Shanghai Knights

Starring: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson

RS: 1of 4 Stars

2003 Comedy

Grating. That's the best word to describe this flat follow-up to Shanghai Noon, the Wild West comedy, circa 1881, that co-starred Jackie Chan as Chon Wang (sounds like John Wayne, get it?) and Owen Wilson as Roy O'Bannon, his surfer-dude-talking sidekick.

The sequel moves the boys to London, where they do the same shtick (Chan somersaults, Wilson wisecracks). They also try to catch the killer of Chon's father with the help of the young Charlie Chaplin and police inspector Artie Doyle, who likes Roy's name for a fictional detective: Sherlock Holmes.

David Dobkin directs, though I can see no sign of a controlling hand. The outtakes at the end play like the film as a whole -- anarchy without the fun.

PETER TRAVERS
(January 24, 2003)