roger Yuan and Xander Berkeley provide good baddies (Berkeley especially) but Lucy Liu is almost in her own little 'serious' movie and doesn't have much to do except be rescued (although she does show some of her "Charlie's Angels" potential in a fight scene towards the end).Overall a gentle enjoyable comedy that is made all the more enjoyable by the ease by which it succeeds at making you laugh.
'Shanghai Noon' is a western-comedy starring Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.
We have the usual Jackie Chan martial art and this time it is combined with the very funny Owen Wilson talking.
The clash between far east and wild west cultures and cinematographic stereotypes is amusing enough to keep the film entertaining throughout, and Chan's own tongue-in-cheek sense of humor makes the piece that much more delightful to watch.Don't look for this one at the next Academy Awards, but then that's not what Jackie Chan is all about, is it.
Perhaps that statement is a bit of an exaggeration, but perhaps I'm on to something.The obvious natural and easy chemistry between Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson went a long way towards endearing this work into my collection.
In consideration, I have to say that...while this attempt, like his other American attempts, does not exhibit enough of that marvelous comedic fighting style we all know and love, Shanghai Noon is genuinely enchanting, action packed, earnest, and entertaining.Owen Wilson is a natural talent.
This work is a rival to other comedy/action teams, and bears a serious viewing, as I feel it is comparable to my second favorite comedy western, "Cat Ballou." In case you're interested, "Blazing Saddles" is my first.If you enjoyed this, I highly recommend the following:Jackie Chan: Mr. Nice Guy, Rumble in the Bronx, and Around the World in 80 Days (2004)Owen Wilson: Anaconda, The Haunting (1999), and the Big Bounce.
A sort of "buddy cop" pairing of Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, that makes fun of most of the western stereotypes and is a rollercoaster of adventures and laughs!
A faithful servant named Wang (Jackie Chan)follows the tracks until Nevada, along the way he teams up with a roguish gunfighter (Owen Wilson).Once time in the West that confront against Indians, treacherous sheriff (Xander Berkeley) and perfidious Chinese.The motion picture displays action Western, humor with tongue in check, spectacular struggles with Chan style and is pretty funny.Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson create an enjoyable and amusing pair.
It's usual in Chan movies make enjoyable duos, a buddy movie style, as male partner: Chris Tucker (Rush hour I,II and III), as female: Jennifer Love Hewitt( The Tuxedo) and Claire Forlani(The medallion) and this one to pair off splendidly with Owen Wilson.
Perhaps a better way of determining your enjoyment of the movie is asking yourself whether or not you find Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan funny guys.
I think Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson is a great pair for a movie.
It's a very fun movie that contains many scenes that had me laughing out loud, as well as several surprisingly intense and very well choreographed action sequences, it's a clever mix of both westerns and martial arts films, and it is clear watching this from start to finish that it is a unique film.
I only have two major problems with this movie, and that is that it takes itself too seriously at times, it gets fairly deep for something that should have only wanted to be a comedy, particularly the scenes with the princess and her capturers are quite dark and grim, and I also felt like it needed much more moments between Chan and Wilson's characters that conveyed a friendship is beginning, I would have liked to see a lot more scenes with the two of them together simply having fun and not worrying about the problem they must overcome.
The highlight of the movie and the thing that certainly holds it all together would have to be Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, they are an unlikely duo, but this works out perfectly, the chemistry between the two is outstanding and the drinking game is definitely my favourite scene in the whole movie.
Funny, action packed and entertaining, I would recommend Shanghai Noon to anyone looking for a good adventure film.
Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are both very good, and are a well matched double act.Overall, not perfect, but fun and enjoyable.
Shanghai Noon brings us various elements that make Jackie Chan's movies so great.
The chemistry between Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan is amazing, and unlike Rush Hour (which rattled race issues just a little), the inter-cultural humor is tasteful and respectful.
Both actors shine in their niches.Unlike many action films (especially Jackie Chan's), this one has a real plot, and while it doesn't exactly have "something to say that changed my life", there are satisfying themes, the story is original, and the characters have some depth, while being both a parody of and honoring the western movie genre.
