Shanghai Knights
directed by David Dobkin
written by Alfred Gough & Miles Millar
starring Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Fann Wong, Donnie Yen

        Let me start by saying that I loved Shanghai Noon.  I also know that to have high expectations for a sequel is just a set-up for disappointment.  And yet I couldn't wait for Shanghai Knights.  Two of the most upsetting movies of last year were The Tuxedo and I Spy, which starred Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, respectively.  And yet I still eagerly anticipated the release of Shanghai Knights.  Well, not only was I not disappointed, but the sequel is possibly even more fun than the original.
       Director David Dobkin and screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar know the key elements that the actors' previous writers and directors overlooked.  One of the most important of these elements is freedom.  Chan is given plenty of room for creating inspired action sequences in which he emulates and pays homage to heroes Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Gene Kelly and Mack Sennett's Keystone Cops (surprisingly no pie throwing was witnessed).  Wilson, on the other hand, was obviously given the freedom to improvise, resulting in some of the most hilarious lines in recent cinema (don't miss the naming of his children in a priceless throwaway).
         In between Chan's choreography and Wilson's dialogue is a plot in which the characters Chon Wang and Roy O'Bannon travel to England in order to avenge the death of Wang's father.  Accompanied by Wang's beautiful and talented sister Lin (Wong), the pair must retrieve an ancient Chinese artifact and rescue the royal family from being killed off by machine gun.  In their pursuits, they come in contact with a number of famous Brits including Jack the Ripper and Queen Victoria, creating plenty of moments so historically inaccurate that no gaff squad could dare take them seriously. 
          There is surely an overabundance of cliche jokes regarding England and fish out of water scenarios in general, but the genuine humor and entertainment comes from the two stars and works off their incredible chemistry together.  Remarkably, there is little or no recycled material from the original - a rarity these days. 
         Shanghai Knights is a complete blast, a welcome load of laughs and excitement after an awful year for high-end movies.  Hopefully, if any of this year's blockbusters are nearly as entertaining, 2003 could be full of enjoyment.

"Hurry to the DeLoreon!" 
"You need to watch more silent films!"