Skiptrace (film)

Skiptrace is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese-American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Renny Harlin, produced, starring and based on a story by Jackie Chan.[3][7] The film co-stars Johnny Knoxville and Fan Bingbing.[3][8] It was released in China on July 21, 2016 and in the United States on September 2, 2016.[9][10]

Skiptrace
American film poster
Traditional絕地逃亡
Simplified绝地逃亡
MandarinJué Dì Táo Wáng
CantoneseZyut6 Dei6 Tou4 Mong4
Directed byRenny Harlin
Produced byJackie Chan
Charlie Coker
Damien Saccani
Screenplay byJay Longino
BenDavid Grabinski
Story byJay Longino
Starring
Music byChan Kwong-wing
CinematographyChan Kwok-Hung
Lam Ching-ying
Edited byDerek Hui
Judd H. Maslansky
David Moritz
Production
company
Dasym Entertainment
Talent International Film Cultural Company
Cider Mill Pictures
InterTitle Films
JC Group International
Talent International Media
Distributed byBeijing Talent International Film (China)[1]
Saban Films (U.S.)
Release date
  • July 21, 2016 (2016-07-21) (China)
  • September 2, 2016 (2016-09-02) (USA)
[2]
Running time
108 minutes
CountryChina
Hong Kong
United States[3]
LanguageEnglish
Mandarin
BudgetUS$30–60 million[4][5]
Box office$136,579,287[6]

Plot

Hong Kong detective Bennie Chan (Jackie Chan) has been tracking notorious crime boss "Matador" – whom he believes to be businessman Victor Wong (Winston Chao) – for over a decade after the death of Bennie's partner Yung (Eric Tsang). When Yung's daughter Samantha (Fan Bingbing) gets into trouble with Wong's crime syndicate, Bennie must track down an American conman, Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville), who gambles his way through Chinese casinos after being banned in America and he witnesses the murder of a woman named Esther Yee in Wong's Macau casino. However, before Bennie can find him, Connor is kidnapped by a Russian kingpin to answer for leaving his daughter pregnant.

After intercepting several Russians, Bennie rescues Connor. Bennie races against the clock to bring Connor back from Russia to Hong Kong. But after Connor steals Bennie's passport and burns it, the unlikely pair are forced to travel on foot to Inner Mongolia. In Mongolia, Chan helps an injured younger boy. They are then captured and beaten by Mongolian villagers until the boy tells his father what happened, who intervenes. The villagers and them then have a bonfire and a party, where Chan and Watts get drunk. Chan begins to sing "Rolling in the Deep" and the Mongolians join in. While on the journey, Connor reveals that he has a phone that Esther gave to him before she died at his side. Bennie learns that the person who is able to unlock this phone is none other than the "Matador." Days later, they try to cross to China, but are captured by police and are saved by a Siberian woman and her gang, who wish to capture them and return them to the Russian kingpin. They cross a river until they go to a village under a festival, with Willie pursuing them.

Connor sees Wong on the news and recognizes him as Esther's murderer. Bennie learns that Samantha is already taken by Wong's right-hand man, Willie, and his men, threatening to kill her if Bennie refuses to bring the phone back to Hong Kong. Connor parts ways with Bennie, giving him evidence that could lead to Wong's arrest. Reaching Hong Kong, unfortunately, the plan doesn't go well when the phone denies access to Wong's thumbprint, meaning that Wong is not Matador at all. Bennie is detained but he later escapes with Connor's help and follows a clue to the whereabouts of Samantha.

Bennie's co-worker Leslie informs him that their police captain, Tang (Michael Wong), is now working with Wong. Bennie and Connor sneak to the shipyard where Matador's criminal organization is located and Bennie witnesses Wong is being killed. The two are then held captive by the men. There, Bennie discovers that "Matador" has been the supposedly deceased Yung all along. After Yung confesses to Bennie about faking his death, he goes to find Samantha being locked up in a room. Upon seeing her dad, Samantha becomes frustrated when she learns that he faked his death in order to work as the criminal organization's boss. When a boat hits the cargo ship, the compartment starts to flood and Yung locks Samantha up just as the water enters the room. The fight ensues with the Chinese when the Russian gangsters show up — revealing that Connor is no longer their enemy. With the police surrounding them, Bennie and Yung work together to save Samantha from drowning inside a sinking ship, with Yung committing suicide by drowning himself to avoid being captured. The authorities then arrest Tang and Willie.

Connor goes back to Russia in order to see his baby of the kingpin's daughter. He finds out that he is actually not the father. Later, Connor and Samantha surprise Bennie back at his farm, providing him with alpacas to help fulfill his earlier-confessed lifelong dream of running an alpaca farm. He is then knocked out by Connor and left in the hands of Leslie before leaving with Samantha.

