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Overall | Rumble in the Bronx (Hung faan aau) (1996) | The Accidental Spy (Dak miu mai shing) (2001) | Shanghai Knights (2003)

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Jackie Chan-Special Collection (Rumble Bronx/Accident Spy/Shanghai Knghts) (1996)

Jackie Chan-Special Collection (Rumble Bronx/Accident Spy/Shanghai Knghts) (1996)

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Released 27-Jan-2004

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Overall Package

    Considering the multitude of movies that Jackie Chan has in his filmography, you'd think that a boxset would have no trouble getting 3 good films into the packaging. Unfortunately, overall this is a fairly mediocre selection, with none of Chan's earlier Hong Kong productions to be seen. What we have here are one good film (Shanghai Knights), one decent display of Chan's earlier athletisism (Rumble In The Bronx), and one pretty mediocre movie by his high standards (Accidental Spy).

    The video quality is a mixed bag, with the least impressive movie ironically getting the best transfer, while the other two are somewhat below par for recent releases. Audio is also nothing to write home about on any of the discs, with the two dubbed discs being the worst in this department.

    As an overall DVD package, Shanghai Knights is by far the highlight, since it actually contains extras, consisting of 2 audio commentaries, substantial deleted scenes, and a few other bits and pieces. Extras are noticeable by their absence on the other two discs.

    Overall then, unless you're a die-hard Jackie Chan fan, you'd be better off just purchasing Shanghai Knights and waiting for Rumble In The Bronx to be released separately. Unless of course you don't want to wait for that, in which case this package could be worth considering.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© David L (Only my Mum would have any interest in my bio)
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Other Reviews NONE
Overall | Rumble in the Bronx (Hung faan aau) (1996) | The Accidental Spy (Dak miu mai shing) (2001) | Shanghai Knights (2003)

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Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Rumble in the Bronx (Hung faan aau) (1996)

Rumble in the Bronx (Hung faan aau) (1996)

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Released 27-Jan-2004

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Martial Arts None
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1996
Running Time 85:08
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Stanley Tong
Studio
Distributor

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.
Starring Jackie Chan
Anita Mui
Françoise Yip
Bill Tung
Marc Akerstream
Garvin Cross
Morgan Lam
Ailen Sit
Chan Man Ching
Fred Andrucci
Mark Antoniuk
Lauro Chartrand
Chris Franco
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI ? Music Al Jourgensen
J. Peter Robinson
Nathan Wang


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.30:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, the usual Jackie Chan outtakes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Jackie Chan's breakthrough movie in the US, Rumble in the Bronx, tells the story of Ah Keung (Chan) arriving in New York (well, Vancouver actually, but what the heck - a city's a city) for the wedding of his Uncle Bill (Bill Tung), who owns a supermarket in the Bronx. After selling his market to Elaine (Anita Mui) and tying the knot, Uncle Bill departs the scene and leaves Keung to keep an eye on things in New York.

    Of course, being a Jackie Chan movie, "things" don't turn out to be that simple when a local biker gang crosses paths with everyone's favourite grinning butt-kicker, and starts terrorising his Uncle's old supermarket and its new owner. Many fights and chases ensue, and Keung ends up befriending one of the gang girls and her wheelchair-bound little brother. To add some more spice to the mix, some organised crime/Mafia types come into the picture, and these guys have the biker gang feeling a little out of their depth.

    Can Keung sort out all the troubles on his own, whilst getting one or more of the girls? Will the gang members learn to be nice to people? Will there be lots of character development and deep, poignant commentary on society? Let's face it, these things are pretty unimportant in a Jackie Chan vehicle, and the only real question that needs answering is: will we see Jackie kick bad guys all over the screen, and risk his life for the sake of our entertainment? Yes.

    I hadn't actually seen this offering until now, which is surprising since I am one of a multitude of Jackie Chan fans. I don't claim to be an expert on the man, but I have watched all the older Hong Kong films that SBS have in their library, as well as all his Hollywood productions, and many DVDs to fill in the gaps. It's no secret that there is a real difference between early Chan films (like Police Story/Project A) and his recent Hollywood efforts (or even his recent Hong Kong films, for that matter), and I was expecting this to fall more into the latter camp, so it was a very pleasant surprise to see some vintage Jackie set-piece stunts and fight scenes.

