To sit back and conseider the buckets of crap that are oozing out of the cinema as of late, is to fall in a state of depression. In fact, few films now ever hit the spots such as the old classics and the key demographic now seems to be 10 year olds with a low IQ. Expecting a however? Unfortunately this film does not provide one, allthough, as a last resort, it could be worse.
*PLOT*
Not a strong point of this film, and thats comparing it to th other points, the adaption of the plot is absolutely useless and ridiculus. Troubled scientist Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) is in desperate search for a new Valet seeing that no man is brave enough to risk their lives on his strange inventions. Falling out of the sky would happen to be none other than Lau Xing(Chan) on the run from the police from stealing from the Bank of England. Together they land themselves at the ministry of science and a wager is taken with the head by Fogg; that if he were to make it around the World in 80 days he would be the new minister of science, but if he were to fail, he would forfeit his house and
all his inventions. To tighten things up a bit the police are constantly after them for the know that Ling stole from the bank of England, and to make things doubly exciting(detect sarcasm) Phileas is not aware that the reason Chan is embarking on the quest is to return the sacred Jade Buddha which he stole bank to his home town, and not to help a derranged scientist (how could he do this?) Enter the female lead French Artiste played by Cécile De France who encounters Coogan's brilliant wit and falls head over heals on love and comes on the quest to see the World.
So thats the plot really, as I said not a strong one, just one to keep the flow going, so the films is going to need a hell of a lot more than that plot alone to make it through the tough criticism of audiencs.
*CHARACTERS/ACTING*
There are so many cameos in this film they almost take attention from the leads, however, despite the tacky plot and general badness of this film, the actors to adapt rather well and actualy dont give bad performances. Coogan is perhaps the best comic enlightenment n this film for he stays the same way and allways delivers what you would expect from him, after seeing him in the Parole Officer however, he doesn't seem to give a much different performance, but certainly does get the job done. Poor old Jackie Chan, who has with out a doubt had a legendary career and is one of the biggest martial art film stars sonce Bruce Lee himself shows that he wont be making films much longer. Renound for doing his own stunts Chan has let himself down as of late with films such as the tuxedo which allow computers to do the work. However, there is a hint of that old Chan in this film with some stylish moves and clever fight sequences, however, his English seems to be getting worse and he creates no depth to his allready emotionally stunted character. Cécile De France gives a rather refreshing performance as the female lead for she is not irratating and generally keeps grace in her acting. She does well with Coogan and all in all is one of the far better parts of this film.
*CAMEOS*
I've never done a section for these before but next to Austin powers 3 this probably has more than most films o have seen. Luke and Owen Wilson team up as the Wright Brothers John Cleese emerges for a two line joke, Macy Gray appears but I'm afraid I blinked at that point and an actually small role is played by Arnold Shwarzenegger who initially tries to give aciltured refined accent but when made angry he becomes that same furious Austrian we love him for.
*SOUND TRACK*
Its nicked! Much to my disbelief the sound track was none other than a remix from that of the Mummy returns. Whether or not this is a new trend I'm not sure but a new war epic coming out is doing the same thing by stealing the Gladiatior sound track. It really is frustrating to hear and can take attention away from the film.
*SPECIAL EFFECTS*
Thanks to Chan this film doesnt really have too much need for special effects. The stunt sequences are co ordinated by him and the fight seens also. However, the 'flying machine' really is a tad miserable to watch but this doesnt ruin the film too much. A good idea of the directors was to but the Cities in painting form before emerging back in to reality, this was a good way of avoiding more dogey CGI and the impressionistic strokes on the water of Paris really was a clever idea.
All in all this film is generally quite fun to watch, making the some what grave mistake of watching the good films first i was lumbered with this on my birthday but in all fairness was generally surprised. Its not up to disney's usual high standards however, not much is these days, if I were you though, I'd save my money for I-Robot for that looks like it will be truly a good film.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
ot the best film i've seen, but a fan of Chan's so i took my oldest with me to watch it. he enkoyed it a lot. Good op.
rlb3 17.08.2004 15:36
I am a regular at the cinema and my local blockbuster store, but I have been avoiding this one until it come out on telly. Thanks for the extra info as I can see that is well worth saving my money now, Ruth :o)
bistro 16.08.2004 14:29
Do they think the audience is stupid, or something? Why copy a soundtrack? All in all, I don't think I'll be bothering to see this one. Thanks for the info. Mandy.x
The 2004 version ofAround the World in 80 Daysis an entertaining hodge-podge of adventure, ... more
comedy, and scenery from across the globe. Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan,24 Hour Party People), an obsessively precise inventor, bets that he can circumnavigate the...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
An eccentric London inventor, Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan), has come up with the secrets to ... more
flight, electricity, and even in-line skates, but the establishment has dismissed him as a crackpot.Desperate to be taken seriously, Fogg makes an outlandish bet...
The 2004 version ofAround the World in 80 Daysis an entertaining hodge-podge of adventure, ... more
comedy, and scenery from across the globe. Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan,24 Hour Party People), an obsessively precise inventor, bets that he can circumnavigate the...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Multi-skilled Chinese thief Lau Xing (Jackie Chan) has stolen a valuable jade Buddha. In ... more
order to evade detection from the authorities he adopts the name Passepartout and enters the service of Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) an English gentleman obsessed ...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Around the World in 80 Days [DVD] [2004]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78490994.jpg "Around the World in 80 Days [DVD] [2004]")
![Around The World In 80 Days [2004]-DVD](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/97774484.jpg "Around The World In 80 Days [2004]-DVD")
Jul 24th, 2004
very helpful by (86%):
helpful by (14%):
