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Jackie Chan And Johnny Knoxville Channel Rush Hour In First Trailer For Action Film Skiptrace

Remember the last time Jackie Chan played a Hong Kong detective on screen only to cross paths with a bumbling American idiot? It was the core dynamic that catapulted Brett Ratner's 1998 action-comedy Rush Hour to a respectable box office haul, two sequels, and even a TV show over at CBS - one which doesn't involve Chan nor his fast-talking co-star Chris Tucker.

Remember the last time Jackie Chan played a Hong Kong detective on screen only to cross paths with a bumbling American idiot? It was the core dynamic that catapulted Brett Ratner’s 1998 action-comedy Rush Hour to a respectable box office haul, two sequels, and even a TV show over at CBS – one which doesn’t involve Chan nor his fast-talking co-star Chris Tucker.

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But no matter, for Jackie Chan is portraying a very similar character in Renny Harlin’s Skiptrace, with Johnny Knoxville assuming the role of brash American gambler, Connor Watts. As the director behind both Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, Harlin has displayed a deft eye for action cinema throughout the years – barring the blemishes of Deep Blue Sea – though after the release of today’s international trailer, it’s difficult to imagine the filmmaker’s China-set adventure finding much of an audience – particularly in the west.

All style and little substance, Skiptrace puts Jackie Chan’s reputable detective on the hunt for Bingbing Fan’s Samantha, who gets in deep with the sharks after crossing paths with notorious crime boss Victor Wong and his seedy syndicate. Low and behold, it’s Knoxville character that holds the information to Wong that Chan so requires, laying the groundwork for an odd-couple actioner.

Also starring Bingbing Fan, Eric Tsang, Winston Chao, and Eve Torres, Skiptrace will make a beeline into Chinese theaters in February. At the time of writing, no release date is in place for North America and other western markets, though with Knoxville on board, we imagine that a distributer

Skiptrace follows Bennie Chan (Jackie Chan), a Hong Kong detective who has been tracking notorious crime boss Victor Wong for over a decade. When Bennie’s goddaughter Samantha (Bingbing Fan) gets into trouble with Wong’s crime syndicate, Bennie must track down the man whose actions got her there: the fast-talking American gambler Connor Watts (Johnny Knoxville). Bennie soon discovers, however, that in bringing Connor back to Hong Kong he’s ensuring more than his goddaughter’s fate; Connor also possesses knowledge about Victor Wong that, if exposed, could finally bring the corrupt businessman to justice. As Bennie races against the clock to return with Connor to Hong Kong, the unlikely pair embarks on an entertaining and perilous adventure that spans from the mountains of Mongolia to the dunes of the Gobi desert.