    Don't try and get too involved in the story in this one, since you'll be sorely disappointed. Characters appear, disappear and sometimes re-appear later, logic is absent in many of the story threads, editing seems to make huge jumps at times, the ending is abrupt and inconclusive, the English dub is laughably bad, and so on, and so on. If you're planning to watch this movie for any other reason than seeing Jackie in action, I'd recommend you stay well clear, as this is what it's all about. Here he fights mobs on his own with his usual unique brand of improvisation, jumps off bridges, gets run over by a hovercraft, cartwheels around the alleyways, and much more. He really exhibits speed and flexibility that rivals his early films, and there are even some points where I wondered if the film had been sped up slightly, but I'm willing to be corrected on this (knowing that Bruce Lee sometimes did moves that were too fast for the camera to really catch properly). If this is what you're looking for, then certainly give it a go.

    One thing that did strike me about this film, though, is that it's a little more dark and violent than most of Jackie Chan's other movies. There are still some of the usual jokes and slapstick, but they seem almost out of place alongside people getting knocked senseless and bloodied with bottles, or fed into woodchippers (not to mention the inclusion of some bad language). As part of a boxset where the other two movies are suitable for leaving the kids with, this one sticks out as the exception.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    This transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.30:1, 16x9 enhanced, and is therefore pretty close to the original aspect ratio of 2.39:1.

    Sharpness leaves a bit to be desired. It's not exactly bad, but lacks the clarity and detail that we've become accustomed to these days. There are also examples of grain in some shots, for example 32:42. There are a lot of dark scenes, taking place in alleys or badly lit interiors, so fortunately shadow detail is good, and blacks are nice and solid.

    Colours are accurate, and although not a particularly colourful movie, on the occasions when we do get out in the sun everything is distinct and well separated, with no signs of bleeding.

    There are no MPEG artefacts visible. Film to video artefacts consist of occasional mild aliasing (one of the worst examples being 15:44). There are also film artefacts frequently appearing throughout the movie, but these are mostly very minor, with only the odd exception (such as 60:39 and 81:50).

    There are two subtitle streams; English, and English for the Hearing Impaired. I sampled the English one, and found it to be fairly accurate to the dub (assuming the dub is accurate to the original script).

    This is a single layered disc, hence there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Shown theatrically with a Dolby Stereo SR soundtrack, this has been converted to the 5.1 format for the sake of this DVD.

    There is only the one track on this disc; English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s).

    The dialogue is a pretty awful English dub. As a result of this, audio sync is laughably bad and unfortunately the dialogue itself is not very clear either. Add to this the imbalance in volume levels between dialogue and the music/sound effects, and you have a bit of a problem in this department.

    The music by Al Jourgensen, J. Peter Robinson and Nathan Wang is a mixture of orchestral themes with an Eastern flavour, and loud dramatic chase music that sounds a little dated now.

    The surrounds come into play for such things as aircraft, alley noises/drips, motorbike engines and so on. For a remix, they've managed to put the rear speakers to an acceptable level of use.

    The subwoofer is not used all that frequently, but there are times when it is used that you'll risk shaking the house down! The bass in the music gets the most use from the sub, with car crashes and most action scenes also getting their share. It's all a little boomy and indistinct though, and during a couple of scenes (notably 62:20 and 70:00) you'll really test the limits of your .1 equipment, as very low frequencies are boomed out for an extended period.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    There are no extras.

Censorship

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;

    The Region 1 version certainly looks like a better option on first glance, but I don't really think any of the extras are that worthwhile, unless you're a fan of trailers. Due to the advantages of the PAL format I'm going to call this one a tie.

Summary

    The movie that brought Jackie Chan to the attention of the Western masses, displaying his incredible fighting/stunt/gymnastic abilities, before age started to catch up with him. Don't watch it for the story/characters, but if you can't get enough Jackie action then you'll want to see this.

    The video is acceptable, but could have been better for something produced so recently.

    The audio has its problems, namely; unclear dialogue, boomy bass, and unbalanced volume levels.