The only thing this movie is really funny in is with its characters names, that of course reference to some classic western actors and real life persons.This movie was actually Owen Wilson's 'big' comedy breakthrough.
Seriously, there is no need to watch this more than once as it is the most forgetable pile of utter silliness in a long time.Owen Wilson is so charming as the hapless but innocent crook Roy O'Bannon who teams up Jackie Chan's Chong Wang/John Wayne to put an evil Sheriff out of business, rescue a Princess and defeat some stock Chinese Bad Guy. It's all harmless stuff with some neat fight scenes that never get too violent and a gleefully light-hearted sense of humor.Randy Edelman's generic Western score is terrible (as usual) and sounds like everything else he's ever done only with a few notes changed.
Shang Hai Noon is one of those rare movies that transcends several genres.The comedy is first rate with Jackie Chan playing straight man to Owen Wilson's fantastic "clown".
Lucy Liu is quite regal (as well as drop-dead gorgeous) as the princess Pei-pei.Even the music is great and well-timed to dramatize the corresponding sequences.I will say that some of the comedy is a bit 'cornball', but it's all in good fun.Overall, I would say this movie is quite simply a whole lot of fun.9 out of 10!.
You take Jackie Chan, a stoic, robotic Chinese fighting machine with the sense of humour god gave a sock, and pair him with Owen Wilson, a wishy washy surfer dude of a cowboy who can't take one second out of the day to stop talking or cracking jokes, and you've got gold.
Jackie Chan's new action comedy, Westerns, martial arts and buddy movie is stolen by an excellent performance by Owen Wilson.China, the Forbidden City, 1881.
Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson star in a 19th century Western, where Imperial Guard Chon Wang (Chan) of China's Forbidden City attempt to rescue the kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu) in the United States.
There, he meets small time robber Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) and together they go through misadventures, until they finally band together to find the Princess and rescue her people.This is basically a good old fashion western comedy featuring Chan's signature martial arts moves and Wilson's mellow and friendly attitude yearning for grandeur.
Princess is being shipped out of China to U.S.A so when they find out that she's been kidnapped 5 Men the Uncle and the Soldiers one of them Jackie Chan going after to rescue her with the gold .Meanwhile Owen Wilson with this cowboy thief look he and his crew get on the train to rob everybody with everything and the new guy on the group from Texas kills Jackie's Uncle which he gets after them for revenge while fighting with each other Owen And Jackie find themselves partnering of course Owen trying in the beginning he's in for the gold and Jackie to rescue the Princess Pei-Pei.In other side Jackie is lost headed in the wrong direction by Owen which he fights this people who are trying to pick on this little girl which he saves her and then he is taken to the Indian's where he gains a wife and new experiences .And in the end Owen and Jackie reunites after a conflict about Owen saying he's not friend with Jackie he doesn't ride with me .
Released in 2000, "Shanghai Noon" features Jackie Chan as Chon Wang (the Chinese spelling of John Wayne, lol) who teams up with good-bad-guy Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson).
Anyway, this is a good flick to watch if you're in the mood for an Indiana Jones-type movie, like 1999's "The Mummy." It's not as good as "Raiders of the Lost Ark", but it's better than its sequels.Chan and Wilson have great chemistry and the humor is really funny, like the Wyatt Earp line at the end.
Of course, with Jackie Chan the action is great as well, but it goes a bit overboard towards the end, which is typical of Hollywood.The film runs 110 minutes and was shot in Alberta, Canada, and the Forbidden City, Beijing.GRADE: B+.
Shanghai Noon has a nice pairing maybe the pairing is not as great as the one in Rush Hour but Owen Wilson style of comedy is one that I have come to love and appreciate.Owen Wilson's style is a laid back demeanor, and that of Jackie is one of comic martial art and scenes the mix is just unique.
The movie can be seen to be of a form of a buddy cop genre.The movie paid homage to some nice western classics, like High Noon and Jackie Chan's character is named Chon Wang meant to sound like John Wayne.
Although when asked how he did it, he claimed to have dug himself out with chopsticks.The movie plot crosses across two regions, China and the US, in China Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) is an imperial guard and he has his eyes for the princess Pei-Pei (Lucy Liu), who got abducted and taken to America.
