The year is 2000. Jackie Chan is one of Hollywood’s newest assets after his co-starring turn in 1998’s Rush Hour, and Owen Wilson is fresh off of a string of hits including Bottle Rocket, Anaconda, Armageddon, Rushmore, and The Haunting. The film Shanghai Noon, which pairs the two fresh stars in a picture reminiscent of the former’s Rush Hour but with a western twang, premieres to rave reviews and a near-hundred million dollar box-office intake. A sequel, Shanghai Knights, is released three years later with positive reviews and a healthy amount in the theatrical marketplace.
Now, fast-forward nineteen years. Despite the continuing success of both actors, nary a word is spoken about either film, and another sequel seems presently out of the question. In the year 2022, reboots of all different varieties are popping up all over the place. Why, then, have there been no talks of a third entry into this so far reliable franchise? Here’s why these two films deserve more attention after all these years.
Jackie Chan Is the Perfect Movie Star
As previously stated, 1998’s Rush Hour was Chan’s first foray into American filmmaking. With a career spanning back to the early 1960s, he was a megastar in China and other parts of the world long before western audiences revered him as a legend. The Brett Ratner-directed buddy cop film, which also starred Chris Tucker, is a shining example of late 90’s comedy filmmaking. With equal amounts of kung-fu action, laugh-a-minute jokes, and undeniable chemistry between the two leads, Rush Hour foretold great things for Chan’s American career.
Capable of impossible-looking stunts (see the Police Story franchise), unequaled charm, and a voice worthy of 20 albums (this is true), Chan is a man of many talents. By placing him in Shanghai Noon as an Imperial Guard of the Forbidden City who must travel to 1880’s America in order to bring Lucy Liu’s Princess Pei-Pei back to China, Chan is incredible here in a role similar to that of his earlier American film.
The screenplay, written by Miles Millar and Alfred Gough of Lethal Weapon 4 and Spider-Man 2 fame, allows Chan flip-flopping scenes of brevity and breathtaking stunt choreography. He breezes through the film and proves so effective that it’s very difficult to imagine anyone else in the role.
Owen Wilson Is An Offbeat Leading Man
Bursting onto the scene in Wes Anderson’s wonderful debut film Bottle Rocket and staying in tinseltown ever since, Owen Wilson is a name and a face likely familiar to most Americans. Throw in his voice acting role as "Lightning McQueen" in the popular Cars franchise and a recent turn in Marvel’s Loki series and Wilson has been one of the most propulsive and present stars of the past twenty years. In the year 2000, however, the only leading role to his name was that previously mentioned first film. While a standout in many films in the late 1990’s, Wilson had yet to secure top billing in a major studio picture. With Shanghai Noon, however, he proved himself more than capable.
In the role of Roy O’Bannon, Wilson is able to ease himself into the hero role by playing a character as unsure of himself as Wilson could’ve actually been in his early years of acting. "O’Bannon" is a character who believes himself to be capable of great heroism but who doubts himself at every turn. Shanghai Noon wisely plays both of its leading men as being capable but flawed characters who don’t fit into the traditional hero mold.
It isn’t until the final act of the film that Wilson’s O’Bannon actually does anything cool, and that helps connect the audience to both of them. With his ruggedly handsome face, instantly recognizable voice, and a wit to rival the best of them, Roy O’Bannon is a relatable character who also brings more than his fair share of laughs to the screen.
Chan and Wilson Are a Team to Be Reckoned With
The film’s true stroke of genius was the pairing of Chan and Wilson. Without a duo that had chemistry with one another and the ability to play onscreen in scenes when they are without the other, Shanghai Noon would have failed completely. Make one wrong decision in terms of casting, and the entire film collapses in on itself. Lucky for audiences, that did not happen here. While many were quick to point out that Noon seems to steal the buddy dynamic from Chan’s Rush Hour, the characters are actually quite different and the world it creates for itself helps to make it quite the underrated action romp.
While Chon Wang is similar to his character in the Rush Hour series in that he came to America from China in order to rescue a lady from harm’s way, it’s Wilson’s character that provides the extra ingredient in Noon. Where Chris Tucker’s James Carter is a cocky, self-assured cop with all of the confidence in the world, Wilson’s O’Bannon is a man that puts on an air of superiority but who actually has very little self-worth.
O’Bannon wants to be an action hero, sure, but he’s not capable of it until his arc is completed. Watching this seemingly incapable cowboy interact with Chan in many sticky situations is thrilling and knee-slapping. The heroes are just silly enough for the audience to worry about their safety and just capable enough for the audience to buy it when they inevitably succeed. Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights also does a great job of bonding the two men. One particular bathtub scene in Noon is perhaps one of the finest scenes of all “buddy” films.
It’s Time For a Return
Bad Boys For Life blew up the box-office just a couple of years ago, and Mel Gibson recently announced that he’s planning on directing a fifth entry into the venerable Lethal Weapon franchise. With the advent of streaming services and the need for new blood in the Hollywood marketplace, now would be the absolute perfect time to bring this duo back to celluloid. While it would be nice to see Chan and Owen together on the big screen, platforms like HBO Max and Netflix might be the perfect places to put out a somewhat niche product like this one and see how audiences react. Who knows, a new film might just spur the right studio on for a series of new films.
Now twenty years older, a new film in this universe would most likely take place right after the turn of the twentieth century. With the advent of planes, cars, and a world on the cusp of great invention, there’s no limit to where this dynamic duo could find themselves. Heck, the perfect title is right there for the taking… Shanghai Dawn. With two stars deserving of a boost in their already impressive careers, a third adventure for Wang and O’Bannon ("Wyatt Earp" to his friends) needs to happen.