Around the World in 80 Days
In the tradition of those silly, madcap films of old, including its 1956 predecessor, Around the World in 80 Days is like eating a candy bar--loaded with empty calories but also light and fluffy with a sweet Jackie Chan in the center.
Story
Based loosely on the 19th century Jules Verne novel, 80 Days revolves around two unlikely heroes--the eccentric and reclusive inventor, Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) and his (French?) valet Passepartout (Jackie Chan). While Fogg's ''wacky'' inventions actually make a lot of sense to us modern-day folk, including his insights on flight, electricity (which he has rigged so that light illuminates with a whistle) and even Rollerblades, to his turn-of-the-century contemporaries, the scientist is a giant crackpot. Desperate to be taken seriously, Fogg makes an outlandish bet with Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), the head of the London's Royal Academy of Science, that he can circumnavigate the globe in no more than 80 days. Impossible, you say? Not to Fogg, whose obsession with facts and schedules makes him the perfect candidate for such an adventure. With the ever-faithful Passepartout by his side--who has his own secret reasons for joining in on the fun--Fogg heads out on his frantic, heart-pounding journey, picking up a third traveler, a beautiful French artist named Monique (Cécile de France), in the process. But of course, the trip doesn't go exactly as scheduled, and Fogg, as well as Passepartout, learn more than a few valuable life lessons along the way. How sweet. Got a toothache yet?
Acting
Jackie Chan knows precisely what works for him. Differing slightly from the 1956 adaptation, this 80 Days is all about Passepartout, as the story tapers itself to fit Chan's specialties. This means you get to marvel once again at his masterful martial arts skills as well as chuckle at his innate sense of physical comedy. As another perfect straight man to Chan's Chinese sensibilities and kung-fu shenanigans, Coogan (24 Hour Party People) also does a nice turn as the befuddled and veddy British Fogg, while the lovely de France as Monique breathes some fresh air into her ingénue role (and is much more substantial to the plot than the original's Shirley MacLaine, who played an Indian princess). Broadbent is adequately sleazy as the pompous Lord Kelvin, full of as much hot air as the balloon Fogg and company take a ride in. But 80 Days's extensive list of cameos is the most fun--from Owen and Luke Wilson as the bickering Wright brothers to Rob Schneider as a malodorous San Franciscan hobo to Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Arabian prince (please tell me he made this before he became California's governor). Plus any movie in which Kathy Bates plays Queen Victoria, British accent and all, has got to be worth seeing .
Direction
Minus all the silly songs, 80 Days is splashy family fare reminiscent of such films as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factoryand the original 1967 Doctor Dolittle (you know, the one with a giant pink sea snail). Supported by glorious sets and costumes, director Frank Coraci (The Wedding Singer) clearly loves the fanciful adventure of it all, creating colorful transitions from one place to the next, as Fogg, Passepartout and Monique traverse across the globe. But there's always an inherent problem with films of this nature--they tend to be long-winded. The 1956 version of 80 Days, which, even with a stellar cast, including David Niven and Cantinflas, drags quite a bit. But with a feisty martial arts expert in the mix, this updated 80 Days maintains its momentum for the most part, only losing steam towards the end, especially after the whole Passepartout subplot, in which he has to return a priceless Buddha to his Chinese village, is resolved. Suddenly, the film becomes just about the race back to London and less about fighting off evil Chinese assassins. Honestly, we don't care much about how an uptight British inventor can build a plane out of a boat that will get him back to his final destination in time, so he can give a monologue about how his adventure afforded him to make new friends and fall in love. If it's a Jackie Chan movie, it's the awesome fight sequences we want to see.
Bottom Line
Around the World in 80 Days suffices as a distracting piece of summer fluff, sure to delight most of the family as well as fans of Jackie Chan.