Shanghai Knights (2003)
★★ — Shanghai Knights (2003)
Shanghai Knights is the follow-up to Shanghai Noon (2000), the modestly budgeted Western comedy that proved Jackie Chan could carry an American crowd-pleaser without sacrificing his physical style. Where that film transplanted Chan into the Old West, this sequel shifts the action to Victorian London, swapping one genre playground for another. David Dobkin directed, relatively early in a career that would later produce Wedding Crashers (2005) and The Judge (2014). Touchstone Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment backed the production with a reported $50 million, and the film returned a reasonable if unspectacular global gross. Fann Wong, a Singaporean pop star and actress, appeared alongside the returning leads, giving the film a broader pan-Asian appeal than its predecessor.
Shanghai Knights (2003) is a step down from its predecessor, still packed with Jackie Chan’s trademark stunts and charm, but weighed down by a lazy script, flat jokes, and Owen Wilson sleepwalking through his role again. The premise (Chon Wang and Roy O’Bannon teaming up in Victorian London to solve a royal assassination plot) is silly fun on paper, and there are flashes of brilliance: Chan’s fight scenes, his physical comedy, and a few surprisingly clever gags. But as a film, it’s just not that great. The plot is all over the place, the historical references are absurd, and the humour leans too hard on anachronisms and Wilson’s smug, one-note schtick. He doesn’t play off Chan so much as ride his coattails, delivering the same laid-back nonsense that’s been his entire career. The villain is forgettable, the stakes feel fake, and the whole thing lacks the heart or momentum of a real buddy adventure. It’s not unwatchable (Jackie alone makes it worth a viewing) but as a follow-up to Shanghai Noon, it feels like a retread with less magic. Good moments, yes, but not enough to save it. Below average as action comedies go. A few standout fights keep it from sinking, but don’t expect anything memorable beyond Chan doing what he does best. Passable, not essential.
Rating: ★★ | Year: 2003 | Watched: 2025-10-03
Where to watch (UK)
Rent: Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK
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Related on Movies With Macca
More with Jackie Chan: Hand of Death (1976) · Rumble in the Bronx (1995) · Skiptrace (2016) · Gorgeous (1999)
More from Hong Kong: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Hand of Death (1976) · Come Drink with Me (1966) · Street Fighter (1994)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More adventure: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · The Eagle (1925) · Louisiana Story (1948) · The General (1926)
