He was a Hong Kong action star in the late 1990s and early 2000s Jackie Chan became a big star in the United States. His incredible stunt work caught the attention of Hollywood and action fans alike, and a handful of his films were released in domestic theaters, albeit with dubbed dialogue. Soon after, Chan starred in Hollywood films such as Rush Hour with Chris Tucker, Shanghai Noon with Owen Wilson, and even his own starring vehicle The Tuxedo. Now he's back in a film that feels like it was lost in a couch cushion in 2001.
Skip trace is a new action comedy from Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger director Renny Harlinand it puts Jackie Chan in the lead role opposite an American actor for comedic relief. This time it's Jackass Star Johnny Knoxville He stars alongside Jackie Chan and as you'll see in the trailer that was just released, the two couldn't be a more unlikely pair. Watch the Skiptrace trailer after the jump.
It's overwhelming to me that this film exists. The tone of the trailer, the comedy style and the presence of Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville give the film an old-fashioned feel. But this is a film that was made in 2014 and will be released this year. It's almost endearing how this film feels like a throwback to the kind of action comedies audiences saw 15 years ago, but the film doesn't seem confident enough to exploit that aspect.
At some point, however, Seann William Scott, star of the American Pie franchise, was set to star opposite Jackie Chan, which would have given the film exactly the same feel it does now. So maybe director Renny Harlin is really actively trying to return to a genre of film that isn't really made that way anymore. But if that's the case, I'm not sure the audience gets the joke. From the sound of the trailer, it appears that the studio couldn't even get the rights to use Adele's song “Rolling in the Deep,” so that's not a good sign.
Hong Kong detective Bennie Black (Jackie Chan) has been searching for notorious crime boss Victor Wong for over a decade. When Bennie's young niece Samantha (Fan Bingbing) gets into trouble with Wong's crime syndicate, Bennie must track down the only man who can help him: fast-talking American gambler Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville). Bennie races against time to get Connor back to Hong Kong, and the unlikely pair embark on a fun and dangerous adventure from the snow-capped mountains of Mongolia to the windswept dunes of the Gobi Desert.
Skiptrace is in cinemas on September 2nd.
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