THE TUXEDO (12A)
New York taxi driver Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) lands a prize job as the private chauffeur for playboy millionaire and ladies man Clarke Devlin (Jason Isaacs).
Little does Jimmy know that Clarke is really a secret agent working for a covert government agency, the CSA.
Following an assassination attempt on Clarke's life, which leaves the agent in a coma, Jimmy is recruited by CSA agent Steena (Debi Mazar) to go undercover.
Accompanied by rookie agent Del Blaine (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Jimmy sets out to thwart dastardly criminal mastermind Diedrich Banning (Ritchie Coster), who plans to poison the world's water supply.
Jimmy is aided in his perilous mission by an assortment of gizmos including - most importantly - a state-of-the-art, gadget-laden tuxedo that instantly bestows on the wearer superhuman speed, strength and martial arts skills.
Clad in his swanky designer gear, Jimmy prepares to prove himself as much more than a driver.
The central premise of The Tuxedo is, ironically, the film's undoing: Jackie Chan films are enjoyable because we know the diminutive star risks life and limb to perform all of his own stunts.
In The Tuxedo, however, so many of Jimmy's acrobatics and daredevil antics are accomplished using wires (a la Crouching Tiger) and computer trickery, that it limits viewers' enjoyment.
Even the end-of-credits out-takes, usually a highlight of Chan's films, are a bore.
But Chan's natural charm and good humour does shine through, and he has great fun playing the fool, and convincing us the tuxedo is doing all of the work, while Love Hewitt proves her own physical prowess but tends to overplay the comedy.
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