A New York cabbie hired to chauffer a spy ends up wearing his high tech tuxedo in order to defeat a plot by a water bottling baron to unleash a swarm of insects carrying a deadly virus.

In a genre-twisting story well-suited for an action star of Jackie Chan’s unique abilities, The Tuxedo blends high tech gadgetry and effects with a wee bit of kung fu mayhem for a mostly entertaining film experience.

Chan is Jimmy Tong, a love struck cabbie in New York who pines for the affections of an art gallery employee. His life quickly becomes more complicated when he’s hired to chauffer Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs), ace spy with a gadget-filled tuxedo to die for. After a failed assassination attempt that leaves Devlin in the hospital, Tong dons the tuxedo to find out who tried to have his boss murdered. Assuming the identity of Devlin himself, he’s paired up with a CSA agent named Del Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Their target is Dietrich Banning, owner of a large water bottling manufacturer who has a crackpot plan to unleash a horde of water striders to contaminate public drinking water with a virus that leaves its victims severely dehydrated. Tong’s suit which grafts itself to the wearer comes well equipped for the task with everything from weapons assembly and kung fu fighting protocols to dance moves to give the Godfather of Soul a run for his money. Yet all of this doesn’t exactly endear him to his new partner and when his real identity is discovered, Tong is all but washed up. With nothing but a hunch and a backup suit, Tong takes a final shot at saving the day.

With an opening shot of a deer urinating in a freshwater stream where water is then seen bottled for resale, DreamWorks quickly establishes this film’s comedic irreverence which has dogged every Hollywood produced Jackie Chan film to date. Its no surprise then to see Jennifer Love Hewitt’s assets put on display or even Chan himself reduced to gratuitously shaking his groove thing for cheap laughs. But long time Chan fans will have more to groan about as the level of fighting action in this film is probably at the lowest of any of his films to date. That said, Chan’s natural charm is wholeheartedly intact. The script plays off his strengths and deficiencies well. Wearing a mechanical suit which he regularly loses control of allows his physical routines to fit snuggly into the story. Accidentally knocking out James Brown and filling in for him on a rendition of “Sex Machine” is definitely a highlight, even though it does wear out in the tale end. At another point, Hewitt asks him, “what’s with the accent?” He replies, “Waht accent?”

Hewitt gets to play Chan’s first female sidekick in a Hollywood film and she surprisingly manages to keep up with him, both in action and comedy. Despite the more than twenty year age difference, the two successfully create a mild sexual tension that is played for laughs. Jason Isaacs is a relatively new face who gets his first featured role here as the villainous Diedrich Banning. Coming up with a convincing opponent for Chan would normally be a challenge, but since everyone in the film is fighting with wire harnesses and trick editing at some point or another its not a stretch to see Isaacs going toe to toe with Chan. He also exudes an almost weary coolness that gives the character more charisma than most of Chan’s previous villains.

The weakest link in the film is the action itself. Chan’s inventive choreography almost completely gives way to wirework and lots of quick editing. With the exception of a near end fight where Chan is forced to hold a glass containing a queen water strider on Hewitt’s face, the limited brawls are mostly routine with undercranking present. Even this last fight contains a few noticeable gaffs such as the glass slipping away from Hewitt’s face, which would have defeated the whole purpose of Chan’s efforts since he was trying to keep the bug from flying away. Speaking of bugs, this may also be one of Chan’s creepiest films in the vain of Indiana Jones. A scene where the villain dehydrates to dust in seconds after a swarm of bugs fly into his mouth may startle young or sensitive viewers.

The Tuxedo seems to mark a successful change for Chan, although longtime fans will likely disagree. He’s embracing special effects, but not just to compensate for his inability to move like he used to. Chan has always maintained that entertaining his audience is paramount. He seems to be doing just that with this film. It embraces Hollywood standards while offering Chan the opportunity to put a smile on your face and as usual its at his expense.

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