Skiptrace (2016)

Jackie Chan's collaborations may seem to be getting old, and Jackie is getting old (as behind the scenes footage keeps revealing), yet the mesh of American and Hong Kong actors in this one were a pretty interesting combo. Old friends (like Richard Ng and Eric Tsang) and new talents (like Sara Forsberg!!) come together, and then there's Johnny Knoxville! With just that one part of the cast you'd better be expecting crazy. The stunts aren't spectacular, but they are in good old Jackie Chan style, and Knoxville contributes quite a few self-sacrificing dives.

It's good; mostly harmless entertainment, and they make a good duo - maybe because they both have a long history of doing their own stunts and letting the audience laugh at their expense. Though this wasn't anything extraordinary, I do hope to see more of both of them in more movies, together.

The story's basic: A detective from Hong Kong teams up with an American gambler to battle against a notorious Chinese criminal. The detective is Jackie, the gambler is Johnny, and the villain is an old friend.

Most of the movie takes place in rural China, though it starts and ends in the big city, and the atmosphere moves between suburban a la Rush Hour and rural like Shanghai Knight - and the sceneries are beautiful!

It's far from the movie of the year, but it was good fun, and I'm happy to see and say that Jackie's still got it (and Knoxville too). Though it felt a bit basic, there's really nothing that bothers me about it either. It follows a proven recipe for good action comedy, so even if you've had the same thing before - it tastes great, and the sprinkle of aesthetic filming's an appreciated twist of flavor.

 rated 3/5: not bad