The Medallion

Every 1000 years a child is born who can wield the power of two halves of a supernatural medallion, which can bestow superhuman strength and immortality, as well as take life away. Snakehead (Julian Sands), your typical crook with world domination ambitions, has discovered the identity of a modern-day chosen child, and pursues him. Meanwhile, Hong Kong police detective Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan) and Interpol agents Arthur Watson (Lee Evans) and Nicole James (Claire Forlani) have been pursuing Snakehead because of his criminal activities, and stumble into the grander scheme.

While The Medallion is certainly not a film without flaws, it is satisfying on the whole if you approach it as a comic book/cartoon-styled Jackie Chan actioner. The film combines even more genres than that, actually, and there are times when it seems almost to be a spoof of James Bond-styled thrillers. There are also more straightforward comedy elements--especially when Evans is on screen, the film almost becomes a slapstick farce--there are Matrix-styled fantasy/action aspects, and there is a romance subplot. On top of all of that, The Medallion moves very quickly. Director Gordon Chan packs a lot of information into the film and barely pauses for a breath--if you blink, you're likely to miss some bit of crucial action, a plot point, or a joke.

In short, it's a complex stew of different genres, with a mixture of adult themes and childlike lightheartedness, wrapped in a dense mythology of fantasy and served at a non-stop, breakneck pace. Undoubtedly, those qualities will turn off a great deal of viewers, whether because they hate MTV/attention-deficit-disorder-styled editing, genre hopping or a lack of real-world believability. I don't mind any of those qualities, and in fact I tend to prefer films that forgo realism.

I only had two small complaints about The Medallion. One, it took me a few scenes to get up to speed with the film, both plot-wise and in terms of style. Once I got into the groove, though, I didn't want the film to stop--enough that my second complaint is that the film was too short (and in general, I strongly dislike the fact that most films seem to be forced by studios to end within 90 minutes). I wanted to see more of these characters, especially Evans, who stole most of the scenes he appeared in. Jackie Chan fans seeking a return to films that are solely kung fu-oriented will likely be disappointed, but if you have broader tastes, The Medallion might hit the spot. An 8 out of 10 from me.

They had $35 million or so dollars to make this movie! If you've seen plenty of Hong Kong movies like I have, you know they are able to stretch a dollar to incredible levels. So you might think that this would be the Hong Kong movie to rule over all others.

Think again! The first and obvious mistake they made was having Jackie using wirework and other special effects. Huh? Did they somehow forget that Jackie made a name for himself by NOT using wirework and special effects? Plus, you could see that he was taking real risks by not using that stuff, so his antics were more thrilling and entertaining as a result. Also, ANYONE could have easily done what Jackie did in this movie because of all the special effects work - so what was the point of hiring Jackie?

Even with all the money and time put into these action sequences, they are a mess. The editing gives us a different shot every millisecond or so, making it hard to get a handle on the action. (Also, the camera was a lot closer to the action than in Jackie's other movies, so much so that even seeing the movie in widescreen still makes it confusing at times.) Look at Jackie's other movies - the camera stays back, and the editing is kept to a minimum. We see everything of the action in those movies, and the minimum editing prevents any breaks in building excitement.

Speaking of editing, the American editors did a TERRIBLE job altering it for North American audiences. The story makes no sense, with even a lot of the minor details not being explained. (For example, the surprise revelation of Watson's wife.) The DVD contains a number of deleted scenes, though watching them clears up very little of the confusion - in fact, the deleted scenes just reveal new murky details that add MORE confusion! I suspect there were a number of other scenes cut that did explain things better, but that were left out by Sony in perhaps embarrassing realization their American editors did a terrible job.

But even with a story that would make no sense, this would still be tough going, not just with the mishandled action scenes but also because of the movie's incredibly bad sense of humor. Particularly with Lee Evans' character, who is unbelievably annoying - at least the editors showed SOME sense by cutting out some of his painful scenes. So even if you have a region-free DVD machine and are a die-hard fan of Jackie, I strongly suggest you don't even pick up the Asian DVD release of this movie when it comes out!