    There are no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© David L (Only my Mum would have any interest in my bio)
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDOmni 3600, using RGB output
DisplaySony 1252QM CRT Projector, 250cm custom built 16x9 matte screen. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-DS797- THX Select
SpeakersAccusound ES-55 Speaker set, Welling WS12 Subwoofer

Other Reviews NONE
Overall | Rumble in the Bronx (Hung faan aau) (1996) | The Accidental Spy (Dak miu mai shing) (2001) | Shanghai Knights (2003)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
The Accidental Spy (Dak miu mai shing) (2001)

The Accidental Spy (Dak miu mai shing) (2001)

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Released 27-Jan-2004

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action None
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 83:28
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Teddy Chen
Studio
Distributor

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.
Starring Jackie Chan
Eric Tsang
Vivian Hsu
Kim Min
Jeong Wu
Hsing Kuo
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI ? Music Peter Kam


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits Yes, production bloopers.

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Wow! Jackie! Chan! In! A! New! Film!

    Sorry about that, but after reading the blurb on this disc where every sentence is punctuated with an exclamation mark, I felt it would have been remiss of me to fail to mock the advertising executives at Buena Vista. In short, exclamation marks, like lots of people being smacked around, do not necessarily make for excitement.

     The Accidental Spy offers essentially a loosely threaded plot around a few action sequences focusing on Jackie Chan’s admittedly impressive kung-fu skills. Jackie Chan (played by Jackie Chan ... you've got to love the creative skills there) is a gym equipment salesman, raised in an orphanage, who foils a robbery and is then approached by a private investigator to visit his supposed father in Korea. It turns out his father was a double-agent who defected in Turkey. Jackie travels to Turkey to find a fortune he has apparently been left, although he must ‘play a game’ to get his hands on it.

     The films of Jackie Chan are and always have been sometimes amusing pieces of fluff. The characters are largely one-dimensional. The humour generally relates to some slapstick joke or another, and the violence is intentionally minimalised and focuses on hand-to-hand combat in a jokey kind of way. Famous really for the over-the-top stunts, which Chan performs personally, his films are generally much of a muchness. Now, I don’t mind that kind of thing to an extent, but the calibre of modern action films have just far surpassed this rather sad spectacle. The same thing that bugged me about Kiss Of The Dragon gets under my skin in Chan’s films. While Kiss Of The Dragon involved some highly stylised action sequences, Jet Li never picks up a machine gun when there are plenty lying around, relying instead on his martial arts skills. Sometimes this seems appropriate. Other times, it really does not. Ditto, Chan’s work.

     I’m a big fan of Hark Tsui (Once Upon A Time In China, Time and Tide) and Johnny To (Hero Never Dies, Running Out Of Time), modern Hong Kong action directors who make intensely violent films that grab your attention in a way that Chan’s work does not. With their own perverse sense of humour, Tsui and To have stunts you wouldn’t believe and action sequences that contort the mind. In contrast, The Accidental Spy is not very funny, not very violent, has no really wowsing stunts by contemporary standards, or really wowsing kung-fu -- really, even Kiss Of The Dragon outdid this film in that regard. In short, The Accidental Spy is not very … anything. It’s bland kung-fu slapstick nothing. The end sequence, being largely a rehash on the Speed motif, is just laughable, but not in a funny way. It just doesn’t make all that much sense.

     If you want a really funny Hong Kong kung-fu movie, see From Beijing With Love, which is a complete laugh riot -- I lost my voice I was laughing so hard. If you want a really intense Hong Kong action movie, check out Hark Tsui’s Time and Tide for some action sequences you won’t believe. If you want to keep your precocious 10-year-olds entertained for a little over an hour, give them The Accidental Spy. It’s not Chan’s best work, but your kids will forget it soon enough because there’s nothing much to it, and so it will do as a time killer.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     Presented in the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, 16x9 enhanced, this is a reasonably good transfer.

    The picture is a little on the soft side, but never really blurry. Shadow detail is very good, without the graininess that seems to mar so many night shots on poorly transferred films. There is little to no low-level noise and colours are well saturated.

     There was some minor aliasing that I saw only because I was hunting for it, but nothing really jarring. There were quite a few flecks of grain, which are quite noticeable and a little distracting. Oddly enough, this was generally only the case in the segments of the film which were obviously filmed in Turkey. Sequences shot in studios or in Hong Kong were transferred from much cleaner prints.

     While the cover of this disc says this is a dual-layered disc, I can assure you that it is not. Consequently, there is no dual-layer pause.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     There is only one soundtrack, a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English overdub.

