Running time: 90 minutes
Starring: Jackie Chan, Steve Coogan, Cécile de France, Jim Broadbent, Ewen Bremner, Kathy Bates, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Rating 6 out of 10
Any film that has Arnold Schwarzenegger camping it up as a Turkish prince and Kathy Bates as Queen Victoria clearly has a strong sense of fun. The playfulness that runs through this updated Around The World In 80 Days is evident from not only the casting, which also includes cameos from John Cleese, Macy Gray and Richard Branson as a hot air balloon operator. There are plenty of throwaway visual gags (highlighted by a scene in a Parisian art gallery during an impressionism exhibition), some suitably madcap contraptions and a series of magical animated transitions along the journey.
At the centre of it all is the jokey interplay between Steve Coogan as the eccentric inventor Phileas Fogg and the always exuberant Jackie Chan as his valet Passepartout. But for all its abundant charm and whimsy, this retelling of Jules Verne's classic story never raises the pulse or more than the occasional smile.
Produced independently by Walden Media, whose objective is to return family values to filmmaking, 80 Days is a wholesome slice of entertainment that harkens back to a more innocent era. There is, for instance, none of the crudity and cynical product placement that permeates such children's fare as Shrek 2. What there is is a sweetness and freshness that is likely to translate into boring as far as today's more demanding and sophisticated young audiences are concerned.
Steve Coogan does a fine job starring in his first big budget movie, bringing his natural wit and droll manner to the role inhabited by David Niven in the 1956 version. His undemonstrative style is in stark contrast to that of Chan who provides plenty of energy and outlets for it during the numerous acrobatic fight sequences.
While many aspects of the original story remain, there have inevitably been a few changes, most notably to accommodate the presence of Chan, whose Eastern origins are worked into the plot. After stealing a jade Buddha from the Bank Of England with the intention of returning it to its rightful home in China, Lau Xing (Chan) is chased by the police and leaps a wall, landing in the grounds of Fogg's London home just as the inventor is looking for a new valet/guinea pig to help him with his experiments. With Fogg's stipulation of only hiring French valets, Xing hastily rechristens himself Passepartout and takes the job.
Little does he know what the job entails. Fogg's long time feud with Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), the head of the Royal Academy of Science, results in an audacious bet that Fogg can circumnavigate the globe in a mere eighty days. And so their adventure begins, an adventure that takes them to such exotic locations as Paris - where they pick up the thrill seeking artist Monique La Roche (Cécile de France) - India, China and San Francisco.
Director Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) keeps things moving apace as befits such a journey. The lush scenery, vivid art direction and ornate costumes all add to the film's colourful look. And while the inclusion of Chan provides plenty of opportunity for his trademark action, it, along with the unnecessary and distracting subplot involving the jade Buddha, erodes the time devoted to the central journey. Come the end it feels less like an intrepid adventure and more like flicking through a travel brochure.
At the centre of it all is the jokey interplay between Steve Coogan as the eccentric inventor Phileas Fogg and the always exuberant Jackie Chan as his valet Passepartout. But for all its abundant charm and whimsy, this retelling of Jules Verne's classic story never raises the pulse or more than the occasional smile.
Produced independently by Walden Media, whose objective is to return family values to filmmaking, 80 Days is a wholesome slice of entertainment that harkens back to a more innocent era. There is, for instance, none of the crudity and cynical product placement that permeates such children's fare as Shrek 2. What there is is a sweetness and freshness that is likely to translate into boring as far as today's more demanding and sophisticated young audiences are concerned.
Steve Coogan does a fine job starring in his first big budget movie, bringing his natural wit and droll manner to the role inhabited by David Niven in the 1956 version. His undemonstrative style is in stark contrast to that of Chan who provides plenty of energy and outlets for it during the numerous acrobatic fight sequences.
While many aspects of the original story remain, there have inevitably been a few changes, most notably to accommodate the presence of Chan, whose Eastern origins are worked into the plot. After stealing a jade Buddha from the Bank Of England with the intention of returning it to its rightful home in China, Lau Xing (Chan) is chased by the police and leaps a wall, landing in the grounds of Fogg's London home just as the inventor is looking for a new valet/guinea pig to help him with his experiments. With Fogg's stipulation of only hiring French valets, Xing hastily rechristens himself Passepartout and takes the job.
Little does he know what the job entails. Fogg's long time feud with Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), the head of the Royal Academy of Science, results in an audacious bet that Fogg can circumnavigate the globe in a mere eighty days. And so their adventure begins, an adventure that takes them to such exotic locations as Paris - where they pick up the thrill seeking artist Monique La Roche (Cécile de France) - India, China and San Francisco.
Director Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) keeps things moving apace as befits such a journey. The lush scenery, vivid art direction and ornate costumes all add to the film's colourful look. And while the inclusion of Chan provides plenty of opportunity for his trademark action, it, along with the unnecessary and distracting subplot involving the jade Buddha, erodes the time devoted to the central journey. Come the end it feels less like an intrepid adventure and more like flicking through a travel brochure.
