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View Full Version : Not so much a review


AmaiStina
08-23-2003, 01:01 AM
..rather it's more like stream consciousness commentary (i apologize in advance if Ive not accurately categorized this post :p ).


I saw The Medallion tonight. Im not a hardcore Jackie Chan fan, but his English is more tolerable than Jet Li's.

The Medallion is like The Golden Child (Michael Ritchie, 1986) minus Eddie Murphy & the end-of-the-world theme. In The Medallion, Julian Sands is after a medallion, hence the renamed title, that is capable of giving and taking away life. Jackie Chan, Claire Forlani, and an English fellow must stop Sands from kidnapping a young Chinese boy, the one who knows how to operate the medallion.

If the plot synopsis is causing you to laugh hysterically, brace yourself. Not only does Julian Sands look shabbily make-up'd* and totally against age-defying treatments of any kind, but hes also the most unthreatening villain ive seen in quite a while. Now, id consider myself a Julian Sands fan & ive actually rented nearly all of his films that the blockbusters near me carry. Nevertheless, it was a bit painful to watch him repeatedly order his ambiguously straight henchmen to "find the boy."

But the best part (sarcasm intended) of the film is the relationship that Jackie Chan & Claire Forlani's characters had in the past & rekindle for the future. They even kiss. I was just about to vomit the frappucino i had consumed during the previews.

Gordan Chan directed the film. The only films of his that ive seen are 2000 AD (2000) & Armageddon (1997). Neither film's narratives are that great, but I enjoyed them much more than I did The Medallion (chemistry of the actors a factor).

i wouldnt actively say that the film is "bad"---er. maybe i would. i laughed many times...at what was intentionally and unintentionally made to be funny. i wonder if The Tuxedo was worse.

to me, the previews are the best part of going to a theatre to see a movie. in this case, i think they really were the best part.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didnt give much thought to whether or not this film was shot within the past year, or within the turn of the century. But, Im almost certain that it was filmed a couple yrs ago. There were two cameos by Hong Kong celebs Nic Tse & Edison Chen. Edison didnt start acting til 2000. Nic Tse looked a lot younger in the film than he has in recent pictures (Nic Tse was in Gen-X Cops; Edison Chan was in Gen-Y Cops. both films are available to rent at your local blockbuster).

according to imdb, The Medallion, also known as Highbinders (*huhn?*), was released in 2002--undoubtedly in the Eastern hemisphere.


Nic Tse:

http://i3.yesasia.com/assets/imgs/music/23/p1001828223.jpg

Edison Chen:

http://i3.yesasia.com/assets/imgs/music/49/p1001847049.jpg

*yes, i realized that "shabbily make-up'd" is not grammatically correct.

El Duderino Diablo
08-23-2003, 03:32 AM
Armageddon, was that the one with Andy Lau and Anthony Wong and produced by Wong Jing? If so then I seem to recollect that it was a moderately okay movie that completely fell aprt at the end with Anthony Wong suddenly being revealed to be the devil or something like that.

Gordon Chan has made some good movies in the past. I really enjoyed Fist of Legend with Jet Li, a somewhat revisionist remake of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury. IIRC he also directed Stephen Chiao in King of Beggars. Beast Cops was also fairly good.

As much as I like Jackie Chan I think his schtick is beyond old now. I don't think I've been remotely excited to see a JC movie since Drunken Master II.
:shrug:

AmaiStina
08-23-2003, 12:08 PM
Originally posted by The Dude
Armageddon, was that the one with Andy Lau and Anthony Wong and produced by Wong Jing? If so then I seem to recollect that it was a moderately okay movie that completely fell aprt at the end with Anthony Wong suddenly being revealed to be the devil or something like that.

Yeah, Andy Lau was in it. The climax took place in a stadium/football field.

i honestly dont remember much of the film at all. ~_~