sunshinebeachcinema
From the start, you know what page you should be on in Jackie Chan vehicle The Medallion. It exists to entertain, not to make any kind of bold spiritual or meaningful statement, even if the plot is grounded in a delightful magical hokum, which may or may not be inspired by certain elements of Chinese mysticism, which I'm sure it takes many liberties with. Still, in this kind of film, a MacGuffin is required to get the plot moving. The titular Medallion is thousands of years old, and grants the holder a host of powers, including strength, speed and immortality. Naturally, some unscrupulous individuals are bound to want to get their hands on this wondrous item, and indeed they do, making off with both it and its child guardian Jai, who has been chosen by the fates as the only one who can activate the Medallion, by binding its two halves.Who's on hand to stop this selfish abuse of ancient power? Hong Kong police officer Eddie Yang, (Jackie Chan). Chan plays his usual role as the dogged nice guy, battling against all the odds, and a seemingly never-ending stream of enemy goons, with only his skill at martial arts to protect him. As ever, it's impossible to dislike Chan, and you end up along for the ride, and rooting for him every time.Lee Evans appears as Arthur Watson, a somewhat incompetent Interpol agent who is partnered with Jackie and becomes his comic foil. Throughout Jackie Chan's extensive filmography, he has been paired with numerous partners, especially in his Hollywood productions that have tended to exploit the "buddy cop" dynamic to its full potential. Lee Evans, for example, is not Owen Wilson, who performs admirably alongside Chan in Shanghai Noon (2000) and its sequel. Similarly, Chan's partnership with Chris Tucker in the Rush Hour film series is, of course, the stuff of cinematic legend.That said, Evans is not a bad choice for Chan's partner. If you like him, he can be endearing, and his character here is written with this intention. However, like many stand-up comedians, he succumbs to the Marmite effect – you either love him or you hate him. If you fall in the latter category, he is likely to annoy you all the way though, and his presence in the film could be a deal breaker.Claire Forlani's character, another agent by the name of Nicole, is an old flame of Eddie/Jackie's. Regrettably, she is not particularly engaging and there is little chemistry between her and Jackie to give credence to their previous relationship. She seems to fill the obligatory role of the love interest to accompany the primary duo into the finale, but I would have preferred to see this role filled by Charlotte Watson (Christy Chung), Arthur's wife, who appears during a fight in the Watson household, revealing herself to be an agent too. Pre-dating Mr. & Mrs. Smith by two years, neither Arthur nor Charlotte have filled each other in on their true professions, but when her family is threatened, Charlotte springs into action. For some reason, nothing is made of this after the scene, and the character does not appear again.Those who grew up watching the animated series Jackie Chan Adventures might enjoy a nostalgia trip when they recognise a familiar sounding villain in the form of Julian Sands, who proves that the stereotype of the well-spoken British villain is still very much alive in his role as the borderline psychotic crime lord known as "Snakehead". At times, this film can feel like a live action imagining of the aforementioned series, where Sands played Jackie's nemesis, a similar villain with a penchant for the theft of mystical items.Gordon Chan directs, as an experienced figure in Hong Kong cinema who has worked with Jackie Chan before. Gordon Chan's other notable works include remakes of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury (1972): Fist of Legend (1994), starring Jet Li, and Legend of the Fist (2010). As ever, the real star is not the plot or characterisation, but the fight scenes with Jackie, who is well known for performing all of his own stunts, to the point that nobody would insure him. Typically, the director is happy to let Jackie do his thing, whilst the soundtrack plays some pop rock with a groovy bass line. During the finale, Forlani's fight with her female counterpart in Snakehead's organisation is set to a rocking blues guitar solo. Perhaps this choice of score is not surprising; the soundtrack was co-written by Steve Porcaro, one of the founding members of Toto.In a film about a medallion that gives supernatural powers, the most entertaining fights are the most realistic. These are the ones where Jackie fights a number of thugs in an industrial location. Once in the sewers beneath the streets of Hong Kong, and twice on container ships, in Dublin and Victoria Harbour. Once the characters inevitably become juiced up on the medallion's powers, the fights seem somehow less impressive. Whilst events become visually more extreme, and the stakes are technically higher, what with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, conflicts between these newly immortal warriors lack the tension of a fierce urban punch-up. The Medallion's powers do give Jackie the chance to perform near super-human stunts, such as scaling a building, or leaping a large gate in one smooth movement. I'm sure some of these stunts must be his own, unassisted, proving he doesn't really need these powers after all, even if his character wouldn't normally be up to it.This film, while an hour and a half of entertaining absurdity, does not deserve further analysis, nor does it ask for it. Jackie Chan saves this film, simply by doing what he does best. But it is by no means his best work.
fearfulofspiders
I love Jackie Chan, so much to the point where he inspired me (partially) to start doing karate (Tang Soo Do) and after sticking with it for three-and-a-half years, I finally achieved my black belt. In a way, Jackie is one of my all-time heroes.However, this film is probably his worst yet -- possibly ever. Every single attempt at comedy falls flat, which is a real shame, as I was expecting a lot more from the star of Shanghai Noon and The Legend of the Drunken Master. Chan's performance is lackluster, Forlani is okay, John Rhys-Davis seems bored and unenthusiastic, and Evans is total lackluster in every way.The action is mediocre, and to finally see a film where Chan didn't do the vast majority of his own stunts was sad. The lame attempts at resembling an old (corny) martial arts' film and possibly The Matrix at some points, made me cringe too much. The final battle is preposterous and made me lose a lot of hope for Chan's future career in film.All in all, with very bad acting, story, and action to match, there's just nothing to appreciate from this movie. Nothing works, except to bring another guilty pleasure into my collection. This is a film I highly recommend to anyone who likes to make their own commentary, as I can't think of any discernible reason as to why someone would have to endure this. I give it three-stars for the fact that it really is a guilty pleasure for its extreme lameness. Don't watch this.