     I have said it before, and I’ll say it again - overdubbing is wrong. I’ve never liked the practice, and always prefer the original language track for a variety of reasons: firstly, overdub ruins the movie experience by clashing what you see on the screen with your eyes and what you hear; secondly, overdub run contrary to what the director intended when making the film; and thirdly, overdub generally plays havoc with the overall sound mix. I came down very hard on Universal for their release of Flashback, and I see that SeanB came down hard on the same studio for their release of Brotherhood of the Wolf. Likewise, Columbia TriStar’s paltry 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround German original audio track for Das Boot versus a 5.1 Dolby Digital English overdub was a travesty, and one still yet to be rectified.

     The choice to release an English overdub for the Accidental Spy was likewise a bad move, because of all of the above reasons I mentioned. Certainly, with the amount of travel involved in this film there would have been people speaking Cantonese, English, Korean and Turkish – but so what? Lots of films have had various sequences in other languages. That’s the beauty of subtitles. Of course, the producers could just be cheap and dub over such sequences, and that’s what they’ve done here – jarring, glaring overdub. Even people who are speaking English have been dubbed over with other people speaking English. Consequently, audio sync is out for the entire film.

     Furthermore, the overdub mutes a lot of the other background noise which is normally caught on set with the boom mike. The result is reduced ambience and a tinny, studio feel for the whole thing. Sure, you can understand what’s being said, but when it doesn’t match up with what you’re seeing, the whole cinema experience is pretty much ruined.

     Granted, during many of the action sequences there was still some good surround use, but nothing exceptional.

     The subwoofer was used fairly liberally when things blew up or got smashed together, which really didn’t happen all that often, but I’ve got no real complaints there.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Menus

     The menus are 16x9 enhanced, static, with no sound.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     The R1 release likewise has no original language track, but apparently has a French overdub to complement the English overdub. I don’t think this makes a victory for R1, but it’s better than what the R4 release has, which is ... well ... nothing.

Summary

     The Accidental Spy is okay for a slapstick kung-fu film, but it’s nothing great. If you like this kind of thing, you might get something from it, but that’s a pretty heavy qualification. It’s not as funny as his earlier films like Drunken Master and the action sequences are pretty contrived and banal. It never got close to getting my blood pumping.

     The video transfer is reasonable.

     The audio transfer is good clarity-wise, but is only available in English overdub which is pretty shonky.

     There are no extras.

     Overall, The Accidental Spy is a banal film given a banal presentation on DVD, not worth the money or really the time, but it might make a good time killer for your kids.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Edward McKenzie (I am Jack's raging bio...)
Friday, April 04, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDPanasonic DVD-RV31A-S, using S-Video output
DisplayBeko 28" (16x9). This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver.
AmplificationMarantz SR7000
SpeakersEnergy - Front, Rear, Centre & Subwoofer

Other Reviews
DVD Net - Vincent C

Overall | Rumble in the Bronx (Hung faan aau) (1996) | The Accidental Spy (Dak miu mai shing) (2001) | Shanghai Knights (2003)

PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Shanghai Knights (2003)

Shanghai Knights (2003)

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Released 27-Jan-2004

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action Main Menu Audio & Animation
Menu Audio
Scene Selection Audio
Featurette-Fight Manual
Featurette-Action Overload
Deleted Scenes-11
Audio Commentary-David Dobkin (Director)
Audio Commentary-Alfred Gough and Miles Millar (Screenwriters)
Outtakes
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2003
Running Time 109:48
RSDL / Flipper RSDL (66:05) Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By David Dobkin
Studio
Distributor

Walt Disney Studios Home Ent.
Starring Jackie Chan
Owen Wilson
Donnie Yen
Aidan Gillen
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $34.90 Music Randy Edelman


