Shanghai Noon

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A Treat!
Review by Nonia Bidness

Quite a lot of fun, this movie. On the heels of Mission: Impossible 2’s opening, with its intense and serious action, the lightness of this film was very welcome. We have a long list of movies to see, at least the longest it has been in a while, and this was a refreshing change of pace. This is loaded with humor, great fight scenes and stunts (you know Jackie Chan does his own stunts, right?), with a downright good story line for this genre, more detailed and clever than I have seen in Jackie's movies before (thought I admit we missed Rush Hour - now added to our MUST SEE list).

Okay, we went and got Rush Hour from Hollywood Video this evening, and its another fun one. The plots are not that different between the two, but the flavor is quite different, with Chris Tucker's wild and fast mouth, and the very different modern day setting. I liked it and we laughed a lot, but of the two, I'd pick Shanghai Noon - it is much slicker and more fun, if you ask me (and you did ask me LOL).

How nice to see a movie that is obviously made for adult tastes, not bothering to pander to the 13-year-old crowd! Not that there was anything objectionable or raunchy in this one, just appropriate and believable scripting and plot lines. Much of the humor would be above the heads of little ones, but I think there is a broad range of appeal here, too.

I love Lucy Liu and think she is a knockout. She was beautiful as Princess Pei Pei of China. And (gasp!) Owen Wilson, a ladies’ man? With that unfortunate nose? Yes, they pulled it off, and even effectively – his eyes are deep blue, he is tanned and handsomely coifed (with that rugged windblown look). He exudes a certain slippery, smooth charm. Not the same sleazy character he was in Armageddon, nor the whiny adolescent of Bottle Rocket. The stars all worked well together here, as far as chemistry goes.

Very enjoyable selection of music, with some timeless classics from ZZ Top and Aerosmith, as well as newer stuff from Kid Rock. Added to the fun of it all. The serendipitous twists of plot and the offbeat characterizations, coupled with lots of gags and stunts and clever fights add up to a treat!

Bang for the Buck: Worth full-price to see it on the big screen
Movie Mood: Funny Movie with a Western Flavor
Recommends to friends? Yes

Nonia Bidness May 28^th, 2000