Skiptrace review by Rashid Irani: My advice? Skip it

Even at 62, Jackie Chan performs most of his own stunts. Unfortunately, his latest action-comedy is pretty tired stuff.

SKIPTRACE

The only relief in the overblown escapade are the sporadic action scenes and picturesque locales.

Direction: Renny Harlin

Actors: Jackie Chan, Johnny Knoxville

Rating: 1 / 5

Although he’s a bit slower and noticeably less agile, the 62-year-old martial-arts superstar Jackie Chan still performs most of his own stunts and goofy acrobatics. Unfortunately, his latest buddy action-comedy is pretty tired stuff.

Listlessly directed by Renny Harlin, who once presided over such prestige pictures as Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, Skiptrace casts Chan as an ineffectual Hong Kong cop.

The ill-constructed script teams Chan with an Occidental sidekick, played by Knoxville. The antics that ensue are as clichéd as the plot.

The ill-constructed script, clearly aiming to cash in on late-career hits of Chan’s like Rush Hour and Shanghai Knights, teams him with another Occidental sidekick (Knoxville).

The mismatched duo is on the trail of a nefarious — and truly clichéd — crime lord who is also responsible for the death of Chan’s former partner.

The overblown escapade gets a boost from some picturesque locales in Macau, Mongolia and the Gobi desert. Some of the fight scenes are well-choreographed, particularly Chan’s face-off with a Russian henchwoman, where his only weapon is… a doll.

There’s surprisingly little chemistry between the lead pair.

But the mandatory end credits outtakes and bloopers are devoid of humour, character development is practically ignored, and there’s surprisingly little chemistry between even the lead pair.

If you decide to venture into Skiptrace, just don’t expect to find much entertainment.

Watch the trailer for Skiptrace