The Medallion (2003)

Rating: D-

Dir: Gordon Chan
Star: Jackie Chan, Julian Sands, Claire Forlani, Lee Evans

Chan may have made worse (Rush Hour 2), but it’s been a long time since he’s been in anything so damn mediocre. A poorly-written plot, stolen from The Golden Child, features uninspired CGI and wirework rather than Jackie’s physical athleticism – so what’s the point? Certainly not the supporting characters, who are either immensely irritating (Evans’ comic relief isn’t comic, and the only relief you feel is when he leaves the scene) or badly wasted (Anthony Wong as a villainous sidekick, given no chance to…well, do anything at all).

JC plays a Hong Kong cop, who ends up in Dublin (Interpol apparently having moved there from Lyon – for tax reasons, is my guess) on the trail of a child kidnapped by Snakehead (Sands) who holds the titular knick-knack, the key to eternal life. Now, don’t know about you, but I’ve not been holding my breath, waiting to see Jackie Chan go toe-to-toe with Julian Sands, yet this is what the finale provides. I also can’t help wondering if there’s a HK cut of the movie which makes more sense, for example, explaining why mild-mannered Christy Chung keeps riot gear in her wardrobe. This summarises the movie’s problems: sloppy, not thought-out, badly executed, hugely disappointing and – worst of all, for any Chan film – dull.