The Medallion
Review by Clint Morris
 An
intercontinental man of iniquity [Julian Sands – where’s
he been?] has kidnapped a Golden Child with mystical powers.
A Hong Kong Cop [Jackie Chan, naturally] sets off to save
the day with the assistance of a couple of British Interpol
agents [Claire Forlani and Lee Evans]. Let the adventure begin…
Jackie Chan has been pretty vocal lately about his untimely
repugnance in the Hollywood studio system.
And you can't blame him, because besides Rush Hour and
Shanghai Noon, Hollywood doesn’t seem to have
any idea of how to use Hong Kong’s king of action cinema.
Instead of simply letting him do what he does best –
awesome stunts and an array of martial arts wonderment –
they stick him in silly vehicles like The Tuxedo and
asphyxiate his performance in special effects. Even worse,
he’s not even allowed to do most of his own stunts, when
the film does call for one.
It’s not surprising then to hear that upon completing
his latest film, The Medallion, Chan caught up a flight
back to Hong Kong where he’s returned to his roots, working
on low-budget, high-action martial arts movies.
And without any Hollywood say.
The Medallion is about the closest to classic-Chan
as Hollywood’s got lately. But don’t get too excited,
it’s only the fact that they’ve filmed some of it
in Hong Kong that puts in the same waters.
For the most part, it’s an annoying, barking dog of
a movie that – once again – doesn’t give Chan
fans what they want. Instead of kicks, they get bad gags,
instead of high-flying stunts, they get hackneyed special
effects – instead of entertainment, they get poppycock.
If someone has the nerve to offer Jackie Chan a return trip
back to Hollywood in the near future, it’s hopefully
for something a lot better than this.
1 out of 5
The Medallion
Australian release: Thursday October 30th
Cast: Jackie Chan; Julian Sands; Claire Forlani; Lee Evans;
John Rhys-Davies.
Director: Gordon Chan.
Website: Click
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