REVIEW: ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ (2004)

Kung fu and slapstick comedy meets Victorian-era adventure and droll wit when Jackie Chan stars with British comedian Steve Coogan in the latest film adaptation of Jules Verne’s AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS. It’s fast-paced adventure that whisks the viewer from London to New York and back again by way of Paris, Germany, Istanbul, India, China, and San Francisco. Along with way, the pair hook up with the charming Cécile De France and run into a gaggle of historical figures and celebrities from Hollywood and Hong Kong. It’s mostly light-hearted fun geared for kids, both young and old.

In the original book, which this film is based on, an English gentleman named Phineas Fogg makes a wager that he can travel around the world in 80 days. Being 1872, this presents a challenge as no form of high-speed transit such as jet planes or bullet trains exist. Joined by his servant Passepartout, pronounced in the film as “Pass-poor-two”), Fogg begins his journey and soon finds himself hindered by all sorts of problems from bad weather and Indian attacks to harassment from a detective who mistakes him for a bank robber. Fogg also manages to rescue a princess in India who falls in love with him. This story has inspired at least three previous film adaptations, the most popular being the 1956 version starring David Niven.

For the 2004 version, the story gets a Chinese twist with Jackie Chan stepping in to fill the shoes of Passepartout. This time he isn’t a servant, but rather a fellow named Lau Xing who has stolen a sacred Buddha statue from the Bank of England. Hounded by “bobbies,” Lau Xing accepts an open position as the test subject for inventor Phineas Fogg’s (Coogan) oddball inventions. But this doesn’t last long as Fogg, a laughing stock at the local science institute, is pressured into making a bet on the 80-day trip. The pair is soon on their way with a bungling Detective Fix, played way over-the-top by TRAINSPOTTING star Ewen Bremner, hired to stop them. A beautiful, but lousy painter named Monique La Roche (Cécile De France) joins them in Paris and romance between her and Fogg develops while Lau Xing struggles to bring the statue back to his village in China. Although beset with numerous problems, their biggest trouble comes from a vampy General Fang (Karen Mok) and her thugs who are after the statue.

Jackie Chan has taken a beating from many of his fans for his recent “buddy” films. Complaints include uninspired scripts, clichéd team-ups, too much wirework and CGI, and not enough quality stunt work and kung fu. With 80 DAYS, fans will be able to keep right on complaining. The film bears a little too much resemblance to SHANGHAI KNIGHTS at times with its British settings and famous historical figures making cameos. Karen Mok is basically Donnie Yen’s replacement as the lurking Chinese villain who does the dirty work of the British villains in a series of tightly-edited and wire-enhanced kung fu exchanges. In other words, there is no innovation here as Chan continues to settle further into the mold Hollywood has carved for him. But that doesn’t make this a bad film. In fact, it’s very entertaining popcorn fare.

Any film with settings scattered all over the planet, mixing comedy and elaborate action, and featuring a large cast of big name talent from different film industries would be a huge challenge for anyone and director Frank Coraci amazingly pulls it all together. I didn’t expect this from the maker of THE WEDDING SINGER and THE WATERBOY.

The story has great pacing and hits most of the right notes along the way. The comedy is the dominating factor and there is much to laugh at, although some of the jokes tend to be more juvenile than witty. But at its best, brilliant timing and slapstick lunacy akin to LOONEY TUNES cartoons results in heaps of mildly irreverent fun.

As a howling Detective Fix, Ewen Bremner is out of control and takes more outrageous pratfalls in this film than Chevy Chase and Jerry Lewis combined. Just the idea of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a ridiculous wig while sharing a hot tub with Jackie Chan is funny. Sadly, there is no real verbal or physical exchange between the two monolithic action stars.

Other highlights include a senile old lady who chases after Jackie with painful results and a steamship captain’s shark-bit-off-my-nipples story. Coraci seems just as comfortable with the Chinese humor. One of the best scenes takes place in a Chinese village during a toast by Lau Xing’s father that keeps getting interrupted by Lau Xing’s feisty old mother.

It’s a kick to see references to famous persons of the day including painters Vincent van Gogh and Toulouse Lautrec, and the Wilson brothers as quarreling Wright brothers.

Kung fu movie buffs may be most interested in the appearance of the Ten Tigers of Kwangtung with Sammo Hung playing Chinese folk hero Wong Fei-hung. The familiar Wong Fei-hung theme music even plays when Sammo goes into action. Chang Pei-pei’s daughter Marsha Yuan plays the only female member of the Tigers.

The action in 80 DAYS falls into three categories; slapstick comedy, comedy kung fu, and straight kung fu. Bremner and other supporting actors handle the slapstick, leaving Chan, his stunt team and several Hong Kong stars to handle the rest. Jackie takes on longtime sparring partner and friend Ken Lo and his fellow stunt team members in a terrific art studio brawl that is played strictly for laughs. Ken is often relegated to serious bit stunt work in Chan’s Hollywood films, but he actually gets to share in the spotlight with some comic touches. While in India, Jackie gets handcuffed to Bremner and subsequently attacked by a hulking thug. This results in the skinny Bremner being turned into a human weapon by Jackie. Maggie Q pops up to challenge Coogan in a brief tussle of kung fu versus gadgets.

Chan’s visit to the Chinese village leads to the film’s best overall fight between Chan and Daniel Wu, who leads a gang of thugs. Although he’s usually cast in dramatic, non-martial arts roles, it has been said that Wu practiced wushu in the U.S. before getting into Hong Kong film. He finally gets to show us what he’s got against Chan. It’s not a great fight by Hong Kong standards and unnecessary wirework is used, but the two offer a decent match that’s capped by the appearance of the great Sammo Hung and the rest of the legendary Ten Tigers. I have to give it to Coraci, he sure knows how to give Sammo a proper entrance.

Chan’s final match is reserved for Karen Mok who is easily one of the most talented and stunning ladies working in Hong Kong’s film industry. Never one to shy away from self-mockery (see THE GOD OF COOKERY), she appears dressed in goth-like Chinese excess with heavy make-up and long, sharp nails that she uses as claws. With wicked moves and a sultry English delivery that’s better than what most Americans could muster, Karen makes for a potent villainess. The two battle it out in and around pieces of the Statue of Liberty, which is under construction.

Steve Coogan is certainly no screen fighter and thankfully never really tries, but he is the perfect fit for the role of Phineas Fogg, a character he imbues with depth, charm and subtle emotion. His dry wit balances out the extreme action and comedy elements surrounding him, while his repeated bumbling attempts to help Chan are winsome.

The art direction is excellent with Fogg’s elaborate Willy Wonka-like contraptions and colorful set design and costumes providing lots of eye-candy. Intentionally-cartoony CGI sequences are frequently used between stops around the world to show the characters’ progress. These transitional shots keep the momentum up in a creative way and give the film a fantasy flavor.

As a family adventure film, AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS hits the mark. It may not be original and Chan may not be at his kung fu-fighting best, but the filmmakers make good use of what they have. Despite the long running time and the size of the project, there’s very little waste onscreen and a whole lot of wacky fun that kids and their parents can enjoy together. As a bonus, we get a successful merger of Hong Kong and Hollywood filmmaking and star power on a large scale that brings both cultures together. Now that’s worth going “around the world” for in two hours.