'SkipTrace' : Movie Review

Renny Harlin was once considered an ace action director but those heydays ('DieHard 2', 'Cliffhanger') are long since past or so it seems. This good-cop, bad-sidekick buddy movie that hopes to gain it's acceptance from the potential sparks that could fly between the Asian-American buddy team is yet another misfire from the Jackie Chan factory that was aiming for universal appeal but ends up losing out entirely. The action is knee-jerk stuff, the narration is incredibly boring and the drama is so tepid and lukewarm that it becomes hopelessly tedious and insufferable for all through it's never-ending (that's what it seems like) runtime.

Though Jackie Chan appears supremely fit even at 60 plus, his speed and power are questionable. A sense of fatigue has overtaken the hallmark eager-beaver energy. Especially when pitted against much more younger, agile and powerfully outfitted adversaries. Filmed largely in China, 'Skiptrace' is fashioned on the lines of Jackie Chan's breakout movies where he is paired with a wisecracking American( in this case Johnny Knoxville) who may not always help him out of a tight situation.

Hong Kong detective Bennie Chan (Jackie Chan) is unable to get over the death of his partner Yung (Eric Tsang) and takes his role as godfather to the latter's daughter, Samantha (Bingbing Fab) quite seriously. So when fast-talking American gambler Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville) gets her in trouble, Bennie sets out to find him and bring him back to Hong Kong for his comeuppance. So they traipse all across China, partaking in cultural fests and traditional events before doing a stint in the Gobi desert and finally returning back to the scene of the original crime. To add to the intrigue there's this crime boss called 'The Matador' who Bennie has been trying hard throughout his career, to out. But all Bennie's efforts to-date have been quite without solid incorruptible evidence. So he may not be onto the right guy for all you know.