Now Im not a major fan of old western movies but the chemistry with Chan and Wilson was brilliant and kept me involved with the pace of the film.
I thought Owen Wilson played his part excellent as the laid back cowboy, but sadly Chan was the same character as in his other movies.
SHANGHAI NOON pairs Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson as, respectively, a Chinese royal guard and train robber in search of a kidnapped princess, winningly played by Lucy Liu. The film is strictly slapstick, as is often the case with Chan's fighting style, and Wilson is very funny as Chan's boastful but reluctant sidekick.
Entertaining but uneven action-comedy makes good use of the familiar fish-out-of-water/buddy film formula that worked so well for Chan in Rush Hour, but it takes its time getting started and never hits a stride.
After watching previous Jackie Chan movies such as "Rush Hour" and "Rumble In The Bronx, I was expecting to be dazzled with his comedic talent as well as action filled sequences.
After watching previous Jackie Chan movies such as "Rush Hour" and "Rumble In The Bronx, I was expecting to be dazzled with his comedic talent as well as action filled sequences.
I was expecting Owen Wilson to be similar to Chris Tucker, but in "Shanghai Noon" Wilson proved himself to be much better than other Jackie Chan sidekicks I've seen him teamed with.
I was expecting Owen Wilson to be similar to Chris Tucker, but in "Shanghai Noon" Wilson proved himself to be much better than other Jackie Chan sidekicks I've seen him teamed with.
An okay movie for Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson fans....
Predictable, but balances comfortably between Kung Fu action and comedy (The Indian marriage, the obedient horse, and the hilariously sarcastic bounty hunter played by Xander Berkeley) Anachronisms out-of-the-way (this is only fluff) the only blemish of the movie is Owen Wilson.
Jackie Chan does a wonderful job, whether it is comedy, drama, or martial arts fighting, as the nephew who at first wants revenge but must later work with the gang's leader to rescue the princess.
*** 1/2Starring: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, and Lucy Liu.A Chinese man must go in search for a kidnapped princess.
But the main characters are interesting and engaging, the humor is acutally funny (rather than just potty humor), and the martial-arts scenes are so beautifully choreographed, and so much fun, that even a kung-fu scrooge like me can thoroughly enjoy them.Interesting note -- as we were watching the train-robbery sequence, I muttered to my daughter, "A kung-fu movie set in cowboy times....
Chans movies with Wilsons comedy truly make this film worth watching..
I'm not a really big fan of Jackie Chan although I do love him in the Rush Hour movies.
The photography and acting are quite good and if wasn't a "Jackie Chan" movie it would stand well on it's own.The era of the Chinese films that I grew up with are a thing of the past..
Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan have different styles of comedy, but here they mix together to make a very funny action comedy.
I love Jackie Chan movies, but this one is worth seeing for Owen Wilson alone.
Jackie Chan master of Martial arts and a daring stunt man is back in his new film Shanghai noon.
"Shanghai Noon" is maybe Jackie Chan's most inventive movie, and packs quite a good laugh.
Jackie Chan is (as usual) excellent in his role and Owen Wilson did pretty good too.
The combination of Chan's slapstick humor and amazing stunts and action scenes and Wilson's timing and verbal humor make an amazing, astounding and hilarious movie.
This movie has lots of actions, ya know Jackie Chan!
I always enjoy Jackie Chan films, and I liked this one too, though my favorite is still "Mr. Nice Guy".However, I felt that Owen Wilson was badly miscast.
Really a fun family movie- I like Jackie Chan because he knows how to mix action-comedy without blood & bad words during the movie.
Shanghai Noon was so far, one of Jackie Chan's best movies.
Hong Kong action star Jackie Chan continues his leap into American movies by taking on the most American genre of all -- the Western -- in Shanghai Noon, a film that mixes elements of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "Blazing Saddles" and Chan's own "Rush Hour" with various levels of success.Owen Wilson easily steals the movie right out from under Chan.
Jackie Chan is not my favorite, but teamed up with Owen Wilson made for a very funny movie.
Used to be all that was good about a Jackie Chan film was the martial arts scenes.