| Movie
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Extras
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| Audio
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Video
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This is the Korean release by KD Media. It’s region 3 but otherwise the same as the region 1 release.
Movie
Well, this is finally it. After this, I think I know why Jackie
Chan got tired of Hollywood and split for Hong Kong again. (That’s
a good thing, mind you, ‘New Police Story’ is awe-inspiring.) It
does have its interesting bits, but unfortunately they’re not where they’re
supposed to be. Obviously, my favorite part, and the only interesting
part of the entire movie, was the China sequence. Sammo Hung has
a small part in this movie, and after about 40 years in the movie business,
this is the first time he played Wong Fei-Hung. However, that’s not
enough to save this movie. The original from 1956 is far better.
The plot, as I’ve read elsewhere, also has the same basic set-up as Mr.
Chan’s other American movies: Jakcie Chan travels halfway around the world
to recover (insert Chinese traditional object here).
One of the problems with this movie is that the original was made to wow people. It was made to show what filmmaking could do. It was a 3-hour epic when 3-hour epics were controlled by the director, not the studio. It had a sense of wonder and novelty. Impressive special effects were relatively new and it wanted to show you the world. This one has computer effects up the wazoo and while I don’t mind that, the novelty of bringing you the world isn’t so novel anymore.
If this movie is saved, it’s because of Jackie Chan and his action. I do have to say that, at least Mr. Chan’s other Hollywood movies had their PG-13 rating, which allowed for some beating up. This one is strictly PG and you can clearly see the cartoony antics. Getting stabbed in the arm should cause blood to trickle, but apparently someone forgot to tell director Frank Coraci that little detail. One more silly problem: at one point Ewen Bremner falls from a movie train. The camera is outside of the train looking in, and Jackie Chan looks to the right of the screen and says ‘Sorry’. The camera then pulls away, without a cut, without changing angles, and the train is moving from left to right. That means when Ewan Bremner fell, he fell in front of the moving train. Nice physics, guys. (I’ll refrain from all the anachronisms because I don’t think the movie cared too much about those.)
It’s Disney entertainment, so the character arcs are as subtle as a 90-degree turn. Thankfully, the development is saved only for Phileas Fogg. Everybody else is as one-dimensional, cardboard cut-out as they get. Actually, some of the fun is looking for the various cameos. You get to see Karen Mok, Rob Schneider, Jim Broadbent, Mark Addy, Ian McNiece (the dad from those Harry Potter movies), Kathy Bates, Ewen Bremner and, of course, the Terminator himself. One sort of sad note is that this is the movie that united Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Daniel Wu and Karen Mok (and Maggie Q as well). The first, and probably only time these four will make a movie together.
It’s the Hollywood equivalent of ‘Kids from Shaolin’, ‘Juvenile’ or some other inoffensive movie. Remember, though, this is Hollywood. Not only that, it’s Disney. It’s both inoffensive and kind of silly. I’m sure kids will love it, but after Mr. Chan’s other movies this isn’t very special. Even compared to ‘The Tuxedo’ it’s nothing special, although it’s slightly better. The fights really save the movie. There’s really nothing else going for it. It’s geared to younger kids, so the jokes are very broad and very obvious, so they’re not quite funny. The action is PG-rated so although it’s well done it’s nowhere near ‘The Young Master’ or ‘Police Story’ or ‘Project A’. I know I’m being generous with my mark, but I really like Jackie Chan. Watch something else unless you’re a big Jackie Chan fan.
Commentary by director Frank Coraci and actor Steve Coogan
The track is as inoffensive as the movie. Mr. Coraci had a whole
heap of money to do this movie so he’s excited and you can see that here.
He’s not flying off the walls, but you can here the fun he had making the
movie. He talks a lot about Jackie Chan and his chance to work with
him and help out with the action. He gives out nice information,
pointing out all the cameos and shooting locations and things of that nature.
For example, Terry Gilliam is a big inspiration for the look of the movie.
Mr. Coogan talks about the same kind of things, but Mr. Coraci talks more.
They give out a lot of behind the scenes tidbits, and it’s a nice listen.
There’s also a lot of praising but it’s not too bad. It’s a fun track
but nothing special.
