“We have signed Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville to star; Our work is done,” apparently said everyone involved in the incomprehensible action comedy “Skiptrace.” The problem is that pairing two guys who have had fun individually in the past doesn't guarantee that they'll have fun together.
Maybe Mr. Chan and Mr. Knoxville could have pulled it off if someone had bothered to give them fun material and a coherent story. Instead, “Skiptrace” settles for a heated plot, drawn-out fight sequences and humor rich in jokes and pranks.
Mr. Chan plays Bennie, a Hong Kong detective who has long been pursuing a shady villain named Matador, whose true identity is unknown. Mr. Knoxville is Connor, a gamer who is being pursued by evil people because he accidentally comes into possession of an incriminating cell phone. Soon their paths cross and the film becomes a street scene, with the two roaming across international borders on foot, horseback, raft, etc., while Bennie tries to get the reluctant Connor to testify.
Mr. Chan has, of course, done these unusual yarns before — “Shanghai Noon,” the “Rush Hour” films — and sometimes he's made the conceit work, but this incarnation lacks originality and spark. The exotic locations add a bit of interest, as does Fan Bingbing, who plays the daughter of Bennie's former partner. But director Renny Harlin can neither tame the convoluted plot nor get to the heart of the jokes.
“Skiptrace” is rated PG-13 (Parents Strongly Warned) due to its rude language and comic violence.
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