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The Medallion

The Medallion on DVD

The Medallion is quite a bit like The Tuxedo.

Except that The Tuxedo was good.

The Medallion is pretty well the same story, and not surprising it also has the same action. Even the female co-star (Claire Forlani) is quite similar to The Tuxedo's (Jennifer Love Hewitt).

Add to all the other "sames" a secret device that grants extraordinary powers.

So is this "The Tuxedo 2?"

Nope, but like most sequels it's inferior to the "original."

In the Medallion, an ancient medal can grant powers to whomever happens to be lucky enough to be in possession of both halves. Alas, this isn't as easily done as it is written, for only about every millennium is one born who can bring together both of the halves.

Such a boy is quite a prize, naturally, and true to such movie formulae a baddie wants to snatch the kid in order to gain the power for his own nefarious ends.

Pretty standard stuff, not that that's necessarily a bad thing.

Fortunately, the side of goodness can rely on Eddie Yang (Jackie Chan), a Hong Kong cop who's in pursuit of the Snakehead organization. Unfortunately, he dies on the job but, fortunately, is resuscitated thanks to the power of the Medallion (kind of the way an Oscar can pump up an actor's career). And thanks to his miracle "cure," Yang can now do things he couldn’t before, such as live through bullet wounds that would have killed a lesser (and living) man, as well as being able to jump really, really high - even higher than Jackie Chan!

But what's a super hero without a super villain? So the bad guy snags the power, too, giving us the ultimate battle between titans for sole possession of the Medallion.

Nothing new here and even though the concept may sound hackneyed there's no reason why it couldn't have worked. Look at Jet Li's "The One," for another example.

Maybe part of the reason it doesn't work is that they've packed too much into a mere hour and a half (including credits). This means that the film zips along (or is it "careens?") so quickly it almost seems as if once they had the concept down pat they had no idea how to pull it off. The fact that there are five screenwriters credited also indicates that the final result is a mishmash.

Still, it's always fun to watch Jackie Chan in action, and he doesn't disappoint. Claire Forlani also does a good job, and while some of the slam bam action is actually pretty good you're still left wanting.

Okay, we don't necessarily expect high art with a Jackie Chan flick, but we've learned to expect more fun and more enjoyment than we get here.

Oh well, anyone can have an off day.

The DVD presentation is pretty good, which we're always pleased to see. And we're happy that it features both anamorphic widescreen (16x9 TV compatible) and Pan&Scan (not 16x9 TV compatible) versions, which is the way it should be done if a studio insists on inflicting Pan&Scan versions on an unsuspecting audience.

The picture quality features good color, with not much grain, though we would have liked better overall detail.

The audio quality is very good; all of the home theater speakers will get a good workout - and that's what we love to hear! Dialogue stretches across the fronts, while the rears are given sound effects and even some music to handle.

Extras include a running commentary by producer Alfred Cheung and editor Don Brochu, 15 deleted scenes that could have helped make a better movie if they'd left them in. You also get trailers for The Medallion and several other Columbia Tristar movies.

The Medallion, from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
88 minutes, anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9 enhanced, Dolby Digital 5.1
Starring Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, Claire Forlani, Julian Sands and John Rhys-Davies
Produced by Alfred Cheung
Written by Bennett Joshua Davlin, Alfred Cheung, Gordon Chan, Paul Wheeler and Bey Logan, d Directed by Gordon Chan

 

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