Three years after teaming up in "Shanghai Noon," Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson returned as Chon Wang and Roy O'Bannon in the often hilarious sequel, "Shanghai Knights." Chon's father, keeper of an imperial seal, is murdered in China, and the seal stolen. Seeking revenge, Chon seeks out his old buddy, Roy, who has become a waiter and ladies' man in the American West. Roy has wisely invested his and Chon's money in Zeppelins, rather than dubious automobiles, which sends the penniless pair to London, where they uncover a plot to murder the Royal Family. Events unfold at a fast pace, each plot turn funnier and more implausible than the last. Owen taunts a stoic sentry outside Buckingham Palace, insults the British about their accent and loss of the American Colonies, is bewildered by spotted dick, and becomes the funniest Ugly American tourist in Victorian England.The physically adept Chan is often dazzling; his carefully choreographed martial-arts movements are almost balletic at times and recall Charlie Chaplin, who, played by Aaron Johnson, has a small but critical part in the film. But even beyond Chan, the film overflows with sight gags and slapstick; references to silent comedy emerge throughout, and a revolving fireplace and a wax museum recall Abbott and Costello routines. Chan and Wilson work together like a polished comedy team. Although Owen has most of the best lines and Chan most of the best action, Chan is more than a straight man and has some comedic moments of his own. While lovely Fann Wong as Cho's baby sister, not to be confused with baby sitter, and Tom Fisher as Artie Doyle, a would-be writer of detective novels, have their moments, the film belongs to Chan and Owen. The script by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, who also wrote "Shanghai Noon," is full of priceless lines, and the score by Randy Edelman incorporates several pop songs that provide amusing background to the frantic action. Director David Dobkin maintains a frenetic pace that will hold viewers' attention throughout the nearly two-hour running time. "Shanghai Knights" is that rare film that will leave viewers sorry to see end and wanting more.

Shanghai Knights (2003): Dir: David Dobkin / Cast: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Fann Wong, Aidan Gillen, Donnie Yen: Sequel to Shanghai Noon with a title that suggests storybook themes in a way that Owen Wilson attempts to impress people with bogus adventures, plus it references classic films and actors. Yet it is still just a series of set pieces and tired plotting. The Chinese Seal is stolen and Jackie Chan's father is murdered. His sister pursues the killers to London where an assassination is planned. Chan and Owen Wilson reunite and various stunts and action sequences follow. Standard issue plot with David Dobkin doing well as director. Hopefully he will move beyond this. Chan combines action and humour. Wilson throws out one-liners and delusional fantasies. Unfortunately they are merely reciting what worked better during their western outing. Fann Wong is skilled as Chan's sister who pursues her father's killer. She is the one interesting role in the film and it is still not enough to make this watchable. Villains are unfortunately standard with Aidan Gillan leading the pack. He is about as frightening as Elmer Fudd less the personality. Because Rush Hour spawned a sequel, I suppose they figured out of fairness, why not sequel Shanghai Noon. The result is a well made comedy that serves as nothing more than a pointless sequel. Score: 3 ½ / 10

Roy is a lousy wannabe knight who used to stage clumsy train robberies along with his band of thieves, who betrayed him and left him for dead. He offers his help to Wang, and tries to play it cool, but he can't -- after all, he's not a very convincing cowboy. But, as the smarmy wisecracking sidekicks always are, O'Bannon just wants money. But as his friendship with Chan grows stronger, he realizes that money isn't everything.Sounds routine, doesn't it? Well, it is, to a certain extent. But it succeeds due to a fine cast -- Chan and Wilson are extraordinarily good together; so good, in fact, that Chris Tucker is just a forgotten memory by the time that the film is over.It's a classic spin on the British formula; what "The Princess Bride" or "Shrek" did for fairy tales, "Shanghai Knights" does for Westerns. All the old clichés are poked fun at in a light way. And as great as Chan is, and as much as he carries most films he's in with his sweet charms and likable personas, Wilson comes across as equally likable as Chan.Chan's martial arts are usually the highlights of these films, but in this he proves he can do more than just kick -- he can be funny. Well, okay, he proved that in "Rush Hour" (1998), but I like this better.The jokes in "Shanghai Knight" aren't "great," but I laughed a lot at this film. It's smarter than one might think, and is certainly one of the most enjoyable experiences I've had in quite some time. Probably years. I wasn't expecting much (especially because I wasn't an enormous fan of the sequel--see below), but if fun could be rated on a scale of 1 - 10, this would be an 11.I give this film nothing more than four out of five stars because it's not a great film on all critical levels. But it's certainly fun--likely more fun than any film you'll see for quite some time--and for that it will soon be earning a place in my sacred DVD collection.

Jackie Chan is a good actor in comedies, but this isn't really a comedy. This sequel for me was quite boring. It had nothing but action, action all the time. I like action movies with humor and a good story with a decent number of sequences with dialogue. Shanghai Noons had just that. Shanghai Nights didn't.Some bits in this movie were funny, but the plot was simple and there wasn't enough storyline. The action does not fly like in the Bourne Ultimatum. I don't know why I bothered watching the whole thing.If you love action, feel free to watch this movie. However, if you like plenty of humour and a decent storyline, this isn't for you.