Big thanks to Pinoy for finding this one!
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It's the first review of Shanghai Knights and it comes from the Dabbler in the Arts, a fellow who routinely gets to watch test screenings of Hollywood films. The goods news is that DitA thinks Knights is a better film than its precedessor!
"Shanghai Knights opens during a cold winter season in the Forbidden City. Inside the famous temple, Chon Lin (Fann Wong), Chon Wang’s baby sister, spies on her father as he admires the precious Imperial Seal (it’s actually a big fancy diamond). When a group of mercenaries and future-lordship Rathbone storm the temple, steal the Seal, and murder Chon’s father, Lin swears to take revenge.
"Chon
Wang (Jackie Chan) is the new Sheriff in Carson City, Nevada. Upon hearing the
bad news from his sister, he heads to New York to make a connection trip to
London, England, because Lin has followed Rathbone back there. While in New
York, Wang finds Roy O’Bannon at a hotel (surprisingly!). Roy has invested money
in the Zeppelin industry (as opposed to the automobile industry), but Wang has
come to claim his share of the gold. Unable to make that kind of withdrawal, Roy
agrees to help Wang catch Rathbone and both are off on a ship to London."Rathbone (Aidan Gillen) plans to rule England, but he’s only tenth to the throne, which forces him to take extreme measures-that’s right, you guessed it-but only with the help of Wu Yip (Donnie Yen), whom Wang’s father expelled from the temple for trying to steal the Imperial Seal. It won’t do much good to bother with the details of their plan, because it is as obvious as it is uninteresting (in my case, anyway).
"Once on new land, Wang and Roy encounter quirky characters, such as Scotland Yard detective Artie Doyle (Tom Fisher) and little pickpocket orphan Charlie Chaplin (Aaron Johnson). With their help, and Lin’s escape from Scotland Yard captivity, Wang and Roy close in on Rathbone. But before revenge can take place, Wang and Roy spend a good hour going through all kinds of action, fights, turmoil, and silly fun.
"It is during their time in London when the fights and jokes begin its course. Roy finds fame from his semi- autobiographical novels (including Roy O’Bannon Vs. The Mummy), brags to the English about the American Revolution, and poses as the of-yet-unknown Sherlock Holmes, while Wang fights off bad guys and engages in a fight sequence in the style of 'Singin?In The Rain.'
"Shanghai Knights is the kind of sequel with good intentions to please the audience as much as possible. While it is not exactly up to par with the original, Knights stands well enough on its own. The script, written by original writers Miles Millar and Alfred Gough (also TV's cool 'Smallville'), delivers well-rounded characters, a decent storyline, and jokes. One major setback of the script/movie involves the revenge plot, which, even though it is the driving force of the story, fails to maintain its focus and becomes too secondary in nature.
"Fight sequences are choreographed and executed in the kind of style we expect from a Jackie Chan movie (except for the horrific The Tuxedo). Knights somewhat lacks the intensity and danger of its stunts that I thought Noon possessed, however, a few situations did manage to impress. In terms of jokes, Knights delivers some classic moments, one of which includes Chon Lin kicking the crap out of the infamous London-stalker Jack The Ripper. Then again, after much thought, there are perhaps not enough really good jokes to go around for the two hour running time of the movie.
"After the success of Shanghai Noon, Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson have appeared in several dismal adventure movies, and to name them all, they are Rush Hour 2 (not a disappointment, but it could’ve been better), The Tuxedo (where was the fun?), Behind Enemy Lines (how contrived and boring can it get?), and I Spy (the most dreadful excuse for a comedy in recent years). Jackie and Owen play well off each other and the chemistry is definitely there. Bad guy Rathbone is the usual 'will do anything for power' type, and even though the character is kind of a bore, Aidan Gillen does his best do play the part. Fann Wong is no Lucy Liu, and therefore, the romantic angle isn’t as strong as the script makes it out to be. Director David Dobkin (Clay Pigeons), writers Millar and Gough all do a good job, despite some setbacks.
"It’s too bad the trailer doesn’t do a better job of setting up Shanghai Knights, because there is much more to the movie than what the trailer chooses to show. Nevertheless, this sequel manages to entertain at just the kind of level of comedy that most other movies of the same nature have a hard time to reach. Perhaps, with an improved trailer and good marketing, Shanghai Knights will gain the kind of money at the box office that it deserves."