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s)
Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 1.0 (96Kb/s)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 1.0 (96Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English
English for the Hearing Impaired
Spanish
Hungarian
Spanish Text Commentary
Smoking Yes, Roy enjoys his cigars.
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson are almost solely responsible for the resurrection of a venerable Hollywood genre - the buddy picture. For many years the buddy picture was a favourite of the silver screen, even producing its own sub-genre, the buddy-cop picture. But in the mid-to-late eighties, a wind of change blew through Hollywood, and the buddy picture was removed from the landscape, like a sand-dune in the Sahara. Jump forward fifteen odd years and we arrive at 1998, and a little film that could is conquering box-offices across the world. Rush Hour, combining the talents of American comedian Chris Tucker, and well respected (but without an American success story to his name) martial-arts actor Jackie Chan exploded onto an unsuspecting world, and in the process set a trend underway. In the years since, there have been many imitators, most not very successfully (just look at the mega-budget flop Wild Wild West, or the recent Showtime that never really hit its straps). One that stood out, however, also involved Chan, this time partnered with the king of "surfer-chic", Owen Wilson (who has appeared in other buddy fare I Spy and Zoolander). Once again, the partnership was dynamite, despite Wilson not having had any real previous commercial success, and Rush Hour being Jackie Chan's only one. That film was Shanghai Noon, and as the title suggested with its play on High Noon, it was a martial-arts western. Excuse me? Like Lightning Jack was an Aussie-larrikin western? Well, yes, only much better - and more importantly, far more successful. This film, Shanghai Knights is its sequel.

    So how do you go about creating sequel magic? Shanghai Knights is a fair example, and while many would debate whether it is as good as its predecessor, few would suggest the film is a dud. The first step to ensure sequel success is to retain the main stars from the first outing, achieved here with both Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson returning. Lucy Liu is gone, but there is a ready replacement in Asian songstress Fann Wong, so the film does not really miss her. The next step is to attempt to achieve the same style in the script. For that, the writers of Shanghai Noon return. Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, whose previous credits include Lethal Weapon 4, and who are also co-creators and executive producers for TVs Smallville, bring the same comedy feel to this film as to the first. Finally, for the look and tone of the film, it is the director. This is the only place where Shanghai Knights misses out, as director of Shanghai Noon, Tom Dey, did not return for this instalment. That, however, is not necessarily a bad thing, as this film is a different beast to the first in a number of ways, the most obvious being the setting - Victorian London.

    The story starts with the death of Chon Wang (Jackie Chan)'s estranged father at the hands of a rather nasty looking Englishman. When Chon's sister sends him a letter in Carson City, where he is happily living out life as the Sheriff, Chon immediately sets off for the big city to meet back up with his old buddy Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson). After some typically Roy O'Bannon style shenanigans, the two set off for London together to save Chon's sister, and avenge his father's death. Once in London, they encounter a few problems - not the least of which is a plot to overthrow both the Chinese Emperor, and the English Queen. By doing what they do best they might just be able to save the world at the same time as meting out due vengeance.

    It is difficult to say if this film is better or worse than the original. The main reason for that is because it is quite different, both obviously in terms of setting, and more subtly in terms of tone. The major difference between the films is that the first one was more specifically comedy driven, keeping the action set pieces short and to the point. This film is content, especially early on, to let the action play out for quite some time, and for no other reason than for action. Director David Dobkin says that this is in an attempt to make this the closest an American Jackie Chan film has come to any of his Asian work. That may or may not be true, but the result is some of the most inspired action set-pieces committed to film in quite some time. The three highlights from the film are the keystone cops-esque revolving door fight - replete with cartoon-like sound effects - the Singin' In The Rain box-dance sequence, and the pillow-fight. The last of those is by far the high point of the movie - it is completely out of the blue, and is absolutely perfect comedy film-making.

    As for the rest of the film - the mostly non-action parts that is - it is a very good combination of comedy with revenge drama. Irish actor Aidan Gillen is appropriately slimy as the evil Rathbone, although he is slightly less successful at affecting an English accent (one assumes the American producers never noticed). Donnie Yen continues to nibble at the edges of a major Hollywood breakthrough, and Hong Kong film fans will relish the showdown between his bitter and twisted Wu Chow and Jackie Chan's Chon Wang. Tom Fisher has plenty of fun with his character of Artie Doyle (there's a joke there, by the way), and Fann Wong is both enthusiastic and likeable in her first American film, using her command of English (she is a Singaporean native) to carry more dialogue that others in similar roles (Jackie Chan in his earlier American films, and Zhang Ziyi in Rush Hour 2). All these are only window dressing however - this film is really about Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson.