The movie centers a police agent (Jackie Chan) who will face down an evil baddie called Snakehead (Julian Sands) for the possession a medallion with an extraordinary power and he wants to use its magic for his own nefarious plans . Chan and other agents (Claire Forlani and Lee Evans) will have to face off nasties who are waiting to rule over the world and obtain eternal youth , but the medallion is carried by a boy and he hands over one halve to Jackie Chan . As Chan must determine the secret of the medallion and confront the evil Snakehead who wishes to use its magical powers for his own nefarious schemes .

From start to finish action pace is interminable , the movie is fast moving and that's why it is amusing and isn't boring , neither tiring . The film blends intrigue , humor , pursuits , frenetic action , struggles and results to be very entertaining . In spite of it , this comedy/action picture failed in the box office and was a real flop. The action by Jackie Chan is proceeded by means of special effects , FX , and wires to difference other films in which he makes his owns stunts . The motion picture has a certain likeness to ¨the Tuxedo¨ similar in extreme powers of Jackie such as : thanks to the 'medallion' and 'tuxedo'. While in the first Jennifer Love Hewitt played as ¨buddy movie¨ couple with Jackie Chan , here plays along with Claire Forlani .

The final showdown between the starring and nasty contenders is astounding and overwhelming although there are made by computer generator FX . The motion picture was regularly directed by Gordon Chan (Painted skin , Fist the legend , Thunderbolt) . After seeing credited director Gordon Chan's rough cut, Columbia hired Douglas Aarniokoski to shoot new sequences and re-edited the film extensively . The yarn will appeal to action-packed buffs and Jackie Chan fans.

Rating : Average 5/10

Despite going on 50, Jackie Chan is still up to his antics in this action and special effects filled fantasy.

What could have been a fantastic film ends up a complete mess what appears due to studio interference. Silly music cues, unfunny 'comedic' moments and sloppy editing (and blatant continuity mistakes) has resulted in a mish-mash of various sequences thrown together to resemble what looks like a plot.

Good points - the special effects. However, I must admit to being biased. Claire Forlani, Jackie Chan and Lee Evans. Good cast - but not put to good use at all. There are very few laughs in this film (but at least there are some!). The fine action work by Jackie and the stunt team. You can't fault that.

Bad points - just about everything else.

This is a film you'd probably best off renting when drunk or when there really isn't much else on the TV.

On DVD, you get a decent enough audio commentary from the producer and editor and some deleted scenes.

It has taken Jackie Chan about 27 years, a good 60 movies or so, and a few near death experiences for him to decide that he can start making movies that don't regularly involve certain death, thanks to CGI. The results are not so good. In fact, I'll just say it: 'The Medallion' is a terrible action movie.

Jackie plays Eddie Yang, a Hong Kong detective chasing a villain named Snakehead (those villains and their crazy names). Snakehead, like all Hong Kong villains is actually English, so when he kidnaps a boy with the power to control The Medallion, Yang follows him to Ireland to reclaim the Medallion and find the child (who just goes to prove, that even if you live in a Buddhist temple in a sewer below Hong Kong, you can still learn to speak perfect English with an English accent).

Seems like 'The Golden Child'? Why yes, yes it does. Its a fun fantasy movie for kids, but anyone wanting to watch an action movie should watch this up until a short cameo appearance by Sammo Hung and then turn it off very quickly. Now I'm not a fan of CGI action, but I assumed that with Jackie Chan starring and Sammo Hung directing the action - two action masters - could still pull of some entertaining action scenes. Apparently not, as 'The Medallion' is only marginally better than, oh, say 'Charlie's Angels 2'.

Fun for kids, but action fans should avoid entirely. I'm being generous when I give this 5/10.