Chan plays a member of a team of Imperial Guards (led by Yu) who travel to America to rescue a kidnapped princess (Liu). While making their way to the ransom drop, the train the Guards are traveling on is ambushed by a gang of outlaws (led by Wilson) and Chan is separated from the group. After the heist fails, Wilson's gang leaves him as well, and as things go in this type of "buddy" movie, eventually Chan and Wilson team up to rescue the princess.

On the surface, Shanghai Noon seems to be little more of a retelling of Chan's previous US hit Rush Hour, this time set in the Old West. HK film fans will also see similarities between Shanghai Noon and the Jet Li film Once Upon a Time in China and America. Thankfully, Shanghai Noon is better than either of those films. In fact, I would say it's Chan's some of best work in years. While there may not be enough action to please some (and it's also obvious that Chan was doubled extensively for the stuntwork), Shanghai Noon packs something many films don't -- a good script. While it's nothing deep or mind-blowing, Noon's script is fast-moving and funny with very little melodrama. Owen Wilson also makes a great sidekick for Chan, adding in a talent for vocal comedy that's not present in many of Chan's films (and no, it's not as annoying as Chris Tucker in Rush Hour).

A review of the DVD for this movie can be found here

Back to Movie Review index

This DVD is available for purchase at www.hkflix.com