 |
|
|
Around
the World in 80 Days Movie Review: In the late 1800s, a Chinese thief (Chan) is hiding out as Passepartout, valet of goofy inventor Phileas Fogg (Coogan), who wagers with Lord Kelvin (Broadbent) that he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. This is convenient for Passepartout since it helps him return a priceless relic to his home village. And it's nice for Fogg, because in Paris they team up with a feisty-cute Frenchwoman (De France). But Kelvin deploys a ruthless female Chinese warlord (Morris) and an inept copper (Bremner) to stop Fogg from winning the bet. Swapping a globe-hopping epic for a Jackie Chan action comedy is a bit of a let-down. Yes, it's mindlessly enjoyable, but the storyline is reduced to a series of scenes that merely link together a string of elaborately choreographed (by Chan) fight scenes. Some sequences are hilarious, others feature wacky cameos, and the filmmakers have fun recreating various international locales on a Berlin movie studio backlot. Digital trickery fills in the details and is mostly eye-catching, although the sparkly transition sequences are rather iffy. Meanwhile, the cast is thoroughly entertaining. Coogan becomes the latest gifted comic foil for Chan, providing wit and brains to Chan's energetic physicality (although isn't he a bit old for this?). The appearance of another Chan wisecracker, Owen Wilson, is a little over-familiar, especially since Wilson plays Wilbur Wright (opposite Luke's Orville) exactly like his Shanghai Noon/Knights character, or Hutch for that matter. Other cameos are one-line gags (Branson's balloon man), meaningless shtick (Cleese's befuddled bobby or Schneider's smelly hobo), inexplicable casting (Bates as Queen Victoria?) or rather good fun (Hung as a ninja warrior). But like all Jackie Chan movies, it's such offhanded fun that is seems churlish to complain. All that's missing is the closing credit outtake reel. Rich Cline After stealing a priceless jade Buddha from the Bank of England, Lau Xing (Chan) poses as inventor Phileas Fogg’s (Coogan) new valet Passepartout to escape the police. During Mr Fog’s monthly visit to the ministry of science, his master is challenged by Lord Kelvin to prove his outrageous theory that a man could travel around the world in 80 days on the promise that if he failed that would never invent anything ever again. Lau Xing sees this as his chance to return the Buddha back to China, so Phileas Fog and he set off on the greatest adventure ever undertaken by man. The adventures of Phileas Fogg and Passepartout have graced the silver screen on numerous occasions but this one stars martial arts legend Jackie Chan. Does that make it instantly good? Well yes and no. Jackie Chan is one of the most charismatic action stars working in cinema today and Around the World in 80 Days does change this in the slightest. His role as Passepartout has been changed to fit this unique style and unbelievable abilities but that is the major flaw of the movie. The classic Jules Verne novel has everything you need to bring together a big screen adventure and you can argue that the time is right for another adaptation but this amount of changes just to incorporate Jackie Chan shouldn’t have really been made. For a whole new audience who have never read the book, seen the cartoon series (Around the World with Willie Fog) or watched the 1956 classic with David Niven, this is still an entertaining journey. Phileas Fogg is bought to life by British comedian Steve Coogan. A cult figure in the UK, the actor/writer/comedian is still a lesser known name in the rest of the world but this could be the movie to change that. He plays Fogg as a typical eccentric English man who is extremely clever but has not common sense. This is the kind of role that Coogan can excel at but you could argue that for a man with outstanding comedic ability, the character is more of the straight man than the comic relief. Jackie Chan gets to play the hero again in his own energetic style. Again his fight sequences are brilliantly choreographed and action packed but you do have a niggling feeling that you have seen them all before. The problem is that the character of Passepartout is very similar to his Chon Wang from the Shanghai Noon movies and so are the settings and situations the character gets himself into. Jackie is still as watchable as ever but you might start to feel that his Hollywood movies are starting to get a little too familiar. The rest of the movie is filled with suitably outrageous characters. Jim Broadbent gives an almost pantomime like performance as Phileas’s nemesis Lord Kelvin but this does suit the role. The same can be said for Ewan Bremner as Inspector Fix but he is slightly too over the top in some sequences and does become slightly annoying. Cécile De France brings some beauty to the proceedings and nothing much else as she plays another strong willed woman rebelling against the restraints of 19th century society, as seems to be the norm in all movies about the period. The film does loads of cameos to watch out for. From Arnold Schwarzenegger to Owen and Luke Wilson, the cameos radiate out of the screen as pivotal moments in the movie. These really add to the movie making it all the more watchable. While the film does have its flaws, the major changes of the story and the annoying and extremely poor computer graphics that show Fogg’s route across the world, Around the World in 80 Days has many enjoyable moments to make up for these short comings. It isn’t as good as the David Niven classic but it is still a watchable piece of light-hearted entertainment that will make you want to have a travelling adventure yourself. Star Rating = * * * “You had me at the nipples.”