2006
With Jackie Chan not as young as he used to be, his vehicles are relying less on action and more on comedy, yet still try to find a healthy balance between the two. "Robin-B-Hood" — or "Bo bui gai wak" to those of you in Hong Kong — mostly fits the bill.
Directed by Jackie's frequent collaborator Benny Chan ("New Police Story," "Who Am I?"), the romp casts Jackie in typical good-guy mode as a cat burglar named Thongs. He and his partner, Octopus (Louis Koo, "The Legend of Zu"), are tricked into kidnapping a newborn baby, resulting in the expected jokes and situations involving poopy diapers and breast milk.
In America, such humor leans toward the lowest common denominator, but the Asians have a way of making it somewhat charming, as if they're oblivious the material has been mined and re-mined ad nauseam. Still, seeing a pained Chan try to hide a baby under its shirt as the tot tries to nurse him is funny.
What they have us beat on, of course, is inventive action — sequences at which Chan and company excel. Here, you'll find a cool chase scene in a room where the floor is a trampoline. Even if it relies on wire work, the too-short sequence is a blast, as is a climactic pursuit at an empty amusement park, where Chan and the baby barely escape peril running on a roller coaster track.
The double-disc set includes several documentaries, interviews and a commentary track, but the best bonus feature of all is built within the film: the end-credit bloopers, of course. —Rod Lott
