I recently went to see The Medallion, the newest Jackie Chan movie, with a couple of friends. One of the friends is a big martial arts fan, and, due to her influence, I have seen more marital arts movies than I otherwise would. I usually enjoy them, so I continue to go with her.
The thing about action sequences is that my eyes have a tendency to glaze over a bit during them. So in the case of something like Tomb Raider 2, which is simply a string of fight scenes, I wind up getting bored. I do better with more plot, more character, more variation.
That said, Chan's movies are usually enjoyable, and this one was no exception. It wasn't great, but it was an amusing way to spend a Sunday afternoon with friends. I suppose I find his movies enjoyable because they do achieve some variation--the fight sequences are never the same, and are often blended with humor. The characterization is definitely shallow, however. Chan's character and his ex-girlfriend have almost no development, so their reunion at the end was ineffective. The plot held together all right, as far as a humor-action picture goes, but it's that combination of humor and action that--while it appeals to me in lots of films--leaves me off-balance a bit with Chan movies. I can't decide if there's a little too much slapstick, or a little too little. What I mean by that is that much of the movie "reads" like any other action movie, with hints of humor here and there, but with Chan, you wind up not only with slapstick or otherwise comic sequences, but touches of slapstick in the middle of other things. So in the middle of an action sequence, you have Chan's character's male partner doing a comic bit. Sometimes it works, other times I roll my eyes. But mostly it's enjoyable. I suppose my complaint would be that the movie can't really decide what it's doing; it tries to do some of everything. But Julian Sands was delicious as the villain.
I always love the outtakes at the ends of Chan movies, even if it does mean that everyone stays, instead of clearing the theatre. I was also happy that we got to see the preview for the new Captain Hook movie--er, Peter Pan movie--as well as Once Upon a Time in Mexico. I'd heard the title but not read anything about it, and so had the enjoyment of realizing that it was a sequel to El Mariachi and Desperado (I've only seen the second, but saw it multiple times at the theatre), and seeing that Johnny Depp was going to be what promises to be a very delicious bad guy in it.
Speaking of Depp, I saw, also at the end of August, Pirates of the Caribbean, another movie who's plot centers on a medallion (this thought came to me in the middle of a glazed-eyes portion of the Chan movie, and amused me probably more than it should have). Most of my friends list have written about the movie or made icons (I want one with Captain Jack that reads, "Definitely swishy"), so there may not be much more for me to say other than I really enjoyed it and am thinking about seeing it again. I will put it on the list of things to buy on DVD, if only for the cast.
But the cast had wonderful material to work with. The setting was divine, and the characters loads of fun--and the plot and script strong enough to let them have their loads of fun and get away with it. Depp stole the show, with Rush not far behind, and even Jonathan Pryce got more than one good bit in, as if wanting not to be left out.
The one who was left out was Orlando Bloom. Though I enjoyed the token girl more than I expected to (I do think she had a Princess Bride vibe going on), the male romantic lead was so flat, so dry, that in any other movie he might have risked being boring. As it was, I now have proof that I find Bloom more attractive with darker hair, and he was not so bland so as to actually bore me. I just think maybe they were counting on his character to balance out the others, when they should have let him have more fun.
I found myself thinking of other, older Disney films. Maybe it was just the pirates, but I thought Pirates of the Caribbean had the same sense of fun and adventure as things like Swiss Family Robinson--things that I enjoyed so much when I was younger, and which still hold up when I watch them now, my enjoyment laced with a lovely feeling of nostalgia.
Pirates, however, didn't need nostalgia to help it out. It did quite well on its own, from the excellent cast to the incredible special effects on the skeleton crew. After several mediocre films, it was just what I needed. Yo-ho indeed.
Note: This post also appeared on my LiveJournal.
