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Don't
expect to sit there quietly in the back row during this
film - this is a laugh-out-loud kind of movie.
Two
men who just don’t get on, but through a series of comic
mishaps come to appreciate each other’s flaws and foibles
and become friends. ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½r-esque in quality - well maybe
not, but it’s the basis of this (and every other) buddy
movie. What lifts it above this status is Chan’s slapstick
take on all those old wild west clichés.
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| I
told you to wake me when we reached Mansfield Woodhouse |
Yes,
this is the wild west Chan style - the stereotypes are
there, including the obligatory ride into the sunset at
the end - but they’re only fodder for jokes you see a
mile off but still have you laughing out loud along with
everyone else.
That's
not to say there isn't plenty of action.
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| Chan's
the man |
Chan
is a bumbling Chinese Imperial Guard in the 1850’s sent
to the States to help free Princess Pei Pei (Ally
McBeal's Lucy Liu) from the clutches of evil slave
trader Lo Fong.
His
thoughts of pulling off a daring rescue are dashed when
he finds himself working as little more than a bagboy
to three other Guardsmen who are there to rescue the princess
too.
Cue
the comic escapades as Chan dons his "one man against
the world" persona. He sets off to free the Princess by
himself - until he runs into his future buddy Roy O’Bannon
(Owen Wilson) and the two become dubious allies. Wilson,
however, is more concerned about getting his hands on
the ransom gold than actually freeing the princess.
I
would be giving too much away if I said that Chan gets
the girl/princess in the end so I’d better just say that
the movie is great fun to see. It’s probably all that
you would expect a martial arts/western/comedy/romance
to be.
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