----The Steamer Captain (Mark Addy) Yes, that is one of the many painfully attempted punchlines of Disney’s remake of Jules Verne’s Around the World in 80 Days. An annoying disaster from beginning to end, this film has so many problems that it may take 80 days to discuss each one of them. This is an embarrassing film adaptation of such a great literary classic by Jules Verne. Director Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) attempts to retool, reimagine and "disneyize" this story, but all fails, and what is left is a thoughtless production that is more boring than exciting. The story opens in 19th century London, with a out of luck inventor named Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) joining forces with his dedicated valet, Passepartout (Jackie Chan), to win a bet against The Royal Academy of Science’s egotistical Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent). Fogg, who has never proven a vital theory or invention, has 80 days to circumnavigate the globe. If his task is accomplished, Lord Kelvin will give Fogg his position as head of The Royal Academy of Science. However, if he fails, he is banned for life from the Academy. Shortly after their adventure begins, the two pick up another accomplice with a impressionistic French artist named Monique (Cecile De France) as they make their way across the world by land, air, and sea. Throughout their challenged adventures, the audience learns of Passepartout’s secrets, as well encountering of many unique characters. The three confront a womanizing Turkish Prince (Arnold Schwarznegger), American inventors The Wright Brothers (Owen and Luke Wilson), a trusted group of warriors, and comedic homeless man (Rob Schneider). Obstacle after obstacle follow the trio as they make their way across the world, realizing that trust and dedication is the only way they will finish their race against time. The film’s three writers (David Titcher, David Benullo & David Goldstein) do not come anywhere close to effectively adapting this story from Verne’s original text. The writers merely take a few of the characters, a couple situations as well as locations, and then blended them into a muddled action adventure film that misses on all cylinders. There has to be over a dozen long winded fight sequences involving Jackie Chan, which is fine for Jackie Chan fans, but all of his tricks are ones we have seen before. With the presence of Chan, the writers give more focus to Passepartout and take away from Fogg, when in the book Passepartout is only a sidekick. The cameo roles are appalling, including the already mentioned “nippleless” Steamer Captain played by Mark Addy and Arnold Schwarznegger as a Prince that inspired the creation of “The Thinker” sculpture. The jokes are flaky and the subplots are squandered throughout the film. The script is just flat out awful, not mention that the whole concept of the film is cheated with a supposedly surprising climax. Coraci does not have this film taking itself too seriously, which is a good thing. However, his work is reluctant, repetitive, and ridiculed. The transitions that Coraci uses to bring the audience from destination to destination is so over the top that it looks as if he is transforming these famous cities into a piece of glittering claymation. His transitional effects in the film looked very cheap, for a film that has a 100 million-dollar budget. The film also has no middle ground as to if it wants to be a comedy or an action adventure, in which Coraci does try to mix the two, but fails. Jackie Chan has tremendous physical ability that is never not to be respected, but in this film he seems to be losing a few steps of originality. Every fight sequence is one we have witnessed before, including him fighting with a ladder again. As an actor, Chan uses his physical ability well for his comedic cues, but the material in this film does not give him much to work with at all. Steve Coogan is a charming actor that engulfs the role of Phileas Fogg with precise gestures. Though Coogan makes for a favorable Phileas Fogg, just think of what he could have done with an actual model of Verne’s created protagonist. Newcomer Cecile De France irritatingly plays Fogg’s love interest Monique, and after her first few scenes she becomes lost for the entire film. The talented Jim Broadbent’s terrible performance as Lord Kelvin suffers from the actor delivering too many over the top antics and a director not telling him to tone it down a bit. The cameos by the Wilson brothers are enjoyable, but Kathy Bates looks out of place as Queen Victoria and Arnold Schwarznegger is so impecunious that it brings back memories of his sunken performance as Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin. Jules Verne has to be rolling in his grave over this dreadful adaptation of his classic novel. Around the World in 80 Days is not to be taken seriously, but it still is nowhere close to being respected for being made at all. Perhaps children will enjoy this film, but all aspects in the production are murky and Frank Coraci really struggles with delivering a vital summer adventure comedy. If you really want to enjoy this story, go watch the new edition DVD of the 1956 version of the film. It may be longer, but at least it is not humiliating. Grade: D 06/16/04
Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Around the World in 80 Days and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline. |
|
|
||
|
||
|