Jackie Chan’s filmography needs no introduction, filled with action and comedies such asRush Hour, Karate Kid, and many more. However, there is one underrated buddy cop movie in his filmography that many may not know about, and it’s not one of theRush Hourmovies: it’sSkiptrace.
Released in 2016, Skiptrace follows Jackie Chan as Benny Black and Johnny Knoxville as Connor Watts in an unlikely partnership as they attempt to take down a crime lord. Directed by Renny Harlin and written and produced by Jackie Chan himself,Skiptraceis an American and Chinese co-developed movie. What’s even more remarkable is thatdespite Jackie Chan being 62 years oldat the time, he performed his own stunts and delivered an awe-inspiring performance, as he always does.
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What Is Skiptrace About?
Skiptrace follows Detective Benny’s quest to bring down the notorious crime lord Matador, also known as Victor Wong. Matador having killed Benny’s partner, Yung, nine years ago, makes him more than a normal target with Benny holding a personal grudge.
Things take an unexpected turn when Benny unexpectedly joins forces with Connor Watts, an American gambler and con artist. In a casino in Macau, Benny gets attacked by the Russian Mob and while running from them he witnesses the death of a woman called Esther Ye. Samantha, who earlier was talking to Connor, is revealed to be the daughter of Yung, a sleeper agent trying to take down the mob. With Connor now captured by the Russian mob, Samantha approaches Benny to rescue Connor knowing that he could be a possible witness to testify against the Matador and bring down their empire once and for all.
Realizing that Connor could potentially testify to bring down Wong’s empire, Benny takes it upon himself to ensure Connor’s safety. Their journey spans from China to Russia, with them being pursued by both the Chinese and the Russian mob. The following adventure pushes two men from completely different walks of life, one a detective and the other a cunning trickster, to confront and come to terms with their differences
Jackie Chan’s exceptional performance makes this movie even more remarkable, especially considering he was 62 at the time. Johnny Knoxville’s humor and charisma added an extra layer of entertainment, making this pairing one of the mostmemorable comedic-action duosin Jackie Chan’s film career, right alongside his partnership withChris Tucker in theRush Hourmovies.
What Is Skiptrace’s Rotten Tomatoes Score?
AlthoughSkiptraceis an Enjoyable movie, it still suffers fromlow audience and critic ratings. The film’s Rotten Tomato score is at a rotten 38% Tomato Score in the critic section. The Audience score is considerably low at a staggering 27%.
Many complained about the film’s unoriginality, basically ripping off of old Jackie Chan’s films likeShanghai NoonandRush Hour. Many even called Jackie Chan washed up, passing all his prime years and ditching the stunt work, the element that made Jackie even stand out from the rest of the actors in his movies.
All of these weak points can still be ignored taking in mind thatSkiptraceis still a Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville team-up, and this film getsas much Jackie Chan as it can get. Filled with Nostalgia, humorous moments, and the classic action sequence, it still manages to entertain viewers throughout its 107 minutes of runtime
How Does Skiptrace End?
Benny got arrested after Wong’s thumbprint failed to unlock Matador’s phone implying that he wasn’t the Crime Lord after all. Witnessing this, Connor assumes the role of a lawyer in an effort to secure Benny’s release from prison. They manage to bypass the security lock on the Matador’s phone, uncovering the location of the shipment yard where the Matador’s operations were conducted. Sneaking onto the shipyard, Connor and Benny are shocked to witness Wong, whom they believed to be the Matador, being brutally killed by an unknown assailant who is disappointed in Wong’s failure to capture Connor and Benny.
Unfortunately, both Connor and Benny are soon apprehended, and it is revealed that the real Matador is Yung, Benny’s partner who he thought was dead. Yung discloses that he had faked his own death as an undercover cop to preserve his integrity as a law enforcement officer.
Yuri then leads Benny to a room where his daughter, Samantha, is being held captive. Samantha is shocked to see that her father is alive but more than disgusted to realize that he was the Matador all along. The Russian mob also invades the shipyard and starts a shootout which damages the boat and causes it to sink. Samantha begins to drown in the boat and just then Benny and Yung work together to save Samantha. However, Yung later takes his own life by drowning after making Benny promise to protect his daughter’s life.
The police arrive at the scene and capture all the fugitives ending the crime faction once and for all. With the dust settled Connor returns to Russia to witness the birth of his presumed child, only to discover later that the baby is not his own. Later on, Connor and Samantha also fulfill Benny’s dreams by gifting him a ranch with Alpacas, providing a poignant conclusion to the movie.
ASkiptracesequel was reportedly also in work around 2017 when Jackie Chan was looking for anIndian actress to castin the movie. The sequel was most likely scrapped, but the possibility of Jackie Chan and Johhny Knoxville reuniting for a second entry isn’t entirely ruled out.
