The odd buddy cop movie, and partial road trip comedy, is something one would expect from a decade ago, along with "Rundown" or Jackie's own "Rush Hour". It has the apparent goal to deliver action comedy while presenting beautiful location as the backdrop. Unfortunately, the shady plot and awkwardly crafted fight scene along with odd pacing hamper the movie every step of the way.
Bennie (Jackie Chan) is a cop with obsession to capture a drug dealer who kills his partner, but in order to do so he must chase a conman Connor (Johnny Knoxville). This might sound like a cliché cop story, because it is. Furthermore, it's riddled with consistency and logical issues, but nevertheless the movie pushes along since it needs to showcase more tourist locations.
The strongest assets may be the cinematography, it's shot in various stunning places, which is already a boon for any movie. Activity such as the lantern or mud festival is bound to attract viewer, as much as it does to tourist. The problem is stringing these scenes in orderly fashion. It often stumbles due to editing or simply a missed piece in the plot.
Same thing happens with comedy aspect as well. The movie may offer a few chuckles here and there, but too much is spent of the buddy cop relationship that is not particularly appealing. It can be attributed to the clash of multiple languages and the untimely delivery, even looking like the audio is a mismatch.
As for the trademark Jackie's stunts, "Skiptrace" does have them. This once popular gig is now more of niche since most action movies have incorporated wilder style. The addition of poor green screen for obvious large scale scene feels too outdated at this point. Characters involved are rigidly played, ranging from drug lord to Russian mafia, most of them are highly underutilized or simply too stereotypical to be effective.
"Skiptrace" feels more like a promotional tour with mediocre cop story and odd buddy gimmick thrown in as excuse for the travel.
Bennie (Jackie Chan) is a cop with obsession to capture a drug dealer who kills his partner, but in order to do so he must chase a conman Connor (Johnny Knoxville). This might sound like a cliché cop story, because it is. Furthermore, it's riddled with consistency and logical issues, but nevertheless the movie pushes along since it needs to showcase more tourist locations.
The strongest assets may be the cinematography, it's shot in various stunning places, which is already a boon for any movie. Activity such as the lantern or mud festival is bound to attract viewer, as much as it does to tourist. The problem is stringing these scenes in orderly fashion. It often stumbles due to editing or simply a missed piece in the plot.
Same thing happens with comedy aspect as well. The movie may offer a few chuckles here and there, but too much is spent of the buddy cop relationship that is not particularly appealing. It can be attributed to the clash of multiple languages and the untimely delivery, even looking like the audio is a mismatch.
As for the trademark Jackie's stunts, "Skiptrace" does have them. This once popular gig is now more of niche since most action movies have incorporated wilder style. The addition of poor green screen for obvious large scale scene feels too outdated at this point. Characters involved are rigidly played, ranging from drug lord to Russian mafia, most of them are highly underutilized or simply too stereotypical to be effective.
"Skiptrace" feels more like a promotional tour with mediocre cop story and odd buddy gimmick thrown in as excuse for the travel.