Accidental Spy

[aseepish]

I'm popping down to the local cinema tomorrow to see Jacky Chan's new pic. I'll post a review shortly after that...

-Tony

[aseepish]

review

I have no idea when this movie will be screened outside of Asia, so by the time that most have have the chance to see it you will probably have forgotten all of which I am about to write, but no matter!

If you love JC's movies you won't be let down by this one, it's got some great action sequences, more so than in Shanghai Noon. After seeing Shanghai noon, I had the impression that Jacky was slowing down, but after seeing the Accidental Spy, I can see he's still got it. The plot is no more far-fetched than your average James Bond movie, and is the typical "average guy (well, average martial arts master/acrobat) put in extreme situations" kind of movie we're so used to seeing from Jacky. We even get to see his take on the film Speed.

The film was beautifully shot on-location in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Turkey. The score is pretty good too, a nice touch.

The movie I saw was in Cantonese, Mandarin, English, and Turkish. The US release will probably be re-dubbed. That is, if they know what's good for them. The English dialogue is hilariously horrible - think of the worst sub-title translations you've seen, that is what the actors actually say in this movie. Jacky's English has improved - he speaks better than most of the supporting cast.

The supporting cast is for the most part not very good in the acting department. Viv Hsu's portrayal of her character isn't going to win any awards. Kim Min Jeong, Jacky's side-kick, isn't much better, but she gets the lion share of whacky English dialogue ("Philip is going to Eythens (not Athens, but Eythens) to control damage").

The other negative thing about this movie is the absurd product placement shots. Jacky walks into a bar. The bartender asks him what he wants. He orders a Tiger Beer. The camera focuses in on the bottle. Towards the end of the movie Jacky wakes up and looks at his watch. We get a good three second close-up of the watch face.

All in all though, I was entertained by this movie. I hope it makes it out to Europe and North America soon. The world needs more Jacky!

-Tony

[Robin Hood]

Could you tell he was paralysed in the movie?

[aseepish]

You know I was wondering why there were no shots of Jacky that showed him below his neck...

[bobby_steeles]

i heard all the fight scenes were shot kind of like "weekend at bernie's."