    Once again Chan, the man who does all his own stunts, and Wilson, the man who does none of his own stunts, have a chemistry that completely carries the movie. The two could not be more different, but it is in that difference that the partnership works. Where Jackie Chan can kick butts from one side of the screen to the other and back again, Owen Wilson can do anything else that is needed - he is by turns a hero, a coward, brilliant, and an imbecile - but when the two come together to display emotion, the film is at its strongest. Jackie Chan can convey a lot with just a look (which is good, as his English is not yet good enough to convey all that much with his voice), while Owen Wilson is a superb actor in all facets. The bar scene in the Puss-In-Boots Inn is dramatically the highlight of any recent buddy picture and defines why this film is at the top of its game - because we care about the characters. Beyond all the cheesy jokes, slapstick humour, and fight scenes - obviously the main reason to watch movies of this type - the audience really wants Roy and Chon to succeed, and that makes the rest of the film all the more interesting.

    This is buddy filmmaking at its best, and while it will never be thought-provoking drama, it was never intended to be. Brilliant entertainment that reaffirms why it is just good fun to go to the movies. I guess that makes Shanghai Knights better than its predecessor then.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    Another Buena Vista DVD, and another relatively average transfer. The picture quality presented for Shanghai Knights would have been considered first rate - in 1999. These days, it is a little disappointing for a transfer of a new film.

    Presented in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 this transfer is 16x9 enhanced.

    The first problem with the transfer is that it is not particularly sharp. The image contains enough detail to be pleasant, but only enough - it never goes beyond the call of duty, as so many other recent transfers do. The image has a slightly soft look to it, but at the same time, a very high contrast, which makes for a slightly disturbing image. Not helping the issue any is the presence of a consistently high level of background grain. While it is usually not too much of a problem, it does become very noticeable from time to time, with the worst instances occurring with the fog from 68:10 and again from 71:43. In addition to the grain, the transfer is plagued by what seems to be an excessive use of edge enhancement. Mild edge enhancement can be easy enough to put up with, but it is used almost constantly in this transfer and to extreme levels. While some of it is most likely due to back-lighting, the constant halos around the characters are extremely distracting. On the upside, shadow detail is very good, displaying excellent depth, with nicely penetrable blacks. There is no low level noise.

    Colours are good, and the wildly varying colour palette of this movie is rendered without any issues. The image at times takes on a slightly "hyper-realistic" look (entirely intentional according to the director's commentary), which emphasises the colours even further - a challenge the transfer is more than up to.

    There are virtually no compression artefacts in the transfer, even when the grain becomes quite noticeable, and there are no film artefacts. The same cannot be said for film-to-video artefacts, as aliasing is a major problem. Virtually all straight edges suffer from it to at least a minor extent, while there are many examples of very distracting aliasing, such as the roof at 27:41. The worst aliasing culprit, however, is the "generals" jacket worn by Roy for almost a third of the movie - every time he moves, the jacket breaks out into shimmering lines. The red bandanna worn by Chon in the earlier parts of the movie is almost as problematic, although fortunately only in close up.

    The subtitles are rendered in what has to be the most attractive font yet presented on a DVD. They are not particularly accurate to the spoken word however, which causes a number of jokes (particularly those of Roy) to be missed.

    This is an RSDL formatted disc with the layer change taking place at 66:04 during Chapter 10. It is relatively well placed, being on a static image with little sound, and is not particularly easy to spot.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio transfer is actually slightly disappointing. Not that it is bad - far from it - but it is simply not as enveloping and enthusiastic as the style of the movie calls for.

    There are six audio tracks present on this disc. The first three are the original English dialogue and dubs in Spanish and Hungarian. The English and Spanish tracks are both in Dolby Digital 5.1 (at 448 and 384Kbps respectively), while the Hungarian is in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround at 192Kbps. Next are the two English audio commentary tracks, both presented in Dolby Digital 1.0 (at 96Kbps). Finally, there is an English descriptive audio track, presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 surround (at 192Kbps).

    Dialogue is mostly clear and easy to understand, and when it isn't, the fault does not lie with the transfer. While Jackie Chan's English is getting better, there are still times when his accent may cause some people problems. Fann Wong fares little better in these stakes, with a few phrases sounding like others with entirely different meanings ("Forget about it" sounds more like an expletive, while "Wu Chow" sounds more like "Watch Out"). Fortunately, subtitles are available for those who find the accents too much to comprehend. Audio sync was spot-on throughout the movie and never caused a problem.

    The music is a combination of score by Randy Edelman, and a collection of contemporary songs. For the style of movie it works well, although the score component does not quite match up to the grand and sweeping score from the first instalment. To be fair, however, the setting is neither grand nor sweeping, so the score has simply changed to suit the different locale.

