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Actors: Jackie Chan, Claire Forlani
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about The Medallion |
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Jackie Chan is back and he's a cop helping Interpol (Lee Evans) to catch a dangerous criminal who is trying to catch a magical child with a medallion. The child is kidnapped and then saved again by Chan but he drowns saving him.
However the child gave him part of the Medallion and he awakes in the morgue scaring Lee Evans as he discovers his invisibility and strength.
However the bad guy also has gained super-powers and needs the second half that Jackie Chan has to make him immortal. Can Jackie Chan save the day and his friends?
Its very humourous especially with Lee Evans and the action sequences are at Jackie Chan's usually high standard. It has something for everyone- even some romance with Chan's girlfriend from Interpol. A must see film if you loved the Rush Hour films!
--H Louise, Resident Scholar
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The Medallion puts Jackie Chan yet again in an odd-couple pairing, this time with Claire Forlani and Lee Evans, offers fewer of the stunts that we have come to expect from Jackie and additionally insults the audience and Martial Arts in general by digitalizing Jackie's unique abilities.
Jackie's latest foray into American theaters is as a Hong Kong cop named Eddie who along with Interpol agent Watson (Lee Evans) is looking for the medallion, a snake and serpent type of necklace which has been stolen by Snakehead (Julian Sands). The medallion has the special power of bringing dead people back to life and making them invincible and immortal. The chase for the medallion takes Eddie from Hong Kong into Ireland where he meets his ex-flame Nicole (Claire Forlani). Throughout the pursuit the medallion repeatedly changes hands giving its bearer special abilities.
The Medallion will not bring Jackie Chan any new admirers; in fact it may do the opposite. This is the first film in Jackie's career that takes his natural Martial Arts skills and digitally alters them. In a day and age when some television shows are completely digitized, and with the public throwing around terms like bullet-time, special effects have to be done right or not at all. Chan's impressive abilities are given a cartoon-like quality which falsifies his motions. Movies today can take any slob off the street and turn them into the latest ninja; look at Keanu Reeves, mere months of training for The Matrix paired with the highest quality digital effects made Reeves appear as a champion Martial Artist. The effects in The Medallion have the reverse outcome, making it look as though Jackie cannot perform his own stunts and that his talent is due to computer rendered images not a lifetime of study.
Without the natural magic of Jackie Chan the other shortcomings of The Medallion become all the more glaring. Two pitfalls that made it past the editing room are Chan's co-stars Claire Forlani and Lee Evans. The only thing more preposterous than Jackie and Forlani's supposed romantic relationship is the fact that this flame is reignited during the course of the film. These two have all the chemistry of Britney Spears and Carrot top; watching them kiss was like watching my Grandpa frenching my Grandma, awkward, gross and something that I don't care to see. Lee Evans who has an impressive body of work, but will only be recognizable to U.S. audiences for his role in Something About Mary as the pizza boy, is extremely out of place as an Interpol agent and he couldn't inject an ounce of humor into his spy persona as Rowan Atkinson did in Johnny English.
It's time for Jackie to realize that his pairings with B-level stars is doing nothing for his career. There is no end in sight, and with the third Rush Hour beginning production it looks as though what has become an overdone formula will continue. After Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Claire Forlani, maybe Jackie's next pairing should be with Beyonce.
--Christopher Bryan, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of The Medallion |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 55%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 25%
Time/Era of Movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Technology/treasure/info search
Yes
involving:
- magical artifact
Combat acrobatics/martial arts?
Yes
Romance
Yes
Kind of movie
- combat acrobatics/bullet time
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Has special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character:
- super strength
- is very quick
- healing
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- short/standard straight (man)
Body type
- muscular (man)
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn, straight
Body type
- average build (man)
- very skinny (woman)
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Has special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- is very quick
- super strength
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
- 60%
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- Bulging muscles
Setting
Europe
Yes
Asia/Pacific
Yes
City?
Yes
City:
- wealthy
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
- building
- castle
- church/synagogue
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- non-gory references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- in awe
How many deaths in film?
- 3-4
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 3 ()
Kind of violence:
- mission to rescue
- mission to protect something
- karate chop
- hand to hand
- guns
- swords
Unusual forms of death
- drowned
- perforation--bullets
Lot of special effects?
Yes
Kinds of F/X
- exploding vehicles
- exploding bombs
- nasty human transformations
If Soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Modern rock/pop
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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