Wilson and Chan bide time in latest buddy pic

For all the bizarre charm of Owen Wilson, even he cannot transcend the flavorless environment of "Shanghai Knights." All of the elements from the first film ("Shanghai Noon") remain: the throwaway references to pop-culture (this is one of the most gloriously anachronistic films ever), the ingenuity involved in setting up rather boring fight scenes and the one-man band of Owen Wilson, who appears to believe that if he beats his drum loud enough, eventually all will begin to dance with him. \nThe exposition is mercifully short and oddly beautiful, as is most of the cinematography. The audience gets a red-lit opening sequence that introduces the primary new characters, that of the snively Rathbone (Aidan Gillin) and Lin Wang (Fann Wong), sister of Chon Wang (Jackie Chan). The plot is irrelevant. It is more than enough to say that Chan and Wilson are back together in London, tracking down the murderer of Chan's father. The plot exists to make way for big tap dance numbers of inconsistent quality, a charming, "Keystone Kops"-esque slapstick routine in a revolving door and a long battle scene set in a wax museum that is probably as inventive as a wax museum battle can get. \nThere are scattered jokes, mostly improvised by Wilson who never loses that smile of a 3rd grader who doesn't really get the joke. When the movie stops cold to ponder deeper issues like true love and friendship, one of the two stars will roll his eyes with us to show their irritation at the interruption. The acting is of no real consequence, save Wilson. Chan is still at his most interesting when everything is choreographed: feet, hands and facial expressions. Gillan spends so much of his time trying to look like Alec Baldwin in "The Shadow" that he treats his dialogue like a distraction, which for the most part, it is. The big jokes are too obvious to do anything but insult our intelligence. An Arthur Conan Doyle joke is played so many times that it becomes painfully obvious that the writers fretted over whether the audience would get the reference. The smaller in-jokes are all played either too subtly or past the hilt. This movie feels like the entire concept for the film, and perhaps even the filming itself, took place in about a weekend.