SHANGHAI NOON
Year: 2000
USA & UK: Buena Vista International
Cast: Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Rafael Baez, Curtis Armstrong, Xander Berkeley, Eric Chen, Jason Connery, Adrien Dorval, Walt Goggins, Lucy Alexis Liu, Tong Lung, Jody Thompson, Roger Yuan, Biao Yuen, Brandon Merrill
Director: Tom Dey
Country: USA
USA: 105 mins
UK: 110 mins
USA: Rated PG-13 for action violence, some drug humor, language and sensuality
UK Certificate: 12 for frequent martial arts action and mild horror
USA Release Date: 26 May 2000
UK Release Date: 25 August 2000
Synopsis
When the lovely Princess Pei Pei (Lucy Liu) is kidnapped from China, the Emperor dispatches three of his most fierce and noble Imperial Guards to deliver the ransom in gold to her kidnappers in America's Wild West. Chon Wang (Jackie Chan) isn't among the chosen. However, he manages to tag along anyway by offering to carry the luggage for his uncle, the Interpreter.
Travelling through the Nevada desert by train, the Imperial entourage is hijacked by a motley crew of would-be train robbers calling themselves the Roy O'Bannon gang. Some quick martial arts moves by Chon mean the thieves lose the loot, but Chon ends up alone in the desert.
Roy (Owen Wilson) is abandoned by his fellow robbers who bury him in the desert with only his head poking out waiting for the vultures to finish him off. Chon trekking on his own to rescue the princess, comes across Roy and provides him with some chopsticks to free himself. He also aids some Native American Indians before ending up in a saloon where he bumps in to Roy which leads to the two ending up in jail. When Roy learns of Chon's mission which involves a princess and money (the ransom), Roy becomes his new best friend. Chon engineers a brilliant jailbreak and the unlikely partners head to Carson City, where they face brawls, bordellos, treachery, and plenty of what Roy calls "crazy, girlie, kick-fightin'" as East meets West in a battle for honor, royalty, and a fortune in gold.