Nobody watches a Jackie Chan movie for highbrow plot and award-winning acting, right? Right. So I set myself with the correct frame of reference and settled in to watch some fun martial arts choreography.
Well it’s a good thing that I wasn’t intent on any engaging plot line. This movie didn’t know where to draw the line. The plot is based upon Chan’s character suffering from amnesia and eluding the multiple agencies who are chasing him. He has no idea who he is, leading to others thinking his name is Whoami (ha, ha, get it?). He moves toward self-discovery as he engages in madcap martial arts scenarios. Think Bourne Identity but brainless.
OK, I’m not going to spend the entire review lambasting the film. It earns a little forgiveness for being almost 10 years old (but only a little). Some of the stunts are simply amazing. The martial arts fights are inventive- who thought of how to work Dutch wooden shoes into hand-to-hand combat? It was both entertaining and amusing. I did laugh out loud at some of the crazily implausible and elaborate stunts. There were several scenes where Chan seemed to defy gravity and I actually rewound them to watch them again. However, in the end, I wished that the whole movie had been cut like the credits reel: no dialogue, just action. The bloopers on the credits reel were the most fun part of the movie. They also showed how difficult it can be to have the stunt work as planned (how many times did they toss that cement bag??).
I’m all for brainless entertainment and clever martial arts stunts, but this film is like porn: not worth suffering through the lame plot and horrible, awful acting.
Rate [2]