Cast

Production

The film was first announced in May 2013 as Sino-American co-production to be directed by Sam Fell and starring Jackie Chan and Fan Bingbing [13] with Chan playing a Hong Kong detective who allies with a gambling conman to find a criminal mastermind.[7] Exclusive Media is the agent for the international sales rights.[14] On 22 October 2013, it was announced that actor Seann William Scott has been added to the cast as the previously uncast gambler.[15] On September 3, 2014, Johnny Knoxville replaced Scott for the co-starring role.[8]

Production was due to begin on January 13, 2014 and will be filmed in Hong Kong and China.[16] Filming began on September 3, 2014, in China,[8] and was due to end on December 15, 2014.[17]

On December 17, 2014, cinematographer Chan Kwok-hung drowned while on a shoot for the film.[18]

Reception

The film was number-one on its opening in China, grossing US$60 million.[19] The film has grossed a total of CN¥870 million at the Chinese box office.[1]

Critical response

As of June 2020, the film holds an approval rating of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 32 with an average rating of 4.53/10.[20] On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 50% based on reviews from 9 critics.[21]

Dennis Harvey of Variety magazine wrote: "Skiptrace remains lively, diverting, and essentially good-natured even when it's cheerfully dumb, exploiting its diverse locations for every last drop of local color."[22] Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times gave a negative review and wrote: "Skiptrace settles for a warmed-over plot, tedious fight sequences and humor that's heavy on crotch jokes and pratfalls."[23]

References
  1. 绝地逃亡（2016）. cbooo.cn (in Chinese). Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  2. Alex, Billington (July 18, 2016). "Jackie Chan & Johnny Knoxville in Action Comedy 'Skiptrace' Trailer". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  3. Frater, Patrick (May 7, 2013). "Chan and Fan jump for Skiptrace". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on August 1, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  4. Feldman, Dana (September 1, 2016). "Renny Harlin Pulls Off Blockbuster Comeback In China With Jackie Chan Action-Comedy, 'Skiptrace'". Forbes. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  5. Busch, Anita (July 25, 2016). "'Star Trek Beyond' $30M Debut; 'Lights Out' $8.5M; Jackie Chan's 'Skiptrace' Nails $64M Bow – Int'l Box Office Final". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  6. "Skiptrace (2016)". The Numbers. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  7. McClintock, Pamela (May 6, 2013). "Cannes: Fan Bingbing Joins Jackie Chan Action Comedy 'Skiptrace'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  8. Fleming, Mike Jr (September 3, 2014). "Johnny Knoxville Joins Jackie Chan In China-Set 'Skiptrace'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  9. "成龙新作《绝地逃亡》定档 拳笑归来制霸暑期档". People's Daily (in Chinese). April 20, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  10. "【虎口婆心】贺岁片调档造么？组建家庭影院不惧空档". PJTime (in Chinese). December 15, 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-15.
  11. Lowe, Justin (September 1, 2016). "'Skiptrace': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  12. Pullinen, Jussi; Peurakoski, Tomi (October 17, 2014). "Youtube-tähti Sara Maria Forsberg näyttelee Renny Harlinin elokuvassa". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  13. McNary, Dave (May 6, 2013). "Exclusive Media Boards Jackie Chan-Bingbing Fan Comedy". Variety. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  14. Kay, Jeremy (May 6, 2013). "Exclusive takes Skiptrace to Cannes". Screen Daily. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  15. Lesnick, Silas (October 22, 2013). "Seann William Scott Joins Jackie Chan in Skiptrace". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  16. Franklin, Garth (October 22, 2013). "Seann W. Scott Joins Jackie Chan In "Skiptrace"". Dark Horizons. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  17. "On the Set for 12/15/14: JJ Abrams Wraps The Cellar, Tom Hiddleston Finishes I Saw the Light & More". SSN Insider. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  18. "Chan Kwok-Hung, cinematographer, drowns on set of Jackie Chan film". CBC News. December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  19. Frater, Patrick (July 24, 2016). "China Box Office: Jackie Chan's 'Skiptrace' Leaps to $60 Million Opening". Variety. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  20. "Skiptrace (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  21. "Skiptrace". Metacritic. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  22. Harvey, Dennis (July 28, 2016). "Film Review: 'Skiptrace'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-12-10.
  23. Genzlinger, Neil (September 1, 2016). "Review: Jokes, Not Punches, Land With a Thud in 'Skiptrace'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2016-09-02.
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