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Did
anyone disappear
from the radar like
Jackie Chan did five
years ago?
Shanghai Noon
came out and it was
huge. He was great
in the modern-era
western and he
started a streak of
a few successful
movies after that.
He was everywhere,
he even got his own
cartoon. But then
Shanghai Knights
came out, wasn’t
that great, and he
almost disappeared.
Everything he’s made
since has been a
‘Jackie Chan still
makes movies? What
happened to him?’
type moment.
Yes,
Jackie Chan is still
making movies and
he’s even making a
little bit of a
comeback with
The
Spy Next Door
and then his next
notable flick
The
Karate Kid.
Jackie Chan’s future
success hinges on
how well
The
Karate Kid
does, but
The Spy Next Door
is a good family
movie from Lionsgate
and for all
intensive purposes
is a movie that’s
meant to be a Jackie
Chan powered
machine.
The plot is pretty
simple in this one.
Chan plays Bob Ho.
He lives next door
to his girlfriend
and her three kids.
Even though he gets
along with his
girlfriend Gillian
(Amber Valletta)
very well, the kids
don’t care for Bob
at all. When the
opportunity comes
along for him to
watch the kids by
himself and bond
with them while
Gillian is out of
town, Bob jumps all
over it. The only
problem is Bob’s day
job… err… night job.
He’s a spy and he’s
constantly battling
a super villain
named Poldark. When
the super villain
comes up with a plot
to do what super
villains do best,
it’s up to Bob to
stop him. Now Bob
has two jobs, taking
care of the three
kids and saving the
world, and they’re
both equally hard.
So
maybe this isn’t the
most original movie
ever made. It’s
somewhat similar to
Disney’s
The
Pacifier.
There’s lots of
kid-based humor
involved with a man
who doesn’t really
know what to do with
the situation he’s
in. For family movie
purposes these
flicks aren’t
amazing, but they’re
fun to watch. That’s
the most notable
thing about this
movie. The other
notable is that it’s
a Jackie Chan movie.
You’re getting a lot
of stunts and action
scenes and that’s
what dominates the
screen. It’s only
slightly about the
story; it’s mostly
about Jackie Chan
kicking butt. It
gets points for a
good story and great
work by its star. It
loses points for
having Billy Ray
Cyrus and George
Lopez playing
higher-ups at the
spy agency. It makes
sense to have them
casted in their
roles…. They just
aren’t that great in
them.
The DVD release of
this movie features
a couple of bonus
features, mainly
some bloopers and a
making of featurette.
Nothing remarkable
but serviceable.
The
Spy Next Door
is a fun family film
that you’re family
will love to watch.
It’s not an amazing
story but it has a
decent plot and
Jackie Chan is
always excellent in
action movies.
The
Spy Next Door
might not be as
critical to Chan’s
career as his next
movie but it’s an
important step in
his comeback.
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