Shanghai Noon Details

Visually authentic and deliciously anachronistic, this period western from martial arts maestro Jackie Chan is a hugely enjoyable combination of buddy comedy and adventure. Sent to the States to rescue a kidnapped princess (Lucy Liu), Chan's Imperial Palace guard hooks up with outlaw Owen Wilson, who proves to be his equal in the fish-out-of-water stakes. Whether using antlers, sheriff's badges or horseshoes to prize himself out of a tight corner, Chan is pure slapstick poetry in motion: falling off horses, getting riotously drunk and confusing slave-owning louse Roger Yuan and corrupt sheriff Xander Berkeley. This fast-moving caper gently sends-up a well-loved genre and will provide a couple of hours of unrestrained entertainment.

Engaging mix of martial arts and comedy that will pass an agreeable hour or two; its slicker wit is a welcome change to Chan's more usual slapstick comedy.