Alternate Opening
Near the ending of the movie, Phileas Fogg talks about a dream he had.
This opening is the dream. It doesn’t really add much to the movie
apart from about 30 seconds running time.
Discovering ‘Around the World in 80 Days’
If you had any thought that this would be a genuine documentary, the
very first comment in this thing will prove you otherwise. It’s a
pure, fluffly EPK. Various cast and crewmembers talk about the plot
and the characters and the action and the director and the cameos.
Praise is not uncommon as are movie scenes. You see some behind the
scenes, which is the most interesting thing of this 18-minute, 48-second
piece. You do see outtakes, so those are also nice, but it’s a shame
those aren’t on the DVD as their own extras.
Around the World with Jackie Chan
This is 6 ½ minutes long. It’s pretty much a bunch of
people (director, actors, himself) talking about Jackie Chan and his stunts.
The comments aren’t as interesting as the footage that’s shown. Mr.
Coraci talks about the evolution of the action scenes. You see Mr.
Chan do
Deleted Scenes
None of these scenes really add to the movie. They either add
comedy that’s not really funny (except for ‘Bobbies’, which is actually
funny) or add information that’s not really necessary, or are just there
for the sake of being there. Why some of them were shot is beyond
me, but they were cut. None of them are particularly long, the longest
at 79 seconds. In all, includeing the introduction, they take up
about 6 minutes and 46 seconds. They are:
-Director’s Introduction (19 seconds), obviously the director says
a few words.
-Bobbies (15 seconds), a short scene that introduces John Cleese’s
character. A bit silly but given the rest of the movie, it’s doesn’t
seem so bad. It’s actually funnier than many of the jokes in the
movie.
-Louis Pasteur (31 seconds), more proof that Lord Kelvin is not good
for his job.
-Phileas’ Inventions (79 seconds), a scene where you see the umbrella
thing, and some fart jokes.
-Passepartout Hangs From Balloon (30 seconds), a silly scene with Henri
de Toulouse-Lautrec. In the movie, he’s only seen for about half
a second, but in here he has a few lines.
-Phileas Feels Used (67 seconds), a completely useless scene.
More anachronisms.
-Hoboes (73 seconds), this actually explains a small plot hole, but
it’s not like it’s really important anyway. By this time in the movie
(the 80-minute-or-so mark) nobody really cares about anybody.
-Monique Paints the Boat (66 seconds), I don’t know, something about
a giant chicken.
-Inspiring Words (26 seconds) another somewhat funny joke, but not
in the movie for some reason.
The commentary by Mr. Coraci isn’t really enlightening. He does say something interesting when he says he thinks he does the opposite of a black comedy. Anyway, other than that it’s just sort of, ‘I like this scene, but we had to cut it out for (enter silly reason here)’.
Trailer
This is the theatrical trailer, about 2 ½ minutes and an Internet
trailer from Korea. The trailers are okay, but they basically show
the movie is going to be fluffy and kind of silly. About 4 minutes
and 15 seconds in total.
Music Video
In the movie commentary, the director says the Terry Gilliam inspired
the look of the movie and this music video is just more proof of that.
If you know the animated bits from the ‘Monty Python’ TV show, you can
guess the video. This even has the giant foot squashing something.
The song is kind of annoying. It’s a purely Disney feel-good song.
The video has some scenes from the move but not much. It’s about
3 minutes and 16 seconds long.
Audio
The only track for the movie is and English Dolby 5.1 track.
The sound is good enough, and would make the movie sort of engrossing I
the movie wasn’t so bad. Voices are clear and clean. There’s
no muffling or screeching or anything of the sort. The score comes
out of all speakers very clearly. The seperation is very nice, with
the rear speakers being used for various effects and, well, the score.
The movie’s effects come out the back when they have to. Overall
it’s a good mix.
Video
2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. The picture is good enough and
doesn’t have any real problems. Specks and scratches and discolouration
and any other blemish aren’t on the print. Compression artifacts
aren’t a present either. The movie has different palettes with different
colours and looks, and the transfer handles them very well. All the
details are also well rendered. The picture is good, there’s no denying
that.
22/12/2004