- Actors: Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville, Bingbing Fan, Eve Torres, Eric Tsang
- Director: Renny Harlin
- Format: NTSC, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Region: Region A/1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: PG-13
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Release Date: October 25, 2016
- Run Time: 98 minutes
Skiptrace feels like a movie made 15
years ago, and in many ways I mean that as a compliment. There is also a valid
reason for the feeling of nostalgia brought on by this film, as it rejoins star
Jackie Chan with director Renny Harlin, who were originally in the process of
planning a film to take place on the World
Trade Center
when the attacks of 9/11 occurred. That film was understandably scrapped, and
Chan went on to make The Tuxedo
instead, which was the beginning of Chan’s shift from the physical comedy of
his own stunt work to a reliance on CGI to make up for the growing limitations
of his age. But despite being made a decade and a half after The Tuxedo, Skiptrace feels like a return to the signature Jackie Chan style.
With a familiar
buddy-action narrative that falls somewhere between derivative and nostalgic in
its simplicity, Skiptrace follows the
unlikely pairing between a by-the-book police officer and an unlikely
wisecracking partner. Hong Kong detective
Benny Chan (Chan) is on a dedicated mission to seek justice for the murder of
his partner at the hands of a ruthless drug lord. When an American gambler and
general lowlife Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville) accidentally obtains evidence
against that drug lord, Chan is forced to team up with him. Together they must
survive an onslaught of attacks and conspiracies brought against them by the
powerful crime boss, forcing the two opposing characters into an odd coupling
and familiar story structure.
The film crosses
more than one cultural divide, setting part of the film in Russia for a
sub-plot involving Connor’s backstory. Various versions of this film may exist
depending on the country of release, but I can only judge the American release
which chooses to dub over the Chinese sections of the film rather than use
subtitles. Fortunately, most of these sequences take place near the beginning
of the film and an be forgotten with enough escapist spectacle. A majority of
the movie turns into something of a road trip film through China, Russia
and Mongolia, with Chan and Knoxville as the primary
characters in each scene.
Chan is still
able to deliver comedic lines in broken English, a skill that has not waned
since his early days in American film. But even more impressive in Skiptrace is the reminder that Chan has
also lost none of his abilities with physical humor. Even if he can no longer
perform the larger scale stunts on his own, Chan is as adept at handling the
smaller gags as he ever was. Among these is a sequence involving a large set of
Russian nesting dolls that is as memorable as any of Chan’s best bits with
objects. This skill places him among the greats of comedy that have
consistently inspired his work. Unfortunately, not much of Skiptrace has the same level of comedic creativity, but there are
flashes of genius which make this a must-see for fans. Even if it never reaches
the level of innovation that early Jackie Chan movies had, Skiptrace is easily the best thing the martial arts legend has done
in years (with the possible exception of his voice-work contribution to the
Kung-Fu Panda franchise).
The Blu-ray
release for Skiptrace comes with a
Digital HD copy of the film, along with a couple special features. “When Jackie
Met Johnny” is a 5-minute featurette with interviews from both of the stars
talking about each other, inter-cut with footage from the film. There is also a
commentary track from director Renny Harlin.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 5.5/10
Special Features: 4.5/10
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