The Medallion

Infobox Film
name = The Medallion


caption = USA DVD cover
director = Gordon Chan
producer = Alfred Cheung
writer = Alfred Cheung
Bennett Davlin
Gordon Chan
Paul Wheeler
Bey Logan
starring = Jackie Chan
Lee Evans
Claire Forlani
Julian Sands
music = Adrian Lee
Steve Porcaro
cinematography = Arthur Wong
editing = Don Brochu
Chan Ki-hop
distributor = Screen Gems
Sony Pictures Entertainment
released = flagicon|Hong Kong August 15, 2003
flagicon|United States August 22, 2003
runtime = 88 min.
country = Hong Kong/USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:283720
imdb_id = 0288045

"The Medallion" is a 2003 action/comedy film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Gordon Chan, and starring Jackie Chan, Lee Evans and Claire Forlani. It was released in 2003 and was much less successful than Chan's other North American vehicles such as the "Rush Hour" film series, "Shanghai Noon" and its sequel, "Shanghai Knights".

Plot

Eddie Yang is a Hong Kong police officer cooperating with Interpol in the capture of a crimelord named AJ "Snakehead" Staul. The operation is headed by the officiously paranoid Agent Arthur Watson and also involves a former girlfriend of Eddie's, a British agent named Nicole. The investigation leads the team to the kidnapping of a young boy named Jai, who holds the secret to a powerful medallion that gives its possessor superhuman powers and immortality. After a near-death rescue of Jai from drowning, Eddie is given supernatural martial arts powers, which assists him in tracking down Snakehead and putting an end to the arch-criminal's scheme.

Cast

* Jackie Chan as Eddie Yang
* Lee Evans as Arthur Watson
* Claire Forlani as Nicole James
* Julian Sands as Snakehead
* John Rhys-Davies as Cmdr. Hammerstock-Smythe
* Anthony Wong Chau Sang as Lester
* Christy Chung as Charlotte Watson
* Johann Myers as Giscard
* Alex Bao as Jai
* Siu-Ming Lau as Antique dealer (as Lau Siu Ming)
* Diana Weng as Undercover Woman
* Chow Pok Fu as High Priest
* Chan Tat Kwong as Monk
* Mak Wai Cheung as Monk
* Anthony Carpio as Guard Monk

Reception

In its US release, "The Medallion" was No. 5 at the box office on its opening weekend and fell steadily lower during its 10-week release. Overall, it has earned $22.2 million, ranking 42nd among all martial arts films released in the US and eighth among the Jackie Chan films distributed in the US. [ [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=medallion.htm The Medallion] at Box Office Mojo (retrieved on December 3, 2006).] The film fared poorly with critics and has a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/medallion/ The Medallion] at Rotten Tomatoes (retrieved on December 3, 2006).] Critics and fans of Jackie Chan were disappointed by the use of low-quality CGI special effects in place of the daring stunts usually present in Chan's previous films and were turned off by the desire to achieve Hollywood-level results with a lower budget.

Trivia

* The film's working title was "Highbinders", the name of an ancient race of mystical, supernatural warriors. [ [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/medallion/about.php Info and tidbits about "The Medallion"] at Rotten Tomatoes.]
* Martial arts choreography was by Sammo Hung.
* All Cantonese lines were dubbed into English. The editors felt that the movie would be easier to follow if it was all in one language.Fact|date=April 2008
* Several other lines spoken in English were also dubbed over, due to the extensive cuts in the film.
* The original director of the film was Reginald Hudlin, but he bowed out due to creative reasons. [ [http://www.monkeypeaches.com/Highbinders.html#news production news and photos] at Monkey Peaches.]
*Julian Sands (Snakehead) also portrays the villain, Valmont, in the animated television series "Jackie Chan Adventures".

Original Plot and Conception

As noted in the trivia section, the working title of the film was "Highbinders." In the original plot of the film, those who were given power by the medallion became a Highbinder. Snakehead's original goal in the film was to create an army of Highbinders to join in his crime organization.

According to the commentary by the editors of this film, "The Medallion" was not an American-made film, although Columbia Tristar bought the distribution and editing rights worldwide except in Japan, France, and Hong Kong (but these three countries retain the American cut of the film, the only cut ever made). The original cut was meant to be around 108 minutes, and the plot of the film explained Snakehead's crime organization of human smuggling, and the deaths that occurred from it, as well as his desire to create an army of Highbinders to aide his crime organization. All of this, however, was cut to center on the medallion.

Over 20 minutes of these deleted scenes can be viewed on the US Columbia Tristar DVD.

References

ee also

*Jackie Chan filmography

External links

*imdb title|id=0288045|title=The Medallion