Needed '80 days' more planning

It's a good idea to change a movie around when doing a remake, but this particular case strays far away. Loosely based on Jules Verne's novel, the 2004 incarnation of "Around the World in 80 Days" won't be winning the Academy Award for Best Picture like its predecessor did. Director Frank Coraci's ("The Waterboy," "The Wedding Singer") adaptation is not necessarily a bad movie, but it has its fair share of weak points.\nSet in 1872, this is the story of Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan), an inventor looked down upon by the Royal Academy of Science. Passepartout (Jackie Chan) avenges his village by re-obtaining a stolen artifact. The two become a team when Passepartout flees from the authorities. In the process of escaping capture, Passepartout volunteers for Fogg's latest experiment. The experiment is a success, but not a success in being funny (for which it was intended). \nFogg tries to present his analysis to the Royal Academy in spite of Lord Kelvin (Jim Broadbent), the Academy's head, laughing him down. After Fogg and Kelvin criticize each other, a bet comes about. The bet is that Fogg can travel around the world in 80 days, the wager being Kelvin's resignation as the head of the Academy if Fogg wins and Fogg ceasing to invent if Kelvin wins. The duo's travels are marked by hardships, with assassins sent by Kelvin and Passepartout's rival village hot on their trail. \nIf you are one who likes cameo appearances, then you are in luck. This movie pulls out everyone from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Turkish prince to comic Rob Schneider as a homeless San Franciscan. Other big names you might recognize include Kathy Bates as the Queen of England, Luke and Owen Wilson as the Wright Brothers and John Cleese as an English police sergeant. Schwarzenegger's scenes were obviously shot before he took office, so this is the last glimpse of his acting we will see for a while ... thankfully. \nRunning only two hours compared to the original's three, the movie was written to center around Chan and his ability to produce good fight scenes. The now 50-year-old Chan remains able to perform and choreograph most stunts, as he does here. Nevertheless, he still isn't a strong actor and barely carries the role.\nYou really have to suspend your disbelief while watching the film. Skewed historical references and continuity errors lead viewers to question what the writers were thinking. I had to ask myself what the Wright Brothers were doing outside of San Francisco. Later, Fogg is able to engineer and fly a plane across the Atlantic, just by glancing at the Wright Brothers' plans. Far-fetched can't even begin to describe this sequence. \nOn a positive note, the movie flows together well, it's certainly not boring and Coogan isn't a half-bad actor. Although geared towards kids, the rest of the family can enjoy some aspects as well. Still, this was a film that could have stood not to be remade. Director Coraci shows us with this project that he needs Adam Sandler to pull out the laughs, as Jackie Chan, while visually stunning, can't pull off comic relief.