I will preface this by saying that I'm really picky when it comes to comedies. That being said, this movie right here seems to think that it's enough to shove a funny stereotype in our faces and then expect us to laugh at it uproariously.
I liked this film as an action/adventure film. Jackie Chan is a great martial art lead actor and his talents are showcased well in this film. It's not one of the best he has ever done, but the fight scenes are fun to follow, they're imaginative enough to keep up my interest and the settings have some promise and allow for some cool sequences. Furthermore, the West is filmed with care and all the various locations, while hardly original, look nice and feel genuine.
Unfortunately the script is nonsensical, from oneshot characters that make no sense to plot motives and twists that come straight out of nowhere and steal all thunder out of the film. The plot itself is thin to begin with, but when every major conflict is resolved through either a deus ex machina or a cop-out, you get the idea that they really didn't give a damn as long as they could fill the screen with cheap gimmicks and laughs.
The humour doesn't help either. There are some scenes that are honestly funny or at least amusing, most of the between Chan and Wilson, who have surprisingly good chemistry together, but most of the jokes are either mindless slapstick or racial stereotypes. Sure, a Chinaman can be funny if done correctly, but a Chinaman alone is not funny by default. Neither is a coward, a Mexican or an Indian. You need actual effort, which this film is unwilling to spend.
If you're able to laugh at cheap jokes and clichés, this is not a bad action comedy. Chan and Wilson are talented comedic leads, who would have made this movie work had the script been any better. As it is, it's not to my liking, but I don't regret seeing it either.
I liked this film as an action/adventure film. Jackie Chan is a great martial art lead actor and his talents are showcased well in this film. It's not one of the best he has ever done, but the fight scenes are fun to follow, they're imaginative enough to keep up my interest and the settings have some promise and allow for some cool sequences. Furthermore, the West is filmed with care and all the various locations, while hardly original, look nice and feel genuine.
Unfortunately the script is nonsensical, from oneshot characters that make no sense to plot motives and twists that come straight out of nowhere and steal all thunder out of the film. The plot itself is thin to begin with, but when every major conflict is resolved through either a deus ex machina or a cop-out, you get the idea that they really didn't give a damn as long as they could fill the screen with cheap gimmicks and laughs.
The humour doesn't help either. There are some scenes that are honestly funny or at least amusing, most of the between Chan and Wilson, who have surprisingly good chemistry together, but most of the jokes are either mindless slapstick or racial stereotypes. Sure, a Chinaman can be funny if done correctly, but a Chinaman alone is not funny by default. Neither is a coward, a Mexican or an Indian. You need actual effort, which this film is unwilling to spend.
If you're able to laugh at cheap jokes and clichés, this is not a bad action comedy. Chan and Wilson are talented comedic leads, who would have made this movie work had the script been any better. As it is, it's not to my liking, but I don't regret seeing it either.