{"id":5520,"date":"2013-05-02T23:51:36","date_gmt":"2013-05-03T06:51:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=5520"},"modified":"2021-06-02T00:05:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-02T07:05:14","slug":"review-shanghainoon-knights-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2013\/05\/review-shanghainoon-knights-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Shanghai Noon\/Shanghai Knights Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Noon<\/i><\/b> and Shanghai Knights<\/i><\/b> are both fun movies if not a bit forgettable even with Jackie Chan\u2019s amazing fight sequences and stunt work. Even so, as buddy comedies go, Chan and Owen Wilson share good chemistry making both film a breeze to watch on a slow Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nShanghai Noon\/Shanghai Knights (2000\/2003)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Genre(s): <\/b>Comedy, Action
\nTouchstone | PG13 \u2013 110 min. \/ 114 min. \u2013 $26.50 | May 7, 2013<\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (SHANGHAI NOON<\/i>):
\n<\/span>Directed by: <\/b>Tom Dey
\nWriter(s): <\/b>Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (written by)
\nCast: <\/b>Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Lucy Liu, Roger Yuan, Xander Berkeley<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/b>May 26, 2000<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

MOVIE INFO (SHANGHAI KNIGHTS<\/i>):
\n<\/span>Directed by: <\/b>David Dobkin
\nWriter(s): <\/b>Alfred Gough & Miles Millar (written by)
\nCast: <\/b>Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Donnie Yen, Aiden Gillen, Fann Wong, Tom Fisher<\/p>\n

Theatrical Release Date: <\/b>February 7, 2003<\/p>\n

DISC INFO:
\n<\/span>Features: <\/b>3 Audio Commentaries, Featurettes, Deleted Scenes, Music Video
\nNumber of Discs: <\/b>1<\/p>\n

Audio: <\/b>English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/b>1080p\/Widescreen 2.35
\nSubtitles: <\/b>English SDH, French, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/b>45.0 GB
\nCodec: <\/b>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/b>A, B, C<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

THE MOVIES<\/strong> \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shanghai Noon<\/i><\/b> \u2014 3.5\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

Plot Outline: <\/b>When Princess Pei Pei (LUCY LIU) is abducted after traveling to Nevada, the Emperor of China sends three of his top guards to retrieve and deliver the ransom in gold, although Chon Wang (JACKIE CHAN), considered a fool, volunteers feeling responsible for her kidnapping. Once in Nevada, completely skipping the boat ride over, things go haywire when Roy O\u2019Bannon (OWEN WILSON) and his posse rob the train the guards are on, for a safe loaded with cash, but during the robbery one of the men, a short-fused newbie named Wallace (WALTON GOGGINS of \u201cJustified\u201d fame), who shoots and kills Wang\u2019s Uncle who was on the trip as well.<\/p>\n

Wanting revenge, Wang goes after O\u2019Bannon blaming him for the killing while the other three guards remain on the train with the gold ransom. After a bit of fighting between O\u2019Bannon and Wang, and O\u2019Bannon\u2019s crew turning on him after failing to nab the cash, the pair unites later at a bar and decides to partner up with O\u2019Bannon helping lead Wang to Carson City. This is where the princess is being held by Lo Fang (ROGER YUAN), a traitor imperial guard. Now it is up to O\u2019Bannon and Wang to rescue the princess.<\/p>\n

Shanghai Knights<\/i><\/b> (2003) \u2014 3.0\/5<\/b><\/p>\n

Plot Outline: <\/b>The story takes place in the latter part of the 19th<\/sup> century. Chon Wang (CHAN) is now the sheriff of Carson City and receives word that his father, the keeper of the Imperial Seal of China, has been murdered (when the film opened) by one Lord Nelson Rathbone (AIDAN GILLEN) and the seal has been stolen. Wang had received a letter from his sister, Chon Lin (FANN WONG), about the murder and that she has tracked Rathbone to London. Oh, and also Princess Pei Pei, now wife to Chon, is off on business in San Francisco meaning Lucy Liu didn\u2019t even want to make a cameo appearance…<\/p>\n

Needing to go to London, Wang needs the gold he had invested but Roy (WILSON) now lives in New York, up to his philandering ways. However, he\u2019s angry to discover that Roy had thrown all their money down the drain with a bad investment (in Zeppelin) and is now broke, working as a hotel bar waiter but still able to charm the ladies… and make some dough in the process. But after some hijinks and shenanigans, the duo stowaway on a boat headed for London and when there, their task begins to find Rathbone. But before doing so, they are greeted by a street boy named Charlie (AARON TAYLOR-JOHNSON) and Scotland Yard Inspector Artie Doyle (TOM FISHER). Additionally, Roy is absolutely smitten with Chon Lin much to the horror of Wang. Now the three join forces to stop Rathbone as well as Wu Chow (DONNIE YEN) who are conspiring to overthrow their respective governments.<\/p>\n

