Classic Chan: Shanghai Noon (2000)

Coming to the last review by Chicken Man in our Classic Chan series, we take a look at one of Jackie's distinctly American films, Shanghai Noon. Thrasher will bring the series to a close with Accidental Spy. But fret not, we will looking at more Chan favorites in the future.

Shanghai Noon is undoubtedly one of Jackie's best American films. It is perhaps the best film with which to introduce Jackie to a Western audience (no pun intended). The plot is quite simple: the princess of the Forbidden City (Lucy Liu) is kidnapped and held for ransom in the American West. Chon Wang (Jackie) is an imperial guard who is sent to pay her ransom and ensure her return. Along the way, he runs into screw-up outlaw Roy O'Bannon (Owen Wilson) and they become reluctant buddies. The action scenes are also tailored to fit the typical American movie-goer in that they are much shorter than the ones in Jackie's Hong Kong films. Interestingly enough, Jackie's skills as an action star shine through even without forcing some anachronism to do car chases, underwater stunts, helicopter hijacking, or destroy drug dealer's houses with large machinery. The focus is primarily upon his martial arts abilities, one of the highlights being his turning a horseshoe and rope into an effective medium-range melee weapon. He is also involved in a bar fight scene that is easily within the top ten bar fight scenes shown on film. And, as if he were a contestant on The Deadliest Warrior, Jackie tests his mettle against Native American warriors. Every fight scene advances the story (unlike the entertaining, but ultimately pointless, skirmishes between Jackie and Mr. Lo's henchmen), which keeps things fast-paced and moving along. And despite Owen Wilson's presence in it, Shanghai Noon is actually quite funny. It's really hard to point at any single thing and say that it is a flaw (besides the fact that it doesn't have a game like Shanghai Knights does). It defines the Martial Arts Western Action Comedy genre (however big that is), and is simply a solid film. This is truly a Chan classic.

[P.S. Shanghai Noon is also a loaded DVD and will be featured in our upcoming DVD review series, which will highlight some of our favorite DVDs, back from when they used to put worthwhile special features on them.]

XBOX 360 Review: Red Dead Redemption (2010)

 

I have always been a fan of the mythical Old West. As early as I can remember, my toy collection included the necessary little plastic "Cowboys and Indians." Certainly, many people shared my enthusiasm for the spirit and characters of this genre. Thus, it is quite a wonder why video games took so long to catch up with our boyhood fantasies and imaginations. Besides gems like the arcade game, Sunset Riders, or the click-and-shoot cinematic Mad Dog Mcree, I hadn't experienced many Westerns in the video game format. This is Wikipedia's list of what I've been missing. But without a doubt, Red Dead Redemption is by far the most engrossing, encapsulating, and thorough electronic Western experience that gaming has to offer. It is definitely more than just being "Grand Theft Horse", but it does offer the open world experience people expect from Rockstar. There is plenty to do, from hunting to card playing to breaking in horses to treasure hunting to playing horseshoes. It is amazing in how it transports players to a different time, when life was tougher but most people were friendlier due to their greater independence on each other for survival. (Of course, being a video game, not everyone is very friendly. But for an historical account of the real Old West, see The Not So Wild, Wild West.) I was impressed with how characters didn't simply act like people today transported to a by-gone era; rather, they seemed authentic. The main character, John Marston, is a person to whom one can easily become emotionally attached (a phenomenon demonstrated, for example, by ones who carry a sign that reads, "Frodo lives!" or wear a T-shirt with "Save Marla Singer" written with a Sharpie). He deserves to be in the cowboy hall of fame, perhaps under (but only just under) John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Steve McQueen. As fantastic as these movie stars were and charming as the films in which they appeared, Red Dead reminds us of why we find video games so appealing: they transport some place hard or impossible to get to and allow us to do things we cannot do in our physical coils. Need I say more? Red Dead is a jewel of a game and an indisputable must-have for fans of Westerns, adventure games, third-person shooters, and/or free roaming games who have access to hardware capable of running it.

Netflix Instant Movie Review: Seraphim Falls (2006)

As I browse through the available selection of Netflix Instant, I often find myself unable to find movies or shows that I had hoped would be available. However, there also seems to be a glut of options that I had never heard of before or had but seem to be pretty old. For those familiar with Code Redd Net, you know that we do not discriminate by age, and we enjoy things that are a few or even several years old. Consequently, I think a fitting service might be to sift through what is available on Netflix Instant and perhaps offer our readers some suggestions of worthy films.

More than anything else, what drew me to this movie were the leading actors (forgive the lack of sophistication of this approach). I saw it as a face-off between super-killer Bryan Mills of Taken and the second most recent 007. And what better setting for a showdown than the American West (especially for two Irishmen)? But the movie involves less of a "showdown" than of a chase. I really don't want to give away any more than that of the story and, if you do intend to see this film, would advise against watching the trailer. Part of the fun is being in the dark about the motivations of the characters. But regardless, westerns aren't particularly known for their complex plot lines, but for the aura of their elements: tough men (and women) in tough country doing tough things. And Seraphim Falls is just that. In fact, it seems for me to be redemption for Pierce's masculinity after seeing that joke called Mamma Mia! (which happened to be the first part of a drive-in double feature. Coincidentally, the second film was Taken). He pulls of some pretty B.A. things, which were themselves justifications for watching the movie. That being said, it can get pretty long in some stretches, and can be exhausting from the constant cat and mouse game. But for fans of westerns, especially of more modern ones, I would give Seraphim Falls the thumbs up, as well as for fans of both Neeson and Brosnan.