Hey, how great was that Masters of Science Fiction this weekend? There should be a new word for the kind of fantasist who can imagine a world where China and Russia would lecture the USA about following the word of God. Too bad nobody watched the show. Meanwhile, Rush Hour 3 became the #1 movie in the nation with a scene where Chris Tucker forces a creepy Frenchmen to show some American patriotism at gunpoint.

So it’s also too bad that Rush Hour 3 is a crappy movie. It’s time once again for Jackie Chan apologists to explain why we should watch Drunken Master II to really appreciate the guy. Actually, you don’t have to go back that far to see a good Jackie Chan movie. Shanghai Noon is a great action comedy, and one of the most inspiring films ever made about the American immigrant experience.

Technically, of course, any Arnold Schwarzenegger film is cinema’s finest tribute to the American immigrant—especially Hercules in New York. Shanghai Noon is trickier, though, and didn’t even offend many film critics. Chan stars as Imperial Guardsman Chon Wang, who’s sent off to the American West to save the life of a Princess Pei Pei. He hooks up with Luke Wilson as cowboy Roy O’Bannon, who doesn’t let the 1881 setting keep him from talking like a 1990s surfer dude.

It’s a charming buddy movie with a recurring theme that’s surprisingly subversive. O’Bannon spends pretty much the entire film hectoring Wang for acting like some kind of Chinaman. O’Bannon has a point, too. Wang continually finds himself foiled because he thinks like a man who’s subservient to a 12-year-old Emperor. O’Bannon is constantly telling Wang to start acting like an American—and, in fact, Wang only becomes capable of saving the princess once he changes his mindset.

It’s no surprise that Wang doesn’t return to China at the end of the movie. He’s discovered a country where he’s finally free to reach his full potential. Or at least his grandkids will, and Wang doesn’t have to worry about ending up as a coolie because he can speak English and kick ass like Kwai Chang Caine.

Make it your own: Used copies are cheap and plentiful—which is a shame. The film’s been taken for granted. A useless sequel certainly didn’t help Shanghai Noon’s reputation. You can generally dismiss any Jackie Chan sequel, unless it’s got a title like Drunken Master IX or Police Story 9.

 

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