Quick Hit Review: <\/b>The Shanghai<\/i><\/b> movies never were favorites of mine but each contain just enough comedy to keep me entertained and the pairing of Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson is actually quite strong to the point I wouldn\u2019t mind a third movie to complete the series. The fight scenes are, unsurprisingly, well done with Chan doing his own stunts, as seen in the outtakes, giving both movies a step up even when the plotlines were half-baked and predictable.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shanghai Noon<\/i><\/b> \u2014 2.5\/5
\nAudio Commentary<\/span><\/b> \u2013 This track features director Tom Dey & Stars Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson. The Chan portions were spliced in while Dey and Wilson chat together providing some basic behind-the-scenes information and despite having someone like Wilson (who was mostly quiet), it\u2019s fairly dry…<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (TRT 13:34; SD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Eight scenes that were excised have been included here in fairly good condition…<\/p>\n

There are archived featurettes<\/b> included: Making an Eastern Western (3:23; SD)<\/span><\/b> containing on-set interviews; Partners (4:09; SD)<\/span><\/b> breaks down the two main characters and the contrast of the two stars; Jackie\u2019s Comedy (3:48; SD)<\/span><\/b> shows the martial arts star comedic side and how it compares with old silent films (and Chan\u2019s love for Buster Keaton); Western Stunts, Eastern Style (3:39; SD)<\/span><\/b> looks at the stunt work done on the movie; Hanging with Roy and the Kid (2:16; SD)<\/span><\/b> focuses on the big hanging scene in the middle of the film; Action Overload (2:41; SD)<\/span><\/b> basically just shows the different action\/fight scenes; and lastly\u00a0 Choo Choo Boogie (3:09; SD)<\/span><\/b> looks at the designing and building of a miniature train.<\/p>\n

Theatrical Trailer (1:18; SD)<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

Shanghai Knights<\/i><\/b> \u2014 2.0\/5
\nAudio Commentaries<\/span><\/b> \u2013 There are two tracks here, the first is with Director David Dopkin and the other is with screenwriters Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Both contain some interesting tid bits, like how Dopkin came to direct the sequel, to coming up with a story for this second entry for the writers\u2019 track.<\/p>\n

Deleted Scenes (TRT 28:08; SD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 The 11 scenes \u2013 some new, some trimmed from the final version \u2013 are nice to watch and everything but only served to unnecessarily extend the movie.<\/p>\n

Fight Manual (9:03; SD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Jackie Chan David Dopkin talk about filming action and comedy showing some behind-the-scenes footage at the amount of work done to get the shots right.<\/p>\n

Action Overload (1:34; HD)<\/span><\/b> \u2013 Just like the other one, this one is set against old-timey music, shows some of the action from the movie.<\/p>\n

Preview<\/b> \u2013 The Lone Ranger<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Shanghai Noon<\/i><\/b> arrives on Blu-ray presented with a 2.35 widescreen transfer and sporting a nifty 1080p high-def transfer. I was actually pleasantly surprised as the picture looks good displaying some normal film grain and noise while also showing off fine detail levels and color array throughout.<\/p>\n

The transfer for Shanghai Knights<\/i><\/b> is equally as impressive, also with 1080p HD. Here, the video is warmer but I believe that was by design. There\u2019s a fair amount of natural grain and noise and the detail levels once again were excellent. Although compared with other catalogue titles, this might not be as old (only 10 years), but it\u2019s never a guarantee and it does seem Disney put some effort.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

AUDIO \u2013 3.5\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Where Disney fell short, however, is in the audio department. I don\u2019t know if it was due to a lack of disc space but instead of having lossless tracks, both movies were merely given the standard Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks instead. Ponder this for a moment: the Father of Bride<\/i> movies, both on one disc also, got DTS-HD MA tracks, yet these action-comedies did not? Yeah, doesn\u2019t make sense either.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

OVERALL \u2013 3.25\/5<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Overall, Shanghai Noon<\/i><\/b> and Shanghai Knights<\/i><\/b> are both fun movies if not a bit forgettable even with Jackie Chan\u2019s amazing fight sequences and stunt work. Even so, as buddy comedies go, Chan and Owen Wilson share good chemistry making both film a breeze to watch on a slow Saturday afternoon. The Blu-ray release luckily ported over all the special features and the video transfers for both movies are solid while the audio is unfortunately standard Dolby Digital which is surprising given it is 2013. But if you like these movies, the price seems reasonable enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Published: <\/b>05\/02\/2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Noon and Shanghai Knights are both fun movies if not a bit forgettable even with Jackie Chan\u2019s amazing fight sequences and stunt work. Even so, as buddy comedies go, Chan and Owen Wilson share good chemistry making both film a breeze to watch on a slow Saturday afternoon.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,970],"tags":[2024,106,1206,89,2023,2022],"class_list":["post-5520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blurayreviews","category-quick-hit-reviews","tag-donnie-yen","tag-jackie-chan","tag-lucy-liu","tag-owen-wilson","tag-shanghai-knights","tag-shanghai-noon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5520"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26478,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5520\/revisions\/26478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}