The Medallion Movie Review:


Action icon Jackie Chan returns to the screen in the film “The Medallion” in the latest of his unique and innovative style of films that have made him a legend in Asia and have garnered him fans the world over.

Chan stars as Eddie Yang, an inspector with the Hong Kong Police who is working with Interpol in an attempt to apprehend a dangerous criminal known as Snakehead (Julian Sands). Yang disrupts a heist planned by Snakehead but loses his query in the process and is forced to follow him to Ireland after a local boy is kidnapped via forces loyal to Snakehead.

Once in Ireland, Yang is joined in his efforts to rescue the child and capture Snakehead by an old flame named Nicole (Claire Forlani) and his former colleague from Interpol Arthur Watson (Lee Evans I).

During the course of the investigation, it is discovered that the child is actually a chosen one whose order believes has the power to grant immortality and resurrect the dead by manipulation of a two sided medallion. Legend says that the chosen one is capable of uniting both halves of the medallion and performing miracles. Naturally, Snakehead wants to become immortal and satisfy his illusions of godhood and is willing to sacrifice the child to obtain it.

What follows is typical Chan style as he finds himself endowed with magical powers as he attempts to fight the bad guys and save the day. What separates “The Medallion” from past Chan films is an alarming lack of Chan’s style of action that blends choreography and humor to create original and often funny scenes of excitement. Worse yet, it was very evident that many stunts involved wires and computer assisted enhancements, which drastically undermined the film, as Chan is famous for doing his own stunt work.

One does not expect that great of a story in a Jackie Chan film as he is a master at creating action films that the whole family can enjoy and as such keeps plots to simple terms of good and bad and concentrates more on the artistry of his action scenes and comedy. Sadly there is far to little of that in this film as I struggle to recall any action scene that was worthy of Chan’s greatness. If that was not bad enough, Evans who turns in a fantastic performance as the bumbling yet good-natured Watson performs the bulk of the best comedy. Forlani despite being a talented and attractive actress is not given little to do aside from smile and cast gooey looks at Yang. Evans is given a few good lines as the comic relief but it is not enough to save this film from its shortcomings. Following up the disappointing “The Tuxedo” with good work in “Shanghai Knights”, Chan slips with this film which is easily once of his most disappoint films in recent memory.

2.5 stars out of 5

Gareth Von Kallenbach

Oh dear: Jackie Chan takes another step down the ladder after the dire Tuxedo with this similarly juvenile action movie, which again makes the mistake of augmenting his skills with movie silliness. And giving him a love interest. Here he's a Hong Kong cop named Eddie working with Interpol Agent Watson (Evans) to track the handsome super-villain Snakehead (Sands).

At the moment, Snakehead is after a magical child (Bao) who controls two halves of a mysterious medallion with the power to grant immortality. The agents follow Snakehead to Dublin then team up with Eddie's ex-girlfriend (Forlani), also an Interpol agent. And when Eddie has a near-fatal accident rescuing the boy, he wakes up with all sorts of medallion-enhanced powers to help him stop Snakehead. Until Snakehead gets his hands on the medallion. (Snakehead? Who names these people? Surely not his mother!)

This is billed as a wacky action comedy, but there's not a single funny moment, unless Evans acting goofy does it for you (normally maybe, here never). Chan, Forlani and Sands aren't bad, trying their best to speak atrocious dialog as if they mean it. Gordon Chan's direction is just about coherent, but nothing more.

And the script is so simplistic that it's almost funny as a spoof. Perhaps it's really another What's Up Tiger Lily, where Woody Allen took a Chinese film and overdubbed it with ludicrously hilarious dialog! One of the writers even inserts a steady stream of gay innuendo, rather odd in a film that's otherwise aimed at 5 year olds. The film's at least whizzy enough with its elaborate chases and battles, including a catfight between Forlani and a random woman who appears out of nowhere.

But the main problem is that the super-charged Jackie isn't as interesting as the mere-mortal Jackie. Maybe he feels too old to carry an action film on his own, but he's still more inventive than anyone else out there.

Rich Cline

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 The Medallion and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.