    The surround channels are not extensively used. They get some play from score and music, and spring into action from time to time when there are specific ambient noises to carry, but are rarely used for true directional sound effects. This is a pity, as there are certainly a number of opportunities for this that are simply not taken.

    Like the surround channels, the subwoofer is left a little high and dry, not delivering the total effectiveness that the movie has potential for. There are a number of times where it is used very well, but they are virtually matched by the times when it could have been used better. At least when it is used it is well used, and provides tightly controlled backing.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    The extras are dominated by the two commentary tracks, but there is enough here in addition to those to make this a nice bonus package.

Menu

    The menu is 16x9 enhanced, animated, themed around the movie, and features Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo sound.

Featurette: Fight Manual (9:03)

    Note: This extra is titled Flight Manual on the back cover of the DVD. Somehow given its contents, Fight Manual (as it is called on the bonus features menu) seems a more appropriate title. This featurette covers the Jackie Chan style of fight choreography, and the fact that it takes a lot longer to film a fight using his style of shooting than is typical for a Hollywood film. It is relatively interesting, although those that have watched this type of featurette on the Rush Hour discs (or in fact, virtually anything on Jackie Chan's filming style) have probably seen it all before. Presented at 1.33:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio.

Featurette: Action Overload (1:35)

    Presented at 1.85:1, not 16x9 enhanced, and featuring Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio, this is a sepia-toned silent-movie style cutting together of a number of action scenes from the movie and set to an old-time soundtrack. Sometimes you simply have to ask yourself: "why?"

Deleted Scenes (28:09)

    This section features 11 "deleted" scenes, although in truth, only one or two do not appear in the film in some form or another. The vast majority are extensions of existing scenes, while the last four are full-length fight scenes including extras that were cut for the theatrical version. The scenes presented are as follows:     All scenes are presented at 2.35:1, are not 16x9 enhanced, and feature Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio.

Audio Commentary - David Dobkin (Director)

    This commentary is only of average quality. Director David Dobkin leaves a number of large gaps, and tends to fall into the trap of explaining the story from time to time. He does also have some interesting information to impart, but this track is probably only for dedicated fans.

Audio Commentary - Alfred Gough, Miles Millar (Co-Writers)

    This is the better commentary of the two, although still nothing spectacular. There are slightly less gaps, and Gough and Millar seem to have a good rapport. These guys know their screen writing, so the things they comment on tend to be quite interesting.

Descriptive Audio Track

    This is not so much as an extra as an enhancement for the visually impaired. To those of us with sight this is like watching an audio-book and can seem something akin to hiring a lifeguard for your backyard swimming pool - not all that useful. To those without sight, it would be far more useful. It really does sound like an audio-book, as a male voice in a carefully-enunciated English accent describes all the action, while leaving the characters voices to them (apart from the dialogue in Chinese, obviously). It is somewhat amusing that the descriptions extend to not only the opening credits, but to the closing credits as well.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 4 version of this disc misses out on;     The Region 1 version of this disc misses out on;     Both versions are identical, excluding language differences, in terms of extras. The Region 1 features an even softer picture with more grain than the Region 4, but as a consequence, has less aliasing. If you are someone that is particularly annoyed by one or the other artefact, then go for the region that is better suited to you. Otherwise, there is nothing to tell between them, so buy it where you find it cheapest.

Summary

    Shanghai Knights is an excellent example of how to make a sequel, of how to make a buddy film, and simply of how to make a piece of entertainment. It is good fun, with enough drama and heart to make the viewer care for the characters - a must-see for fans of the original, buddy films, action cinema, and comedy.

    The video quality is quite disappointing. Suffering from excessive aliasing and edge enhancement, some may find the transfer quite distracting to watch.

    The audio is also a little disappointing, although more for the opportunities missed than any problems. It is simply serviceable, where it could have been spectacular.

    The extras may not look extensive, but the weight of two commentaries and almost half an hour of deleted scenes makes them considerably more appealing.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Nick Jardine (My bio, it's short - read it anyway)
Monday, August 18, 2003
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-555K, using Component output
DisplayLoewe Xelos 5381ZW. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationOnkyo TX-DS787, THX Select
SpeakersRochester Audio Animato Series (2xSAF-02, SAC-02, 3xSAB-01) + 12" Sub (150WRMS)

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