I think that we can all agree that any movie with Jackie Chan in it has to be entertaining to a certain extent, although his co-stars or the script may not always match his greatness. The newest Jackie Chan movie "The Medallion," once again brings Chan's brilliant martial art abilities, incredible wit and charm to screen. Although it may have its bumps and scratches, it is a decent movie and may tickle the fancy of a couple of moviegoers.
Eddie Yang (Chan) is a cop from Hong Kong who, together with his dopey and slightly annoying Interpol partner Arthur Watson (Lee Evans), and Interpol cop Nicole James (Claire Forlani), attempts to keep the Medallion from the evil Snakehead (Julian Sands). The Medallion is said to be an ancient artifact that gives its possessor superhuman powers. The medallion in question is kept safe by a boy, who at the beginning of the movie is sitting on a cushion surrounded by hundreds of candles in a temple. Snakehead is after the boy in order to use him and the medallion to gain its extraordinary powers to use for himself.
While the plot isn't exceptional, we must keep in mind that this is a Jackie Chan movie. The plot rarely matters anyway. It's all about the fight scenes and action!
Although Chan does a good job in the acting department, the same cannot be said for some of his co-stars. Sands, who has very few lines to begin with, executes those lines melodramatically and in an unconvincing and rather boring way. This makes the exchanges that he participates in somewhat dismal. His inability to bring any sort of believability to the character makes him tiresome, which, considering his position as the leader of enemy forces, is a considerable shame.
Also not fully fitting is the performance given by Forlani. Most notable for her performance in "Meet Joe Black," she plays the same sweet, innocent and boring character that she did in that film. Her tone is so quiet and overemotional that it will either piss you off or lead you to overlook her character completely. But there is one crucial aspect of her character that will make you pay attention to her: She is Chan's serious love interest. This is something that has never been incorporated into a Jackie Chan movie before because his films have never needed it, and frankly, they still don't.
At the beginning of the movie, Jackie Chan performs all his stunts without special effects. He soon, however, is subjected to the powers of the medallion and his physical power, which is already extraordinary, is now enhanced. He becomes an unbeatable fighting machine, as if he wasn't one already.
Like any other Jackie Chan movie, the fighting scenes alone make this movie worthwhile. But is it really necessary to use so many special effects? We all know that Jackie Chan can fight and make it look extremely entertaining at the same time. Do we really want to see him be superman? I understand that his age does not allow him to perform the way he did in his earliest movies, but he still shows us that he can climb up a metal gate and slip through a small hole at the top -- surely this indicates he is capable of doing mind-boggling stunts. So does he really need his power enhanced by special effects?
I personally grew up watching the classic Jackie Chan movies that were in Chinese and subtitled. They were low budget but better for it. "Shanghai Noon," for example, although not that old, forwent the effects, and delivered a funny, exciting movie. In the case of "The Medallion," we get a great start with great fantastic fight scenes, but then the special effects department apparently felt left out and needed to do something about it.
Although "The Medallion" has its flaws, it is nonetheless a Jackie Chan movie that contains very entertaining material. It is not a movie that I would want to see two or more times, but I am glad that I saw it once. "The Medallion" is not going to be a Jackie Chan classic, but it is certainly a big step above "The Tuxedo." If you are looking for something entertaining that will not make you think too much and will not linger in your thoughts for a significant amount of time, this is the movie for you.
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