There are very few superstars in the world who can draw an audience through their charisma alone, and Jackie Chan is one of them, who has done so consistently for nearly four decades. He teamed up with director Renny Harlin for Skiptrace, which is, at best, just a rehash of his old buddy movies, which he made mostly in Hollywood.
Benny Chan (Jackie Chan) is a washed-up Hong Kong cop, pondering the death of his partner Yung (Eric Tsang), caused by the machinations of the elusive mafia boss Matador. Samantha (Fan BIngbing), Yung's daughter, works in the casino of her father's suspected murderer, Victor Wong (Winston Chao). Enter American conman Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville), who gets Samantha in trouble with her boss and flees to Russia. To help Samantha, for which he committed himself to his partner, Benny Chan sets out to bring Watts back to Hong Kong. Thus begins a rollercoaster ride across two continents with all-too-familiar sequences that give one a feeling of déjà vu.
Jackie Chan looks to be 62 and has lost a lot of weight, almost to the point of being a shadow of his younger self. But he has lost none of his charm and manages to captivate audiences through his charisma alone. Most viewers didn't leave their seats until the film's mistakes were over, confirming that Jackie is still above his mediocre films. Johnny Knoxville is not a bad foil for Jackie Chan, although his role and antics are reminiscent of Owen Wilson's performance with Jackie Chan in Shanghai Noon. Fan Bingbing, who played Blink in X-Men: Days of Future Past, is charming and a joy to behold. The rest of the cast, including Eric Tsang, Winston Chao and WWE wrestler Eve Torres, are also not to be missed.
One thing that “Skiptrace” does not lack is appealing visuals, thanks to cinematographer Chan Kwok-Hung Lam Ching-Ying, whose lens captures the sprawling landscapes of Mongolia and other towering scenery. The stunt choreography in all sequences is well staged, be it the collapsing shipyard, the battle against the Russian mafia, or the climax, which also takes place underwater. The music and the other technical departments have done their part, and there is little to complain about. Jay Longino and Ben David Grabinski are responsible for the screenplay, which, to sum it up, is just a worse version of the films “Shaolin Knights” and “Rush Hour.” Director Renny Harlin, who produced blockbusters such as “Die Hard 2,” “Cliff Hanger” and “Kiss and Kiss Goodnight,” is far from at his best.
Verdict : You can watch it because of Jackie Chan and some well-staged action scenes
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