credit: Rush Hour
Sometimes it’s hard to figure out why an actor is so gung-ho for one sequel and not another, but the point is that everyone has their preferences, and it would appear that Jackie Chan has more faith in pushing the Rush Hour franchise than the Shanghai Noon series. It has to be said that Rush Hour and Shanghai Noon have been great in their own time, especially since whoever had the idea of pairing Chan with Chris Tucker and Owen Wilson hit comedy gold while also cashing in on the action that Chan could bring to the big screen. Between Chan and his costars, both film series has been successful enough to gain a healthy following that has remained loyal up to a point.
Unfortunately, Rush Hour did hit a point where it was less funny and was far reliant on the action portion of the movie, which didn’t work since the movies were based heavily upon the combination of the two elements. The sequel to Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, wasn’t much better since, despite having a great cast, the movie was less effective than its predecessor for various reasons. It feels safe to state that reviving either idea would be kind of tough since it’s been a while since either idea has been seen on the big screen.
credit: Shanghai Noon
There’s no telling if Owen Wilson would want to come back.
It sounds as though Chris Tucker might be on board for the Rush Hour sequel, but there’s no telling if Wilson would want to come back and take on the role of Roy O’Bannon. Wilson was great since he brought a lot of the comedic expertise that was needed, but the second movie came off feeling like it didn’t have the same punch that the first movie had. Some have said that there’s more room to move in the Shanghai movies since the Rush Hour movies are set at a very fixed point in time and need to progress at a steady but set pace. But the truth is that both movies have kind out outlived their time unless the director and writers are able to come up with a way to make something fresh and exciting for two aging actors that can serve as a legacy to the original.
Both sequels might need to be scrapped.
This doesn’t sound like it’s even a mild consideration since Jackie Chan apparently wants to make these movies and get them done as soon as possible. But there is a lot of evidence out there that leans toward the belief that these sequels should probably be left alone. It might even be better if they were left alone for a while so that the scripts could be developed and possibly turned into remakes. It’s very easy to say that no one could possibly do the same job that Chan, Tucker, and Wilson have done, but it might be possible to remake these movies and turn them into something that would entertain a modern audience while hopefully not catering just to one type of audience or another.
credit: Rush Hour
Both sequels have hit a ceiling.
Most fans don’t want to hear, this, but there are at least some who will make it clear that they believe that neither film series is ready to move ahead since the truth is that both of them kind of hit the ceiling when trying to move upward and onward. The reason that it’s possible to say that these movies have hit a ceiling is that the third Rush Hour was lacking the humor, if not the action, while Shanghai Knights felt as though it had become an easy story to predict and not fully enjoy.
It’s been so long since either of them was seen as well that trying to make this work feel like it would be an uphill battle that might not turn out to be the revival that many people are hoping to see. All three men are still highly popular, and they’re still skilled at what made them famous, but the fan reaction might not be the same since, even with Jackie Chan, it’s easy to think that the movies might have nowhere else they can go.
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