Skiptrace has
been tagged by critics as ignorable, and you can’t blame them because the movie
plot is full of holes, and everything it’s based on isn’t worth making a movie
about at all. The secret ingredient that made me like this movie is the comedy.
After dealing with the boring introduction of all the characters involved, I
found myself laughing all the way through. Jackie Chan was in top form with his
comedy, and so was Johnny Knoxville.
That said, the
movie lacked enough of the Jackie Chan magic stunts you’d expect, and by the
end of the movie, we see how much of his life has been placed on the line for
our entertainment.
I guess his age may be a factor in the reduction of stunts and daring scenes.
His career of wowing us on screen has spanned over 40 years. The last movie I
saw him in before this one was CZ12 (2012), where he pulled off
enough stunts to earn a Guinness World Record for most stunts by a living
actor.
The pairing of
Jackie Chan and Knoxville gives you mixed feelings. There were times they
didn’t fit as a comic duo, and then there were times when both had you
engrossed in their antics.
I haven’t seen much of Knoxville’s movies, except Jackass Presents: Bad
Grandpa (2013), so seeing him here piqued my interest in how he’d handle
himself alongside the veteran actor. Knoxville held his own, but many times you
can feel the gap in professionalism between him and Jackie Chan.
The movie starts
with an introduction to Chan’s partner, who has a bomb strapped to him and
jumps into a river to blow up and die, leaving Jackie to raise his daughter.
On the other side of the world, Knoxville’s character, Connor Watts, is getting
himself into all sorts of trouble—from escaping a Russian mob boss to fleeing a
murder scene he witnessed.
Chan’s
goddaughter, Samantha, is working in the casino where Watts saw the murder.
She’s undercover, trying to get dirt on the man she and Chan believe is
responsible for her father’s death. Samantha and Watts’ paths cross, and after
the murder incident, she contacts Chan to help track down Watts.
The fun in the movie is their journey back and the many ways Watts gets on
Chan’s nerves.
I enjoyed this
movie, and I believe you will too—if you suspend your reasoning and focus on
laughing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment