Shanghai Knights (2003)
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Cast: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Donnie Yen, Aiden Gillen, Fann Wong
Extras: Commentary Tracks, Featurette, Clip, Deleted Scenes
Rating:

The sequel to the hilarious action comedy ’Shanghai Noon’ is now hitting DVD under the title ’Shanghai Knights.’ Once again Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson put their unique spin on the genre in a fiery comedy that is filled with breath-taking action sequences and the inimitable Jackie Chan martial arts stunt show. This time the two are on the way to find the killer of Chon Wang’s (Jackie Chan) father, and to retrieve Imperial Seal that he was guarding. The trail leads them to Victorian London where they meet up with Chon’s sister Lin (Fann Wong) in an effort to bring down the murderers.

Buena Vista Home Entertainment is presenting the film in an anamorphic widescreen transfer on this DVD. The print is absolutely clean and free of defects and exhibits a very high level of detail. Edges are sharp but never exaggerated by edge-enhancement and the colors are bold and rich without bleeding or over-saturation. Black levels are very good and draw a picture that has a lot of visual depth and finely delineated shadows. The compression is flawless and no compression artifacts are evident.

The audio of the release is equally impressive with a very aggressive and active 5.1 channel Dolby Digital track. A wide frequency response and a powerful dynamic range make this track quite an experience, complete with great music.

The DVD also contains a number of features, such as an enlightening commentary track the director, and a separate commentary track featuring the writers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. Also included is a featurette hosted by director David Dobkin and Jackie Chan, discussing the action elements of the production. A furious music video-style clip of some of the stunt highlights from the movie is also included, as well as a good number of deleted scenes.

’Shanghai Knights’ is a great sequel to the original film and works well in the buddy-film genre. A nice story, fun backdrops and countless references to historic figures make this film all the more enjoyable. Definitely give this one a try!